How was Austin?

By Michael Pearsall, P.Eng., CVS, CVM, FICE, FEC – Director of Conferences, SAVE International

Well howdy all y’all! Thank you to all those who attended and contributed to the 2018 Value Summit in Austin, TX. I certainly had a great time and hope you all did as well.

I enjoyed embracing my Texas side for a few days. I always say that one of the most important functions of attending the Value Summit is networking with peers and this year didn’t disappoint. I am happy to have made some new friends and reconnected with many old ones.

There were many presentations I truly enjoyed and would like to listen to again. As always, there are a couple that stick out and I am hoping that we hear more from those authors – possible in another part of Value World.

I personally tried to get through the list of all the top things to do in Austin in the limited free time I had available. The State Capitol tour was convenient and well worth the time, plus good value for money to boot. I was happy to discover all the food trucks and interesting places on Rainey Street, and had some good meals at various places in the area. While I completed many of the activities, I didn’t get the top recommended one of a visit to Barton Spring Pool accomplished and only managed a drive-by view of the site. Being Canadian, I have had plenty of opportunities in my life to swim in 68 degree Fahrenheit water, but still I hate to leave a list unfinished so I will just have to return to Austin another time.

I big “thank you” shout out to Dave Wilson for helping me get a taste of Franklin BBQ! I can certainly understand why people line up for four hours to get some. That is food where the function is in the flavor and taste, not just satisfying hunger.

If you haven’t done so yet, please fill out your 2018 Value Summit evaluation forms and send them back to the SAVE International business office. Feedback is very important to us!

I am very pleased to see the nice range of sponsors who stepped up to support this year’s event. Sponsorship is very important; without it, we could not have had the quality event we had at a reasonable cost. Please take a look again at our 2018 sponsors and thank them personally if you get the chance.

I would like to personally recognize the small but dedicated 2018 Summit planning committee again for their help planning a great event. Volunteers have already stepped forward for the 2019 Value Summit planning committee and we have scheduled our first meeting.

I’m not sure what my look will be for Portland yet, but I know with the help of the SAVE Cascadia Chapter we will have another memorable Summit.

Please plan on being in Portland, Oregon from June 8-11, 2019 for the 2019 Value Summit.