An APNA Conference of a Lifetime
– by Guy Maddalone
There was great excitement and anticipation for this year’s APNA conference in St. Pete Beach, as the organization marks its 30th anniversary. And it was evident from the energy that attendees were incredibly happy to be celebrating together.
Agency owners and staff were enthusiastic, enjoying seeing old friends and making new ones from all over the country. Here are some of my highlights from yet another successful APNA conference.
New Agency Partner Manager
GTM’s new Agency Partner Manager, Christa Nader, really hit the ground running by heading to Florida to join Christine Lasser, who was in attendance as well and is stepping back to care for family for a while. Christa previously ran the Kith and Kin Household Staffing Agency in New York City, was the placement manager at Adventure Nannies, and served on the board of the International Nanny Association (INA). We are delighted she has joined the GTM family, and it was great to introduce her as our new partner manager during the conference.
APNA Awards Ceremonies
The theme of this year’s conference was “Advancing Excellence | Celebrating Milestones and Charting New Horizons,” which certainly seemed to fit the two APNA Honors awards events. GTM was proud to sponsor these ceremonies, and the Staffing Employee of the Year event kicked off with Christa and GTM Ambassador Christine Lasser welcoming the attendees to the event. Congratulations to Denise from White House Nannies for winning this year’s award!
The second awards ceremony, which presented the Agency of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement awards, will be one that I will always remember.
The Agency of the Year award went to Smart Sitting, who was selected among several other terrific and deserving agencies – I don’t envy the difficult task the APNA committee had in choosing a winner from such a great group of agencies.
It was then my great honor to receive the Lifetime Achievement award. I was humbled by APNA’s recognition of my more than 30 years of contributions and support of the nanny and household staffing industries, and I am truly grateful to the committee.
As I mentioned during my acceptance speech, this would not have been possible without my mother, a registered nurse, who instilled in me the value of persistence and perseverance, and my father, who ran a construction company and taught me about hard work and tenacity. I also wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without the dedication of my GTM team of more than 100 employees, who are all focused on delivering exceptional client experiences.
I’m also appreciative to Aunt Ann’s In-House Staffing Owner Denise Collins for nominating me, and for being such a wonderful partner and friend for so many years.
Partner Dinner
Another highlight of the conference was our GTM partner dinner that my team and I hosted at the nearby Buona Ristorante, with personnel from eleven different agencies, along with Christa, Christine, GTM’s VP of Sales Michael Maddalone, and our Strategic Product Manager Theresa Anzelc. We thanked each agency attending for their referrals over the year and shared some fun stories about APNA conferences over the years and running an agency. It was great to meet some of the newer partners and we all learned a lot about each other! Sharing these moments is always one of my favorite parts of the conference.
Closing Thoughts
As usual, the best part of the conference were the conversations and connections with agency owners and staff, and other industry personnel. Many of our partners and new friends were especially interested in GTM’s human resources services, employee benefits, and our integrated timekeeping solution. It’s always nice to hear that our agency partners enjoy working with us, and that our responsiveness and customer service lets them know their families are in good hands. And congrats to our partner Interstellar Nannies, based in Atlanta, who won our gift card raffle prize.
Being involved with APNA has been a valuable experience for so many years, but this year’s conference will always hold a special place in my heart. And I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!
Please remember that GTM is here for you and your families as a resource for all things concerning household payroll. Contact us with any questions or to request information.
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