Leadership Conference defining moments.

• Position: President's Podium - Conference news

Every October, LMA hosts a Leadership Conference for incoming chapter presidents and committee and task force chairs. The purpose of the meeting is to introduce the leaders to one another and to educate them on the LMA strategic plan. the goal is to move the organization forward to be recognized as the authority in legal marketing--or simply "world domination" as 2012 President Alycia Sutor said facetiously--and to explain to leaders their role in that plan.

This year's conference took place in Chicago on Oct. 20-21. In addition to being incredibly informational, the program was inspirational. During the opening session, titled "Creating and Telling ... the Next Chapter of Your Success," attendees in the room stood up and introduced themselves and then shared a time that LMA had a significant impact on their lives. As you might imagine, several common themes and similar stories emerged, including, "I attended an LMA conference and was enlightened by a speaker"; "I was friends with a person who was involved and they asked me to step up and get involved"; and "I started in a chapter and ended up on the national board after serving in several committees." As the session unfolded, members of the group started referring to their experiences as "getting the tap on the shoulder by someone."

If that's the case, then I have received many shoulder taps in my LMA lifetime. As I wind down this year as president, I have begun to reflect on my experience-what taps led me here? I have a number of friends in LMA and the legal marketing industry who have helped me both professionally and personally. When I reflect on who it was that kept tapping my shoulder throughout the years...