I arrived at 8:00a on Saturday.  As an event coordinator, I am always on the lookout for ways to improve events and this was no exception.  Rather than print the available Speed Pass, I decided to go through the line to see how organized registration was — and I was not disappointed.  Registration was very smooth with no waiting or sifting through documentation.  After getting everything in order, I took a few minutes to greet Andy Warren (twitter | blog).  We picked up our conversation on professional development and networking right where we left off at Sql Saturday 48.  After our talk, I attended David Dye’s [blog] session on Implementing Auditing on Sql Server.  It was a great talk and I learned quite a bit.

Following David’s session, I decided to go see Julie Smith’s [twitter | blog] talk on Cool Tricks to Pull from your SSIS Hat.  In addition to being a great and creative session, I learned quite a bit about some of the “gotchas” in SSIS.  At one point, I looked around and noticed over 50 attendees!

Lunch was good.  No one had mentioned that the non-boxed lunches were next door, so I was stuck with a boxed lunch.  Nonetheless, the fair was quite good as was the company.  I met some great people from Jacksonville and had a great talk about everything from the highlights of Tampa to board-gaming.

The afternoon sessions were at least as good.  Eddie Wuerch’s [twitter] discussion on Finding Performance Problems by Reading the Waits was fantastic.  His encyclopedic knowledge of the various waits, signals, and counters lent extraordinary depth to performance optimization.  Following that, I attended the Sql Smackdown: SSIS vs. Powershell.  Watching the interplay between Aaron Nelson [twitter | blog] and Mike Davis [twitter | blog] was fantastic.  Rather than spoil what turned out to be a fairly rowdy session, I would highly recommend that you check this out when you get the chance.  The final session of the day for me was Troubleshooting with Sql Server 2008 DC & MDW by Bill Ramos [twitter | blog].  Bill lent great insight into the development of Sql Server as well as advances made in performance analysis.

The event closing was good.  I was not there for the beginning but everyone seemed pleased.  The pace was good and it was in no way drug-out as I’ve experience in the past.

So, to sum things up:

1. John brought to my attention that speakers were given the option of receiving a shirt for the event.  I love getting stuff at these events — especially something I can use, and a shirt definitely ranks up there.  However, many speakers have a closet full of shirts and the last thing they want is yet another shirt; incurring an expense for the event (speakers shirts are a fairly large expense) and wasting resources.
2. The venue was clean, fairly open, and good.  There were sessions in a building about a block away, but I did not have the opportunity to attend them.
3. The speaker shirts looks really nice.  They were a yellow and orange floral pattern that looked really fitting for the event.
4. The foyer was large, open, and provided enough space for registration and vendor booths.  Access to the vendors was open and easy.

1. Registration seemed to be missing a dedicated speaker sign-in.  Albeit, I arrived late and it could be that I missed it.  Generally, this kind of thing is not required, but is a nice benefit to the speakers — especially considering they often need special instructions and receive addition things (shirts, swag, etc.).
2. There were no session moderators.  Again, this is not something that is required for an event of this size; however, one session I attended went over by more than 15 minutes, causing me to miss the first part of the closing ceremonies.
3. There were no maps or volunteers to direct attendees.  The venue was not very spread-out, so this was not a huge issue, but it was difficult to locate some of the rooms.  Better sign-age (a problem I often face) would have been a good workaround.
4. The volunteers were not obvious.  I tend to at least ask my volunteers to wear matching colors (black shirts with blue jeans).  I also insist that they walk around and make themselves available should anyone have any questions.
5. In speaking with a few of the speakers, I found a few missed having speaker evaluations.  Creative criticism is one of the fastest ways to improve and often evaluations provide that one-on-one that speakers lack mid-session.

1. You don’t have to be a speaker to speak.  Nothing beats an impromptu discussion between attendees about common practices and real-world problems.
2. Networking is hard.  I have a really difficult time walking up to a stranger and saying, “Hi, I’m Bobby!  I write code!”  After thinking about it a bit, I approached one or two people I knew and had them start introducing me to people.  This broke-down those initial barriers and opened up ways to really getting to know people.
3. Get personal cards printed.  I currently only have business cards.  They are pretty nice, but do not communicate how to get in touch with me.  A few people I ran into had these and most places will print them for free.  I might see if I can get a designer friend of mind to help me put something together.
4. Don’t skimp on the hotel.  This is a rule I generally follow when traveling for pleasure.  I usually try to make it a point to stay in 4+ star hotels.  This is fairly easy and affordable with websites out there like Priceline and Kayak.  This time-around, I decided to stay in one of the conference-recommended hotels.  This hotel was easily 2-stars.

All-in-all, it was a great event.  Jose [twitter | blog] and Pam [twitter] did a great job of organizing and making this great event happen!  The venue was great, the speakers were knowledgeable and approachable, the vendors were gracious, and the attendees were energized and ready to learn.  I look forward to the next Tampa event — see you there!