This one feels a little bittersweet looking back on it.

When I spoke at The Localist Lab, I was in what would end up being some of my final days at Uptick Marketing. No shade whatsoever there — I love those people and I'm incredibly grateful for my time there. I was just getting ready, without totally knowing it yet, to move into the next phase of my career and niche down even harder into the things I really love doing.

Ads. Analytics. Search. AI. Talking about all of those things way too much.

You know, the usual.

And somehow, right in the middle of all of that change, I got to give this talk.

At Saturn.

Which, if you know me, is already pretty freaking cool.

Saturn is probably my favorite venue in Birmingham. RIP Bottle Tree forever, obviously, but Saturn has become one of those places that just feels like Birmingham to me. I've seen shows there, hung out there, been part of events there — and getting to actually stand on that stage and talk about something I love was one of those moments where several different parts of my life accidentally collided.

I got to talk about advertising.

I got to do some public speaking.

I got to hang out with some of my favorite people.

And I got to do it at one of my favorite places in Birmingham.

Not a bad day.

A speaker addressing a seated audience at The Localist Lab inside Saturn in Birmingham
The Localist Lab, packed into Saturn on a Thursday morning.

I Really Love What's Happening in Birmingham

One of my biggest takeaways from the whole thing actually has less to do with my presentation and more to do with Birmingham.

I really, really like what's happening here right now.

There are so many smart people doing interesting things across marketing, technology, entrepreneurship, creative work, AI and everything happening somewhere in between.

And the cool part is that Birmingham still feels small enough that we all actually know each other.

We can show up to somebody else's event. We can share what we're learning. We can grab coffee. We can collaborate. We can disagree about marketing stuff for an hour and then go get a beer.

There is real momentum here.

I just want us to keep doubling and tripling down on it.

More events like this.

More people sharing what they know.

More people showing up.

More weird ideas.

More collaboration.

More reasons for talented people to look around and say, Yeah, Birmingham is actually a really cool place to be doing this.

Because it is.

I really love it here.

A table of Marketing Mornings signage, stickers, pens and Blog Starter Kit cards at the event
The swag table: stickers, pens, and a stack of Blog Starter Kits.

The Full-Circle Part

What's funny is that I didn't really understand what this day meant while it was happening.

At the time, I didn't know another opportunity was about to come along. Everything happened pretty quickly after this.

So I wasn't standing "backstage" thinking, Wow, what a poetic ending to this chapter of my career.

Absolutely not.

I definitely was thinking about the campaign work that I had on my desk when I got back to the office, and the michelob ultra that I was going to use as an Ice pack when I got back - a new post public speaking tradition of mine.

But looking back, it really does feel like a full-circle moment.

I got to unload a bunch of knowledge I'd accumulated over the years. I got to speak at my favorite Birmingham venue. I got to see friends, colleagues and people I respect sitting in the room. I got to talk about one of my favorite subjects while doing one of my favorite things.

And without realizing it, I was also kind of saying goodbye to one chapter of my professional life.

That's what makes watching the video now feel a little different.

It's not sad.

It's not really nostalgic, either.

It's just one of those moments where you look back and realize, Oh. That meant more than I thought it did at the time.

And I'm really glad people I care about were there to experience it with me.

View from behind the stage of a speaker presenting to the Localist Lab audience at Saturn
From the front of the room at Saturn.

Watch The Localist Lab

So, all of that being said, here's a pretty great talk from a really cool guy named Matt Robinson.

I've heard good things about him.

The talk was part of The Localist Lab, an extension of Carrie Rollwagen's work with The Localist  which I would highly recommend checking out if you care about Birmingham, local businesses, entrepreneurship or just hearing interesting conversations with people doing interesting things.

Carrie is great.

The Localist is great.

The Localist Lab was great.

Saturn is great.

Birmingham is great.

Apparently I'm feeling very positive today.

But seriously — thank you to everyone who came out, everyone who helped put the event together, and everyone who has supported me through this particular season of life and work.

This is one I'm going to remember for a long time.

And I'm really glad somebody recorded it.