Event Recap: SMCLA's Social Good Panel Takes Flight at Museum of Flying

The Museum of Flying was the perfect setting for SMCLA’s “Using Social Media for Social Good” event on April 17, just a few days before Earth Day.Moderator Christopher Brereton of Picture Healing invited audience participation from the start and the conversation between the panelists and more than 60 attendees took off from the moment the speakers took the stage. Our panelists, social media practitioners from LA’s leading nonprofits, not only shared a host of best practices for engaging communities around important causes, they were able to tailor answers to individual questions and type of nonprofit.The conversation was so engaging SMCLA trended on Twitter for much of the evening - way to go SMCLA attendees!Our speakers represented a strong cross-section of nonprofits: Alexis Henry of Surfrider Foundation, Mark Horvath from Invisible People, Liz H. Kelly of The Goody Awards, and Nathan Havey from Thrive Consulting Group. These experts discussed content - both text and video - that makes the strongest impact, tools for managing and measuring social accounts, and how to move audiences through the nonprofit’s version of the “sales funnel” to garner donations.Hurry Curry of Tokyo prepared a sumptuous buffet that filled the giant museum hangar with a tangy aroma. The queue for Hurry Curry’s seafood, beef, chicken and veggie tastes grew by the minute and snaked far beyond the Museum of Flying’s numerous exhibits.Best of all - Hurry Curry brought take-out boxes, so everyone could nom down on leftovers the next day (reports indicate Hurry Curry leftovers are just as delectable on Day 2!).Attendees enjoyed delicious, healthy beverages, including tasty zero-calorie soda from Zevia and fruit- and regular-flavored green tea from Sencha Naturals – the perfect pairing for hearty curry.We also received a generous donation of chairs, courtesy of Pico Party Rents, ensuring our attendees enjoyed their meals and the panel discussion in comfort.Everyone enjoyed mingling among the Museum of Flying's colorful biplanes, gliders and planes from this and the last century, part of the museum's permanent collection.The Santa Monica-based Museum of Flying is currently host to the Now Boarding LA exhibit – a spectacular preview of the modernized Tom Bradly International Terminal at LAX, designed by Fentress Architects.You'll find additional reporting on this event in our Storify recap. And big thanks to our intrepid event photographer-photo editors Amanda Hoskinson and Ben Kochavy!