Since pursuing and winning PEAK in 2017, Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Utah chapter is well on its way to achieving yet another victory: Hosting a successful EO Alchemy in October 2018. Octane recently checked in with EO Utah’s leadership to discuss the year ahead.

Step Up is your chapter’s theme this year. What are you trying to inspire with this message?

Joe Long, EO Utah President FY2017/2018: As a 15-year member of EO, I renewed my membership for many years because of the benefits I received from attending Forum. However, when I began attending more chapter, regional and global events, the benefits of membership and my return on investment grew ten-fold. First and foremost, I wanted Step Up to mean Step Up your ROI in EO.

Professionally and personally speaking, I want to inspire and challenge our members by asking them to Step Up in three areas: leadership, fitness and community.

• Step Up Your Leadership—To me, this comes back to EO’s mission of engaging leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow. Attending learning events and surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals is the best way to learn and improve.
• Step Up Your Fitness—Leadership takes a tremendous amount of energy. In order to bring that energy every day, we need to be in great shape. So our personal fitness must be a priority. Plus, being fit also improves our quality of life.
• Step Up in Our Community—We can do this first in our EO community by supporting our peer-to-peer network of learning and, second, by sharing stories of all the amazing things our members are doing to support charities in our communities.
• Step Up to Alchemy 2018—This is one of our chapter goals this year, and we are excited to have been chosen to host this annual event for EO West. We’re looking forward to having members from across the region Step Up and attend!

What prompted EO Utah to apply to host EO Alchemy?

Scott Abbott, EO Utah President FY2018/2019: We want to make a mark and engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow! We also believe Utah has so much to offer EO members, with its unique landscapes and thought leaders. We have a thriving community of tech entrepreneurs that have helped earned Salt Lake City and its surrounding areas the name “Silicon Slopes.” We also wanted to build on the legacy of events put on by Park City over the years that have delivered once-in-a-lifetime experiences to EO members.

Why do you feel it’s important to attend events like EO Alchemy, as well as events outside of your region?

Rex Hale, EO Utah, Finance Chair FY2018/2019: Perspective. I love meeting entrepreneurs from across the country and around the globe. To see the variety of business models, the successes in various industries and locations is amazing. The nearly instant friendships that are created because of EO is phenomenal. I always return from events with a gem or two to add to my business, and a friend or two to add to my network.

EO Alchemy will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from 3–5 October 2018. Featured guests and speakers will include teamwork expert and former professional basketball player Mark Eaton, CEO of Cotopaxi Davis Smith, and service industry professional coach and mentor Joe Stumpf.

Since 1987, EO has been transforming the lives of the entrepreneurs who transform the world. Learn what it’s like to join the only global network exclusively for entrepreneurs.