This is the title slide of a presentation I’ll be making at the Wilcox Communities National Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday.

Proud, honored, scared. This is how I’m feeling as I finish practicing my remarks and begin packing my suitcase. Oh, and as I keep checking the weather. We are under a snow advisory tomorrow. Yes, another one.

Just before Christmas, Ember, who is executive assistant to Jamie Wilcox, called and asked if I would like to speak at the conference. Of course, I said yes. It took a couple hours before I began wondering what I had gotten myself into. Even now, I’m showing some stress. Otherwise, why would I have just ended a sentence with a preposition?

Then last month I fell on the ice and broke my ankle. My disappointment over missing the conference was worse than the physical pain. But soon my traveling companions, Carol, Kathy, Steve, and Ollie, assured me that, with their help and a wheelchair, I could make the trip.

So last week I sat down at my computer to put together a PowerPoint presentation. Since I’ve been given 30 minutes to speak, I knew I would need help staying organized. And my poor audience would need, at the very least, something to look at if they had to listen to me that long. The amateurish presentation I put together was transformed into something beautiful by the multi-talented Ember.

Yet, of course, I’m nervous. And I’m sure I will be when I get up—or maybe wheel up?— to talk to the entire Wilcox staff.

But here’s the thing. I won’t be alone, and it’s not just about me. I’ll be representing all of the homeowners. I’m going to pretend that standing beside and behind me is a crowd of invisible homeowners whispering encouragement in my ear.

I’ll do my best to make you proud, fellow Wilcox homeowners. And later I’ll share some of my comments on this blog.