All I can say is WOW!
The response we got from the attendees of SOBCon ’07 was overwhelming. If you couldn’t make it all I can say is that you missed out.
Everything from the hotel, to the food, to the speakers, to the conversation and the atmosphere created by all the wonderful folks who were there was awesome! Liz, Terry, Mike, Lisa and I gave it our all and we were so pleased with how wonderfully well everyone worked together to pull it off so successfully.
Right now I’m sitting in Smith Bros. Coffee House on Port Washington, WI (which will be my office this week) overlooking Lake Michigan. They’re brand new and don’t have a web site yet. Maybe they should start blogging…
I hesitate to give shout-outs because I know I will miss some folks in my recovery from my total sleep deprived state. But there are some folks who helped me and Gorgeous out in particular that I want to mention and say thank you.
Lorelle VanFossen – Oh my gosh! In addition to debuting her book, she dove in and just started helping. Whether it was out at the front desk, or grabbing a microphone to help the Q&A folks be heard you were tremendously helpful. Trying to keep up with your energy level would be exhausting!
Easton Ellsworth – Thanks for your help behind the scenes assisting Gorgeous in all that stuff y’all took care of. With all that we had going on in our lives leading up to the event, your assistance was invaluable.
Joe Hauckes – Thanks for being so totally willing to help in any capacity we needed. From helping out with our Open Mike Night Live to some of the more mundane tasks that you took care of for us, Gorgeous and I really appreciate you.
Sean Rox – There nothing quite like having a presentation computer get hit with a virus and start acting squirrelly – during a presentation! Fortunately I’m a firm believer in back-ups so it was not a big deal to switch out machines and keep things flowing. Thanks Sean for using your tremendous geek skills to clean up my mess. Whew!
Gorgeous and I (and Liz and Terry and Mike) would also like to thank all of our sponsors for their willingness to sponsor a first time event like SOBCon ‘07. Without you folks the event wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as it was.
And finally, thanks to all of you who attended the event. Without y’all, your wonderful attitudes, and your willingness to participate and generously share what you know about blogging with the rest of us, this whole thing would have been a ho-hum experience. Instead each of you contributed and made it incredibly powerful for all of us there. A classic example where the total is far greater than the sum of the parts.
We are already looking forward to our next conference!
Hey Chris. Glad I was able to help you get your machine back in order. It’s always good to have a geek like me on hand at any conference
Like you, I’m decompressing from the weekend but will be posting more pictures over the next couple of days.
As a last bit of excitement to end the weekend, we had smoke in the cockpit on my flight home last night… yay 2 hour delay and a lots of stinky smells in the cabin area… bottom line, I’m glad to be home
Hey Chris,
Like Sean said, I was glad to help out (in a small way).
I had way too much fun and hope I didn’t embarrass myself or anyone else.
Oh, BTW did you stick your toe in the Lake for me?
I second that “Wow!”
It was amazing, and you guys really made it rock.
Chris,
Congratulations to you and all who arranged and participated. It looks and sounds (reads?) like it was a great success.
Now I’m looking forward to the ripples coming to all of us who were interested and could not go.
Sean – Oooh! Fires in flight are NOT fun. That was one emergency that would have me reaching for the ejection handle back in my Navy days! thanks again!
Joe, I told Lisa this morning as she was bringing me down to the coffee shop that I was going to have to dip my toe in the lake to keep my promise to you. Haven’t done it yet but it is supposed to get into the upper 80’s here before the day is out so I promise I will. Thanks again, Joe. I sure wasn’t embarrassed!
I strongly second all your shout outs Chris, and to you and Lisa, the best thing I can say is that “we’re family now”. It has been and will continue to be a joy and pleasure to work and collaborate with the both of you. I’m already counting the days until SOBCOn08! All the very best.
I’ll echo your WOW and Thanks to those mentioned – but also to two fantastic, selfless, giving people who share the last name of Cree. Thank YOUs for your hard work.
Terry – Likewise. And you are an MC extrodinaire! (I’m just glad we couldn’t come up with any Village People – overseeing the tech stuff does have its perks!)
Mike – I’m not sure who was huggier, you or Phil. Either way I know I got my quota for quite some time. Thanks!
Wow is right, Chris. I left overwhelmed — happily so — and am still digesting. Thanks for all you and Lisa did; I feel lucky to have met you both.
Happy to help. I’m sure, Chris, that you could get a small army of sorts mobilized to do pretty much anything at the drop of a hat. Wield that power carefully!
Wow! Thanks to you and especially to Gorgeous (she really is, isn’t she). What an amazing 24 hours.
Kent
Wow! to Chris, Lisa, Terry, Mike, the sponsors and all who helped out. It was just as you said . . . amazing and wonderful!
Terry’s right. We’re family now.
Tammy – The honor was all ours. Finding the sweet spot of providing top notch info and an environment conducive to so many beautiful smiles like yours is what we were aiming for.
Easton – There are times when leading means getting out of the way of the folks like you who are helping so much!
Kent – I totally married up, didn’t I?
Liz – You literally gave all you had for this one. Thanks so much. But please rest up for a couple days so you are good to go this weekend.
I echo everyone’s thanks to both you and Lisa.
You said to me at one point, “I married up, didn’t I?” Lisa’s a pretty amazing woman and I would normally say ‘yes.’ But when I consider how warm and giving her husband is, I’d have to say you both married on par.
Everyone worked hard on the event (THANKS TO EVERYONE) and one thing that was constantly evident was how much you took on. Thanks so much.
Great meeting you (and Lisa). I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other again.
PS, I’d ask you to tell Lisa thank you from me, except I know she’ll read this herself…so thanks Lisa.
Dawud, Thanks for your kind words. I’ll pass the message on to Gorgeous as she’s a little discombobulated until we get back home to Savannah next week. Spending time getting to know you a little better was one of the highlights of our weekend.
You and Lisa made the conference an amazing success. It was brilliant, wasn’t it. I still am trying to figure it out and process. I met a web tech consultant at the airport and after I got done trying to explain the conference, I looked at him and said, “I make this sound like a kibbutz conference, don’t I?” He just laughed and nodded. Oye vey, let’s all hold hands and sing together… but in truth, it was absolutely amazing and you two were the glue that made it come together. Thank you, thank you!
What’s that saying, Lorelle? There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM.
Together Each Achieves More
We couldn’t have done what we did without everyone else doing what y’all did.
That was a great conference, thanks. SOBCon rules!