Testimonials

I've been a speaker at Southwest Fox every year since its inception in 2004. It's always been my favorite conference due to the vast knowledge I gain sitting in on the sessions of all the other speakers. It's also one of my favorites because of all the networking that goes on between everyone - organizers, speakers, vendors, and attendees. The Fox Community is a great tight-knit group of people and this conference allows us to get reacquainted with old friends and colleagues as well as make new ones. New attendees are always welcomed into "the community" and encouraged to meet as many people as possible. There is no "down time" at this conference. Even when the sessions aren't going on, there's still lots to learn! Everyone hangs out together in the hotel lobby, the hotel lounge, the bar, the pool, local restaurants, etc. Late night evenings you'll often find many at the hotel bar or the hotel pool sharing personal stories, consulting war stories, asking technical questions, and trading advice back and forth with each other. You'll even find some friendly competition in the "unofficial" go-kart race between many Fox people. You often learn just as much in the after-hours gatherings as you do in the official sessions. That's one of the major advantages to attending a conference versus reading technical literature, books, or online information.

This year I've chosen to not speak, but make no mistake, it's not because I didn't find value in the conference. Quite the contrary. In fact, even though I'm not speaking, I'm attending the conference!! My only reason for not speaking is that due to some significant life changing events (I got married), I was too busy this year to put forth the effort needed to prepare sessions. Many of you may not realize it, but the hours a speaker puts into preparing just one session is mind-boggling! Researching a new topic, preparing demos and sample apps, organizing those random thoughts and ideas into a PowerPoint presentation that makes sense and flows well, and writing a MANDATORY white paper is like having a second job! Now multiply that by two as most speakers have two different sessions. Then add the hours the speakers spend traveling to other cities to practice their sessions at user groups in an effort to flush out problems and make sure their sessions are polished for Southwest Fox! Well, as you can imagine, with all this effort the sessions at Southwest Fox are A+ and provide great value to the attendees. It always made my day to get a comment from an attendee that said, "This session paid for the conference!" As an attendee this year, I look forward to being able to say this to other speakers. And based on my past experience at this conference, I'm almost positive that I'll say it about more than one session!

Cathy Pountney
Memorial Business Systems
Grand Rapids, MI

I am so excited for this year's Southwest Fox conference because I will have an opportunity to visit with friends and colleagues that I only see once a year but more importantly because of the session lineup this year. The session list has something for everyone! This year I am particularly interested the Extending VFP topics and Technology for VFP Developers topics. I know that there is a wealth of information there that I will be able to put to use immediately upon my return. I am also excited about the Solidifying VFP Development track. I know that I will learn something from these topics but I also think that many developers who may not have taken advantage of some "newer" VFP features will be inclined to do so after attending some of the sessions because the speakers are top rate and are able to present complex topics at a level that even the newest novice can understand. I can't wait until October!

Toni Feltman
F1 Technologies
Toledo, OH

Thanks again for the inspiration of another fantastic SWFox conference. I'm hoping, yea even planning that the next year's development efforts result in 10 minutes of fame in the 2011 Show Us Your App session.

Randy Bosma

Yesterday, I encountered three (count 'em -- three!) different problems that I could not have solved last week, but know now how to solve this week, because of SWFox. Two of three used code directly as is from the sessions I attended.

Jim Nelson

It was absolutely fantastic to meet so many people whom until that day I only had digital contact. Each and every session I attended, not a single one excluded, was very well prepared and with very informative speakers.

Koen Piller
The Netherlands

I just wanted to let you know I was able to successfully leverage some code from your session that solved a problem I have tried to conquer for many years. Works great, and came at a time there was pressure to overcome this limitation in-house. Worth the price of admission!

Bob Pierce

Man, SW Fox '09 was such an exciting experience! The vibe was so positive everywhere I went. All of the speakers in the sessions that I attended were very well prepared. Southwest Fox 2009 Rocked!

Steve Ritter

Just wanted to say thanks for a wonderful SWFox2009; great job to all! I really enjoyed myself and was exposed to some great sessions and presenters. I also want to say that the grocery bags is an excellent idea.

Prentiss Berry
Pensacola, FL

I attend a lot of events each year and SWFox remains the gold standard. The facility, organization, food and social aspects are all the best I've experienced. The attendees are more experienced and ask questions that challenge me too.

Alan Stevens
Tennessee

I have to say that SWFOX '09 was the best VFP conference EVER! The sessions were all meaty. In fact, my only real complaint is that the Kokopelli app wouldn't let me schedule 2 sessions at the same time. (In other words, I would have liked to attend more sessions than was possible.)

Ken Green

What I have seen and learned during the last SWFox, last week in Mesa AZ, would have cost me months and months of R&D to achieve the same ideas and insights. Preparing to develop a new app I was looking for some new and bright ideas to make this new product (vertical marketed!) sexy, shiny and flashy. I saw and learned so much!! I could not ever have learned this in like 6 months of (unpaid!!) R&D. This makes visiting SWFox, or any DevCon for that matter, more than worthwhile! I can and will recommend every developer who takes his/her job serious to visit a DevCon, and SWFox is most definitely high on my list. See you guys and gal next year!

Boudewijn Lutgerink
The Netherlands

I just wanted to thank you for providing the VFP community with the crème de crème of Fox conferences. The combination of speakers and session topics at the Southwest Fox 2008 conference was second to none for any Fox conference that  I have ever been to and I have been going to Fox conferences since 1992. The friendliness and availability of the organizers and speakers was great! I actually spend some quality time at this conference talking to, eating with and picking the brains of the best VFP minds in the industry. The outcome of those conversations was finding solutions to two major issues we were having with our current development project and several ideas for future enhancements. This alone made the conference well worth the investment.

Also, it is apparent that Southwest Fox is taking the lead in pushing VFP to the next level and for continuing to breathe life into the soon-to-be non-Microsoft supported product. The “call to arms” sessions were real eye-openers for me and should be for the entire VFP community. It’s up to us, folks, to keep VFP rockin’-n-rollin’. Everyone needs to get involved!

And finally, kudos to the conference organizers for an event that went off with hardly a hitch. It was definitely a MVP performance from the Southwest Fox 2008 team and the resort staff! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Scott Malinowski
Product Development Manager
Premiere Educational Systems
Tempe, AZ

Everyone I talked to was excited to be there, and you could feel the energy level running throughout the conference. I got totally re-energized by this.

Rick Borup
Information Technology Associates
Champaign, IL

I just wanted to thank you all for putting on a great conference this year. I've been to either Whilfest or Southwest Fox every year since 2001 and I think this was the best conference I have attended.

Walt Krzystek
Matrix Imaging Solutions, Inc.
Sanborn, NY

Thanks so much for including Andy and me in this terrific event! It was one of the best conferences we have ever been to.

Marcia Akins
Tightline Computers, Inc.
Akron, OH

This conference worked out really well and is maybe the first Fox conference in years that didn't have that feeling of a Damocles Sword hanging over it. Most people I talked to at the conference were upbeat and excited with the stuff they saw and weren't constantly going on about the future of Fox which is good to see.

In addition the staff at the conference center was exceptional.

I also want to thank you for putting this on - it worked out awesome in combination with the Web Connection training before the conference. I had the highest turn out of any previous Web Connection training with nearly 40 attendees most of whom left highly fired up and ready for more when they headed off to SWFox.

Rick Strahl
West Wind Technologies
Maui, HI

Southwest Fox 2007 was one of the best (if not THE best) conferences I've been to! I walked away with a ton of ideas and a sense of excitement, and that hasn't happened for me at a conference in years. The speaker selection was excellent. There were so many good sessions, it was impossible to see everything I wanted. You all did a great job, and I'm looking forward to next year's conference. (By the way, we saved $1100 by buying products at the conference. These were things we needed anyway, so the conference literally paid for itself!)

Joel Leach
MBS, Inc.
Franklin, TN

2007 was my first SWFox. I highly recommend this conference to anyone interested in updating their skill-set and knowledge of VFP. This conference was on-par or better than the best Advisor conferences I have attended in the past. If you are interested in experiencing a the value and power of the Fox community in person, try this one out. You will be pleased.

Stacy Violett
Black Mountain Software
Polson, MT

Great conference! I think I learned more about Foxpro in a weekend there than I did in 6 months on my own.

Chris Wolf
Stonefield Software Inc.
Regina, SK Canada

Southwest Fox was CLEARLY organized by veteran conference attendees/speakers who knew where all the gripes are. There were no gripes. Your attention to the details that always bothered all of us showed ... All speakers were terrific. If I had to pick a standout, it would be Cathy Pountney's session on controlling printers. She rang frigging bells. It's been a long time since I sat at the end of a session thinking "WOW!" but she did it ... I don't impress easily. You guys did it.

Dan Freeman
P+W Software
Westlake Village, CA

I want to thank all of you again for putting on an awesome conference ... This was one of the best conferences I have ever attended!

Jeff Simon
Datamark Corp.
Lincolnwood, IL

Thank you for a great conference, my first one and it was worth the very long flight from Wales.

Rhian Eyres
Welsh Blood Service
Pontyclun, Wales

I also wanted to thank you for the excellent conference you had organized. It was first class all around from the quality of information to the amenities.

Mike Aleshin
Matrix Imaging Solutions, Inc.
Sanborn, NY

I really did enjoy the Southwest Fox conference. Things ran very smoothly and the accommodations and food were just fine. I'd be happy to see it held in the same place again next year. I know there's a TON of unseen "work" involved in preparing such a conference, in addition to actually "executing" it. You guys did a great job !!

Sue Cunningham
Software Gallery, LLC
Laramie, Wyoming

I thoroughly enjoyed the conference. It was informative as well as fun. I was a bit nervous about the conference. It's been about 8 years since I've done any serious FoxPro programming and I have never been to a programming conference before. I was intimidated with the possibility of being the village idiot.

What I found was a group of people who were friendly, helpful and who had a sense of camaraderie. Old friendships were renewed and everyone looked forward with a positive air towards the sessions.

As I sat in some of the beginner classes I was surprised to see many who were far beyond the material of the class. They often shared their experiences and techniques and this greatly enhanced the class material. Every so often one of them would discover one or two things in the session that they were thrilled to learn. And that apparently was the reason for their presence in the beginner classes; learning new ways to do basic everyday things.

I will definitely be there next year. Thanks for putting on a great conference.

Steven Hinaga
DataCraft, Inc.
Hawaii

I have now attended every Southwest Fox conference and I will continue to set aside October for Southwest Fox. The friendly atmosphere at Southwest Fox promotes the easy exchange of ideas and development of professional relationships. I have made many friends while there, and the practical and theoretical knowledge I have obtained I now implement routinely. Attendees should be sure to plan a vacation around their trip to Arizona to enjoy its warmth and many natural spectacles! In summary Southwest Fox is of great educational value, friendly and ideal location.

Ted Gregg
Senior Systems Analyst
WellSpan Health Biomedical Engineering
York, PA

The technical content at Southwest Fox is top-notch. At most conferences, I'm ready to start skipping sessions by the second day. At SWFox 2006, every session was a gem. I wouldn't have missed any of them. I also like the relaxed, low-key atmosphere. Unlike at other conferences, there's plenty of time to chat to other developers, meet up with old friends and make new contacts. I'll definitely come again.

Mike Lewis
www.ml-consult.co.uk

If you only go to one FoxPro conference it should be SWFox. If you are not planning on attending a FoxPro conference you should go to SWFox. It is the best value your training dollar can buy. The speakers are all top notch. The experience gained from just one session can easily pay for the cost of the conference. I have attended every SWFox conference held and found each and every one to be extremely beneficial. You can't afford to miss this opportunity to learn what is new and exciting in VFP.

Bud Wheeler
Visionpace