By Miriam Bernard
Friends, smiles, hugs, photos, dancing, dinners, chatter and classes: our 2024 conference in Chicago, Illinois is officially in the books, and we’re thrilled that so many of our community members could join from around the nation and the globe! There is nothing like the camaraderie that occurs when families with common experiences and common goals come together to learn, grow, and steep in each other’s company, and this conference was such a special one!
We had 476 registered attendees, 64% of those were first-time attendees. A special thank you to all the new families. We hope your experience was spectacular and that this was your first of many NODCC conferences!
This year’s conference featured 50 unique sessions spanning all aspects of life with DCCs. We had 56 Adults with DCC attend sessions especially designed with them in mind. We’d like to thank Jasmin Turner, Kaitlyn Nogales, Nate Le Febre, Kameron Rigg, Allie Nobles, Olivia Dods, Ella Bohlman, Wilder Hartwell & Bianna McNicol for their hard work and dedication to making the conference successful!
Attendees trickled in on Thursday and as our numbers grew, the buzz and excitement in the conference halls was palpable! Sessions began on Friday morning with a variety of specially-chosen topics, some research-based and some discussion-based. There were helpful booths, vendors, and researchers lining the halls, and live video interviews conducted to gather the stories of our attendees! The silent auction room was always bustling as attendees browsed the wide array of items up for auction. The evening wrapped up our banquet dinner, words from our emcee Zac Grantham, and welcomes from many of our NODCC board members and administrators. The evening concluded with a wonderful concert from The Alley Cats and many of our attendees wound up rockin’ out on the dance floor. Everyone had a great time!
Saturday held many more informative sessions, an adults with DCC bowling trip, fantastic programs in our kid and teen centers, and the famous Saturday evening Dance party! The Silent Auction closed Saturday night, and over $11,000 was raised, which will be used to help fund our next conference in 2026. The highlight of the auction was the “Cleats for a Cause” worn by NFL player Dan Skipper, and donated to the NODCC for auction by the Jacobs family, whose son Lee has ACC. The cleats alone raised $3,500!
Conference came to a close after lunch on Sunday, and it’s always bittersweet to watch families say their goodbyes and head back to their various corners of the world. Even though the conference is over, we hope the connections you made carry you in these coming months and years until we can all meet in person again in 2026!
Click HERE to view our Instagram reel highlighting a few of our favorite moments from the conference!