I presented at SQLSaturday #48 this weekend. It was a great event, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. K. Brian Kelley and the other organizers put on a great event. This was the first SQLSaturday that I’ve been to in a while where I had the time and flexibility to attend several of the sessions. I particularly enjoyed Andy Warren’s presentation on personal development plans. It’s definitely something I need to spend more time on. Andrew Kelly’s presentation on storage and IO was good as well – I’ve seen it before, but I pick up something new every time.
From an attendee perspective, the event was very good. There were plenty of great sessions to choose from. The location (Midlands College) was also nice, with plenty of room, and a nice setup for both attending sessions and networking. The lunch room was a little crowded, but it wasn’t a problem – several of us just grabbed some space on the floor.
Looking at it from a speaker’s standpoint, it was well organized. The directions to various classrooms were clear, with schedules on the doors. The room proctors were very effective and helpful. I missed the speaker dinner, but I heard it was good. The only negative that I noticed is that some sessions were pretty lightly attended. I think this was mostly a factor of the number of simultaneous sessions spreading the attendees a little thin. It wasn’t a big deal, though – most of the speakers are happy to speak to small or large crowds.
Overall, definitely a good event, and I’ll be looking forward to the next one.