Thank you to the 376 social workers, exhibitors, and sponsors who attended the NASW Virginia Annual Conference March 25-27! Using the Social Work Month theme, "Social Workers Are Essential," the event provided nearly 30 breakout sessions on a range of practice-related and social justice issues, as well as four outstanding keynote speakers--civil rights "songstress" and storyteller Bettie Mae Fikes, PostSecret.com founder Frank Warren, Platinum-selling musician Jim Donovan, and poetry slam duo Adios America.

"Although the conference had to be virtual again due to the pandemic, the format enabled attendees to conveniently engage in their professional development in new ways," says Executive Director Debra Riggs, CAE. "They also benefited from the peer-to-peer expertise of social workers from 10 other states and even overseas, since the event could be borderless."

The Call for Proposals for the 2022 Annual Conference will open in June.

Meanwhile, the virtual Exhibit Fair is still ongoing with its 16 exhibitors and sponsors until April 27; it remains available to all registrants, some of whom may not have had a chance to complete their one-on-one meetings and shopping during the March 25-27 meeting. To access, please login into the conference and click on "Exhibitors." An encore Exhibit Fair is scheduled for April 14--look for more information in your inboxes soon.

Thank you for helping to make the conference a success, exhibitors and sponsors!