Kennesaw, July 19, 2014 ─ VJI President and CEO Valerie Jordan and Tax Manager Chris Wiggins attended the Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators on July 13-16 at the Marriott Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama.

After opening ceremonies that were presided by Alabama Department of Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee and a welcome to delegates by President and CEO Herb Malone of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, both Jordan and Wiggins attended various breakout sessions, luncheons, and special events during their stay. “The highlight of the conference for me was an appearance by Guest Speaker Winston Groom, world-renowned author of Forrest Gump,” says Jordan. Wiggins also enjoyed Groom’s luncheon remarks by noting, “He offered fantastic insight on how books are transformed to the big screen.”

Wiggins was very busy at this year’s event including a golf outing at the resort’s Azalea Course, where his team earned third place honors out of a pack of 15 foursomes. “Also, I really enjoyed meeting new attendees and catching up with old acquaintances at the welcome reception,” he remarked. Another highlight for Wiggins was a Streamlined Sales Tax presentation by Charles Collins. “I found his discussion about how hard it is to make sales tax laws uniform throughout the county very interesting,” he says.

Two memorable sessions attended by Jordan included a presentation by Danielle Novick about hiring, training and selecting leaders and a session about implementing, managing, and growing social media platforms given by Randall Lohman.

Jordan, a member of SEATA’s Industry Council, was invited to attend an invitation-only breakfast with the Department of Revenue Commissioners who came to the conference. “Alabama did a great job hosting the conference this year,” says Jordan, “and I look forward to attending next year’s event in Atlanta.”