Well, not that kind of yelled at.  But more of a good kind.

ACDI sponsored an Education Summit and Expo this past Fall called ASBO; Association of School Business Officials.  The Annual Conference & Expo brings together more than 1,000 school business leaders worldwide for engaging professional development and educational sessions covering the top issues impacting school finance, countless networking opportunities, and the latest products and services in school business.

So duh!, Why wouldn’t ACDI Papercut be there sharing how we’ve led top school officials through one of the most tumultuous times to lead in recent education history?! 

I always like to give context when stating just how hard the last 21 months have been on education.  Picture this… 75M students went home overnight with IT struggling to manage students and faculty remotely.  Hundreds of thousands of Chromebooks were given out with zero ability to manage and track.  Distance learning fatigues teachers and students everywhere, even in the best conditions.  CDC has new compliance measures for districts everywhere, both onsite and hybrid.  ‘Managing the Movement’ of the constant back and forth with exposures and outbreaks.  Covid Relief funding is kludge (at best) with ambiguous ways to spend three investment rounds.  And all educators want to do is teach the next generation… Wheeew, I’m exhausted reading that, let alone living it.

So when I say ACDI has held the hands of School Officials everywhere by not just sharing information but by walking side by side in the trenches with them, I mean it.

So back to my original surprise of being yelled at, not just once, but throughout the conference.  As our booth is situated with stand-up banners and signage from afar, District Administrators can easily see our company name.  As Summer Jones and I talk with fresh faces, people walk by and yell over the crowd.  At first, I couldn’t make out what their phrases were.  But as it persisted, I was amazed at the feedback.  Yells from over the crowd said, “Papercut’s the best product out there.”  “We use Papercut and it transformed our district.”  “You better buy that if you don’t have it.”  “ACDI is the best company to deal with.”  And it continued and continued with more and more fanfare.  As we would talk to fresh faces about ACDI, our company, our culture, and our products, we would say “thank you” to the passerby of current and happy customers.  It did all the heavy lifting for us simply as social proof that Papercut is the benchmark for all Education.

Leaving the conference, I had a warm feeling of gratitude.  Thankfulness foremost, but then a boost of confidence in how great our products are and how they serve our customers.

It’s also cool to know I can grab any customer off the conference floor to fill in for me 🙂