Conferences, no matter the size all have one thing in common, they all require the same thing to run from Breakfast until Dinner for the day (or multiple days) that the event runs. That thing they need to run on is cash. The less expensive the event is to the attendee, the more the team running the event will need to make up this cash from somewhere else, usually from Sponsors.

Can an event run without sponsors? Sure. But say goodbye to coffee, snacks, sodas in the afternoon, possibly lunch. And in most places, say goodbye to the venue. These are all the things that sponsors are paying for by showing up and being there; among potentially others.

What it boils down to, is at events, especially smaller events, thank the vendors. They gave up their time and their companies cash to talk to you.

Denny

itke_be-sure-to-thank-the-sponsors

About the Author

Denny Cherry

I am a Senior SQL Server DBA at CDW with 10 years of IT experience, mostly as a software developer building web and windows based applications (VB, VB.NET, C#, C++ and a smidge of Java). I have always found database design and set based logic interesting, so 3 years ago I took the plunge and became a DBA, soon after I discovered people would tell anyone who would listen all about the SQL Server internals. I was hooked. I have not looked back since. The things I say represent my opinion and in no way represent the views or opinions of my employer or coworkers.

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