Post-Conference Feedback
The ELO World Conference in Vancouver on November 4th provided an outstanding opportunity to connect, equip, inspire and celebrate Christian marketplace and entrepreneurial leaders. The all-star roster of speakers provided an international and varied perspectives on entrepreneurial leadership. Here's some feedback and the there is a brief report below:
FEEDBACK:
The feedback was uniformly outstanding:
"Well worthwhile traveling from New Zealand (and Vanuatu), inspirational, encouraging, enlightening, and fellowship with like-minded Christians." - Robert Mulligan, Director, Platinum Holdings, Vanuatu
“Absolutely fabulous conference! Can't believe you were able to pack all that great content in one day. I loved every session!” - Robert Dickie, President, Crown Financial Ministries, Knoxville, TN
“In my opinion this was the best ELO event yet. There was a great sense of people connecting on all levels, of people wanting to do more for the Kingdom and a variety of speakers that were all top drawer. The interview style [with the speakers] was excellent as was the leadership of the event - great job!” - Dave Koop, Co-Founder and Pastor, Coastal Church, Vancouver, BC
“The ELO Conference was inspirational, challenging, encouraging, thought-provoking and edifying. All the speakers were a 10 out of 10. I appreciated the faith component embedded in the entire event. I would recommend this event highly.” - Herb Buller, Buller Foundation, Winnipeg, MB
“I’ve been to many conferences over the years and ELO has a distinctive bent. When entrepreneurial leaders sharing the Christian faith, morals and principles sit together in the same room, the atmosphere ‘shifts’ - in a powerful way. I left inspired, encouraged and determined to gather more business people to attend next year’s gathering. ELO is one conference we shouldn’t miss. Christians have a voice in the business world. Let’s use it!” - MaryAnne Connor, Founder/President NightShift Ministries (www.nightshiftministries.org)
“Excellent. Personal stories are always most powerful. Well done.” - Alan Pratt, President, Pratt Legacy Advisors, Bellevue, WA
"Entrepreneurial leaders need encouragement and real life stories from their peers. We all live in the trenches of the marketplace where faith, profit, people and excellence must co-exist. I love attending ELO. It's where faith meets the realities of my daily marketplace life." - Greg Leith, CEO, Convene, La Placentia, CA (www.convenenow.com)
“The conference was great. I liked the interviews, the variety of speakers and the setting at the tables. This was an inspiring event with authentic speakers and applicable insights.” - Karen A. Howells, President, The Howells Group, Inc., Portland, OR
“This conference is fantastic. So much in such a short amount of time. I highly recommend it.”- Gary Lindblad, Dean, Crowell School of Business, Biola University, La Mirada, CA
“I thoroughly enjoyed it! I really appreciated the high level of speakers and the great information.” - Marjorie Busse, Founding Partner, Essential Impact, Surrey, BC
“A great event. The speakers were engaging, knowledgeable and passionate in sharing their faith and entrepreneurial expertise. This was good value with an excellent venue.” - Mike O’Neil, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Angelton, TX
“This was a first class event with an outstanding lineup of speakers. I really appreciated the variety of backgrounds, disciplines and passions of the guests. Yet despite the diversity and adversity each one had at their core the same “raison d'etre”, to serve Christ in and through work, empowering people and creating opportunity in others through biblical financial stewardship.” - Paul Thiessen, Partner, New Creation Homes, Langley, BC
“This was a great day. I arrived with batteries low to out. I left with batteries high and overflowing with energy to share.” - Gerry Wiebe, Owner, Wiebe Industrial Services, Abbotsford, BC
“Great event to learn how to navigate faith and work. Great inspiration on how to start and run a faith-based organization.” - Mark Tiu Lim, Chief Spiritual Officer, Mega Global, Quezon City, The Philippines
CONFERENCE SUMMARY:
The afternoon session featured a variety of perspectives and topics. Tim Plutschinski, Director, Business Coalition, World Evangelical Alliance, Hamburg, Germany provided an excellent analysis regarding Christianity in a post-Christian Europe—and its implications for believers in other countries. Margo Engberg, Founder, Pinkabella Cupcakes, Seattle, WA, shared candidly about growing her business in the midst of a very busy family life with 7 adopted children. Peter G. Hall, Chief Economist, Export Development Corp., Ottawa, gave an insightful perspective on the big picture of the economy and how he, as a Christian, navigates the challenges of predicting the future. Charles Loewen, Chairman, Loewen Windows, Steinbach, shared the highs and lows of leading a family business with a 100 year tradition, selling it and then buying it back. Steve Miller, Canton, OH, runs a large pallet manufacturing company with 1,600 employees—he spoke about the centrality of calling.
The evening session began with the opening prayer by Pastor Dave Koop, Coastal Church, in Vancouver. There was an interview with Kevin Strike and Clarence Martens, two of the founders of Ballistiq, a Kingdom-focused web technology firm in Montreal. One of their projects is a web site garnering over 1 million unique visitors per month. The evening session was highlighted by the presentation of the ELO Entrepreneurial Leaders Award to Lord Robert Edmiston, Chairman, I.M. Group, London, UK by Geoff Tunnicliffe, former Secretary-General, World Evangelical Alliance. Lord Edmiston then gave a keynote address on the faith and entrepreneurial journey. To close the evening, a stirring “Entrepreneurial Commission” was offered by Paul Stevens, Professor Emeritus, Regent College.
The venue was the spectacular Pan Pacific Hotel, one of the Vancouver skyline’s most iconic buildings. Guests came from throughout Canada (AB, MB, ON QC), the US (WA, OR, CA, TX, TN) and overseas, from as far away as Vanuatu/New Zealand.