More than 1,000 attendees at the 10th annual NJCPA Convention & Expo, which was held June 10-12 at The Borgata in Atlantic City, learned about charting a course for the upcoming decade, networked with fellow financial professionals, and heard from nationally recognized speakers such as the following:
Eric LeGrand – LeGrand played college football at Rutgers and became paralyzed during a game in 2010. He has since made great strides through physical therapy and graduated from Rutgers in 2014 with a degree in labor relations. He has been honored with the "Unsung Hero Award" from the NJ Hall of Fame, the "Jimmy V Award" for Perseverance at the ESPYs, and selected as the "Most Influential Person in New Jersey Sports" by The Star-Ledger. In 2012, LeGrand released BELIEVE: My Faith and the Tackle That Changed My Life.
Bob Davies – As a speaker, author and trainer, Davies uses the lessons he has accumulated from his successful career as a college football coach to help people become more confident and productive. A head coach at the California Institute of Technology, he later helped coach the California State University Fullerton football team to a pair of championships.
Erik Wahl – He is an internationally recognized graffiti artist, author and entrepreneur whose on-stage painting becomes a visual metaphor for his message of encouraging organizations toward profitability through innovation and superior levels of performance.
Ken Schmidt – Former communications director for Harley-Davidson, Schmidt is widely known and respected as one of the businessworld's most outspoken and provocative thought leaders. He is a frequent speaker to business groups, sharing his enduring philosophy of life and business: "Never do what's expected, make yourself as noticeably different as possible and have a lot more fun than you're supposed to.
Sharlene Vichness – President and founder of Language Directions, LLC, she is an accomplished and experienced language, culture and career readiness instructor. Vichness has provided language and cultural assistance to businesses, government agencies and individual professionals. She has also been a trainer for the New Jersey Bar Association and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
In addition, the expo center had more than 70 exhibitors where attendees learned about the latest products, services and technology for financial professionals. And, to dovetail with the convention's theme of "A Decade of Innovating New Jersey Business" and help celebrate its 10-year milestone, the event featured a "New Jersey Business & Economic Roundtable" on June 12.
The breakfast roundtable featured a cross-section of thought leaders including Jim McQueeny, veteran NJ political commentator and journalist; Thomas A. Bracken, President & CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; NJ State Senator Steven Oroho of the Senate Budget & Appropriations and the Senate Economic Growth committees; Michele Siekerka, President of the NJ Business & Industry Association; and Dr. Siamack Shojai, Dean of The Cotsakos College of Business at William Paterson University. This esteemed panel tackled such timely topics as the state's pension crisis, crumbling infrastructure, eroding tax base and more. For more information, visit www.njcpa.org.
