Hi Ken, Everyone who has not put on a conference thinks putting on a conference is easy, and that there are so many ways to do it cheaper at their favorite location. I debate this several times a year and the answer is still the same. East coasters say the east coast is better. West coasters think their side of the country is the cheapest. Those in Florida believe the south is the best. Fans of Vegas believe everyone wants to go to Vegas (not true). There is no satisfying everyone, and I am okay with this.
I also will respectfully disagree with you about Vegas costs. I was in Vegas and stayed at the Mandalay Bay a couple of years ago. Maybe the hotel room is a little less expensive, but there are so many more factors in overall cost. It was not cheaper overall. Coincidentally, I recently checked airfare and the trip from Detroit on Delta (main carrier here) was within $20 (+/- 5%). While I have not checked recent costing on the conference center, I have talked with others who have done conferences in Vegas and it was not any different. They are all very expensive. I have also researched several other geographic locations around the country and we have a great deal. Plus we already have established terrific relationships with the staff, which pays us big dividends with respect to time (which I don't have a way to purchase more). Additionally, it takes a minimum of 70-80 hours to do the research, contacting several hotels and the visitor bureau, and visit the facilities, review the contract terms, check into average airfares, figure out transportation between airport and hotel, find decent opportunities for dinner nearby, and probably a dozen other factors. I've done it twice already and spent another week visiting sites in Texas and New Orleans. It is exhausting. We ask people about location every year. It does not matter and has no impact on the majority of those who respond. They come for the conference, not the location. I could hold this conference anywhere in the USA or Canada and the people who find value in the content and the networking will be there. I happen to think Arizona is a fine place for a software developer to visit in October. Phoenix is only a five hour drive from Vegas too. So do your Vegas thing, then take a break and visit the last remaining conference in North America that has terrific sessions on Visual FoxPro, and return to Vegas if you like the atmosphere. I'll be here waiting to process your registration...<g> Rick White Light Computing, Inc. www.whitelightcomputing.com www.swfox.net www.rickschummer.com -----Original Message----- From: ProfoxTech [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ken McGinnis Sent: Monday, June 01, 2015 04:40 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Southwest Fox 2015: Registration Opens You could have this conference in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay or MGM Grand hotel for much less than you are paying. The airline transportation from anywhere in the world is much cheaper. Also, I could attend and you would probably attract many other people who would go just to visit Las Vegas. On 6/1/2015 10:49 AM, Rick Schummer wrote: > We’ve opened registration for the Southwest Fox/Xbase++ 2015 conferences. > Super-Saver Registration, which saves you $125, is available only through > June 30th, so don’t wait. > > As we’ve explained before, putting on a conference is a risky endeavor. > Conference centers require a guaranteed minimum income to block the dates of > a conference; for a conference like Southwest Fox and Southwest Xbase++, that > minimum is in the tens of thousands of dollars. We have to confirm our > commitment to the conference center by July 2nd and need your support by July > 1st to make that commitment. > > In addition, as we recently said, if Southwest Fox Super-Saver registration > is strong enough, we’ll add some speakers and topics. > > Here is what you can expect from Southwest Fox and Southwest Xbase++: > > - Two simultaneous conferences for the price of one. > - Terrific selection of sessions from great presenters. > - A total of 25 regular conference topics between the two conferences, 5 > pre-conference sessions to choose from, and a keynote to pack your days with > learning opportunities and inspiration. > - White papers from every session (mandated by the organizers) so you can > read about sessions you can’t fit into your schedule, or review material you > saw at the conference when you return home. > - Lunch Thursday if you register for two pre-conference sessions. (You > can also purchase lunch Thursday at our cost.) > - Lunch Friday and Saturday for all attendees. > - Dinner Friday night. > - A free pre-conference session if you register by June 30th. > > So please register soon, and encourage every Visual FoxPro and Xbase++ > developer you know to register, too. > > Registration: https://geekgatherings.com/Registration > Speakers: http://swfox.net/speakers.aspx Southwest Fox sessions: > http://swfox.net/sessionsswfox.aspx > Southwest Xbase++ sessions: http://swfox.net/sessionsswxbase.aspx > Questions: [email protected] > Get added to our email list: [email protected] > > Rick > White Light Computing, Inc. > > www.whitelightcomputing.com > www.swfox.net > www.rickschummer.com > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious. Report [OT] Abuse: http://leafe.com/reportAbuse/[email protected] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
