Vijay Vaswani Presents and Co-hosts at the 45th Annual America's SBDC Conference in Atlanta, GA

The Mason SBDC had much to be excited about and showcase last week at the 45th Annual Americas SBDC Conference in Atlanta, GA. The 4-day professional development conference is held for business leaders, advisors, and SBDC network professionals. This national event brings together ~1,500 professionals and around fifty sponsors and exhibitors for learning, networking, and engagement. This year's event held from September 9-12, 2024 was deemed a super success by the Virginia SBDC Network team. This year's theme heavily focused on Digital Transformations. See more here - https://conference.americassbdc.org/

The Annual Americas SBDC Conference is a fantastic opportunity for Advisors and #SBDC Professionals from around the country to learn the latest tools to support the small business community, update their skills, and connect with fellow SBDC advisors and Business leaders.

Mason SBDC Director for Regional Partnerships, Vijay Vaswani had an excellent time learning, presenting and co-hosting several events at the Conference. See a summary of the key events Vijay handled and presented at below.

• AI U (Artificial Intelligence University) - Leveraging #AI for Small Business Growth - Over 170 SBDCers participated in #Google training, including VA-SBDC AI Team: Vijay Vaswani , @Jeff Robertson, @Dana Knott and @April Collins.

• ASBDC Presentation - The Art of Networking by Vijay Vaswani, #Mason SBDC Regional Partnerships Director - Vijay was the lead presenter for this session with over 50+ attendees, Town of Herndon Mayor, Sheila Olem and Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce President, Mark Ingrao, CCP, CAE who flew in to participate at Vijay’s Art of Networking session. With business directors and advisors present, Vijay highlighted state and local resources, shared his personal story, and reviewed best practices for networking.?

• ASBDC Millennial Mindset Interest Group Annual Meeting by Co-Chair, Vijay Vaswani and NY State Director & ASBDC Board Member, Sonya Smith MBA - Approximately 60 participants from almost every state/SBDC attended this session that discussed small business best practices for 1.5 hours.

• The?40 Under 40 Ceremony?by Thryv Foundation and ASBDC President C.E. "Tee" Rowe , NY State Director, Sonya Smith MBA, ASBDC Board of Director’s Chair, @Lisa Smikat and Mason SBDC Regional Partnerships Director, Vijay Vaswani - Out of 1000 SBDCs nationwide, we commemorated the achievements of this year’s 40 under 40 in the USA!

• Millennial Mindset Annual Social Gathering by Vijay Vaswani at?Flight Club. - Located in the heart of Atlanta, Vijay hosted SBDC centers at a beautiful darts-bar-lounge. 40+ people across the USA connected post conf. and networked.

In addition to the presentations and learning sessions, the Conference held a reception for all the State Star winners. This year, Mason SBDC was excited that Center Director, Timm Johnson was selected as State Star for the Virginia SBDC Network. The network had a wonderful time participating in celebrations, reuniting with old friends, new learning, tools and programs that they hope to utilize for the benefit of the network and their small business clients!