SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – Coffee

I like to say that the goal for any event is to meet the expectations of attendees. The trick is to set the expectations because if you don’t, they will set their own! That’s the case with coffee. It’s not required to have coffee, but if you’re not providing that best to message it loud […]

SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – SpeedPASS

This year for the first time in a long time we pre-printed the SpeedPASS for all attendees and we did it on perforated paper. This was really all about logistics, it’s a pain to have to provide a printer, paper, scisssors, and someone to staff the table for what feels like the penalty line of […]

SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – Post Event Speaker Survey

One of the follow up items I have from the event was to poll speakers on what hotel they used (see my previous post). In jotting down some notes about other possible questions it occurred to me that this is such a missed opportunity for PASS. You’ve got speakers who go to a lot of […]

SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – Designated Hotel

Almost every year we select an “official” hotel for the event. For those coming in who don’t know the area it’s a way to avoid figuring out what is a good hotel in a convenient place and it’s a chance for speakers to hang out with other speakers outside of the event and related parties. […]

SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – 45 Minute Sessions

Earlier this Brent ran a poll about the preferred session length and more than 50% liked the idea of 45 minute sessions. Interesting, the idea of trying to fit more into a single day without making it longer, so I put it on the list. For SQLSaturday Orlando this year (2019) we set the morning […]

SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – Speaker Gifts & Bags

I like to give speakers something to say thank you beyond the standard speaker shirt. It doesn’t have to be big, fancy, or expensive. I’ve always appreciated a hand written thank you card. Here in Orlando we’ve given speakers business card holders, a very nice $25 coffee cup, beach towels, chef hats, and a lot […]

SQLSaturday Orlando Notes – Speaker Shirts

I’ve always considered it important to offer a shirt to a speaker – part thank you, part making it easier for attendees to identify them as key volunteers. Does the kind of shirt matter? For some it does, they only want a polo or other ‘work class’ shirt. Or maybe they won’t wear those! Not […]