Woodworking in America 2008 Conference, Berea, KY

Last week I got to attend the "first" annual (I hope) "Woodworking in America" Conference sponsored by Popular Woodworking Magazine and held in Berea, KY.  Click on the image below to see the conference website and details.

WIA

Probably, many of you were there, or have already read a lot about the show, so I will not go into any great detail other than to say it was "FANTASTIC".   If you can go next year.  DO IT!

The presenters, vendors and the attendees were some of the nicest people that you will meet, and it was a rare occasion to spend time with people that are even crazier about this stuff than I am.  A veritable army (or maybe  feeding frenzy) of hand tool nuts.

Someone mentioned that the conference organizers might be considering doing either a bigger show next year, or several around the country.  My vote would be for them to do several smaller shows (no bigger than this year and charge more if they need to) around the country, if those are the two options.  One of the best things about the conference was that it was a manageable size and attendees got to interact personally with many of the presenters and vendors.  A larger show would make that harder.   Also, the hands-on sessions (that everyone wanted) were hard enough to get into as it was.

I know that the organizers need to balance this with the economics of the conference, and I will likely attend again either way.  But I like the conference smaller and am willing to pay a higher entrance fee for it.

It was great to meet many of you last week in person and I hope to see you at the show again next year!
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About mattsanf

Matthew Sanfilippo is currently Executive Director of PSII (Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator) and the CenSCIR (Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure), Associate Director of ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Prior to CMU, Matthew was Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, a large engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed a technology consulting division for Baker including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality (VR), visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services. Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on Information Security, Supply Chain, Network and Mobility Solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies after investment. Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, a Boston-based engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up division that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics. Matt is current board member and past Chairman of the Board for the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania, a board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), and a former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also a former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.

Posted on November 20, 2008, in Woodworking. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.

  1. I’m envious. I wanted to go, but my vacation was all spoken for :(

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