October 16-19, 2014
SanTan Elegante Conference Center
Gilbert, AZ
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!