Pub. 1 2018-2019 Issue 4

13 How has the program been used to benefit UAPA members throughout the entire state? Some meetings are held on a regional basis and may involve a little travel. For example, one meeting was held in Logan’s Cache Valley. Approximately 60-70 people were there, including city representatives, contractors, and local residents. The program is a way of bringing information and events to people who do not live along the Wasatch Front, but it is enough of a draw that people will travel in order to attend. The lunch and learn program has proven to be a good way to find topics for seminars. For example: • There is an annual Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar held every November in St. George. This full-day event is really just a combination of lunch-and-learn topics. • Another example is a four - or five - hour event, held in Vernal, where two or three presentations are given in a row. • UAPAsponsors anannual, two-dayevent eachFebruary. Presenters at the conference are often accomplished scholars and experts. It is currently held at the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, and it consists of 25 to 30 breakout sessions where those leading the sessions can expand on the informa- tion from lunch and learn sessions and provide additional detail about topics that are of particular interest. The conference most recently had about 1,200 attendees, which is twice as much as similar conferences held in California and Texas. What are the main benefits? For its lunch and learn program, UAPA looks for presenters who are industry experts or who are well-educated about their spe- cific subject. They are expected to be able to deal with whatever the topic is. Lunch and learn sessions often generate a lot of fol- low-up conversations and meetings. Those who hear the pres- entations often take the information back to their colleagues, and that prompts additional conversations. The lunch and learn sessions give people the right tools to be able to make good decisions, and help them to find the right path for the particular problems they are trying to solve. They have been successful because the format provides a very effi- cient way to learn. Meetings are a networking opportunity and a way to build membership. The fact that meetings are short and free does not hurt. For many people, their attendance at a lunch and learn is their first exposure to UAPA. Lots of people join afterward, and retention after they join is excellent. 3 TO SEE THE DIGITAL CATALOG