BY STEPHEN CHAVEZ, Assistant Editor

Throwing a party for 50,000 to 60,000 people-most of whom live outside of North America-calls for a session manager with unusual tact and organizational skills. For this General Conference session that person was Linda de León, session manager and assistant treasurer/meeting planner for the General Conference.

Linda de León

By the time she left the city, De León had been in Toronto for most of a month, working as the church's liaison with Toronto Convention Center, the SkyDome, the Tourism and Visitors Authority, and as many as 30 different hotels. She was the one who oversaw the 20 subcommittees that coordinated virtually everything that took place in the SkyDome and Convention Center during the 10 days of the session. Despite the 18-hour days, De León could say as the session was drawing to a close, "I enjoy what I'm doing."

During the session De León's days began with a Steering Committee meeting at 6:45 a.m. and ended with meetings with the Session Management Committee at 9:30 each evening. A typical day ended about 11:30 p.m. "You prepare for it physically and mentally," she said (she's a dedicated walker). "That helps a lot."

De León's greatest frustration during the session had to do with immigration. Dozens of delegates weren't able to attend the session because of problems obtaining visas.

Her greatest satisfaction? "Standing in the SkyDome, listening to 50,000 people plus singing 'We Have This Hope'-that gives me goose bumps."