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By Jared Hamilton on Oct 7, 2008

Looking back on day one I’ve got to give credit where its due: Mike Roscoe, President of Dealer Communications has done a great job of building these conventions, each one gets bigger and better.  The Texan Gaylord is a great location.  The guest rooms are comfortable, good restaurants and plenty of convention space.  This was by far the biggest and nicest convention hall to date.  I was very impressed with the exhibit hall.  Many new companies were present as were some familiar faces. 
The morning session covered the 101 tracks by Todd Smith. Its good stuff even for the veterans, we should never loose sight of the basics.  Then one of strongest data sources and wisest web marketers in the industry, Kevin Root took the stage.  Kevin’s message is always spot on and something that can be referred back to time and time again. The speaker’s list for the rest of the event was looking good too.  Many familiar friends were lined to speak, Dennis Colome, Rafi Hamid, Ralph Paglia, Todd Smith and Mike Dececco are just a few that I always recommend. They have great experience, are entertaining to watch and nail relevant topics. Many new faces also looked promising to check out, certainly there will be more topics worth watching than one person alone can attend.  BTW, did you know you can purchase access to the prior convention videos and seminars?  It’s a good way to catch on what you may have missed.

To cap the end of a great day one I headed out with the guys from Dealersocket to this SWEET Texas BBQ joint! Yea!!  We ate until we were FAT… then we went and got some “Texas style homemade ice cream.”  Ahh yes, Texas is a great place!
For all those not attending, you’re missing out.  I had to jump on a plane to be present for an announcement at the JD Powers event so unfortunately I can’t do the updates for day 2 or 3.  No worries though, we have plenty of community members on the ground who will keep us posted!
 

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