Binkley & Barfield just got back from another successful Texas Municipal League (TML) Annual Conference and Exhibition that was held from October 9-11 at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. The TML Annual Conference and Exhibition is the signature event of TML and one of the nation’s largest gatherings of local government leaders, attracting more than 3,000 people from 300 cities, including mayors, council members, city secretaries, city managers, and city department executives.
The BBI booth theme was inspired by Jimmy Buffet’s iconic classic, Margaritaville, equipped with Hawaiian shirts, leis, grass skirts, a “spin to win” and a raffle with amazing prizes, and even the parrot head himself, Jimmy Buffet (in cardboard form)! Belle Richardson, the wife of the Mayor of Everman, Texas, won the neon Margaritaville sign, and we learned that she gave it to Randy Sanders (retired Police Chief and Director of Emergency Services) with the City of Everman who has visited more than 30 Margaritaville locations around the world! The grand prize was a Margaritaville margarita machine, which was won by Wendy Withers, the Town Administrator for the Town of Shady Shores. Congratulations to our winners!
The three-day conference was kicked off with the presentation of awards featuring Brian Solis, a digital anthropologist and futurist, who spoke about how to escape from distractions to live a better life. As a featured keynote speaker, Olympic medalist and best-selling author Bonnie St. John gave an inspirational talk on how she uses her unique experience to encourage people to aim higher and achieve extraordinary results. The event closed with a luncheon and two keynote speakers (founder and CEO of the Texas Tribune, Evan Smith and the Mayor of El Paso, Dee Margo) who discussed communities and their resilience.
After the second day of the conference, BBI hosted a client event at the Margaritaville on the River Walk. The Happy Hour was complete with appetizers, Jimmy Buffet music, and, of course, margaritas! It was great getting to know our clients a bit more and getting to show them that even when we get the hard work done, we can still “have some fun!”
Thank you to everyone who helped put this successful event together. We had a blast at the conference and enjoyed getting to meet so many people from all over the state. We are looking forward to next year and seeing everyone again!
For more information about the TML Annual Conference and Exhibition, please go to tmlexhibits.org.