I had always heard good things about the St. Louis Days of .NET http://stldodn.com/2014, but this year was the first chance I had to attend. It did not disappoint. I didn't hear the final count, but the hallways at the Ameristar Casino Conference Center in St. Charles, MO were packed for this event.

A commitment in Houston caused me to miss the half-day workshops held on Thursday; but I arrived in St. Charles late Friday and I had a chance to mingle with many of the speakers after dinner. I liked the fact that the event drew from areas where I had a lot of contacts (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan) but also from parts of the country where I don't travel as often (e.g., Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska). Any chance I have to expand my network of smart people is a good thing.

Most speakers were from all across the Central Region but a few travelled from as far away as Philadelphia and Ottawa.

Microsoft was well-represented at the St. Louis Day of .NET. From DX (the division where I work), Bill Fink, Jennifer Marsman, Donovan Brown, Kevin Remde, Randy Pagels, and I all spoke at the conference. Jeff Fatic and Matt Winkler of Microsoft also delivered presentations.

I attended sessions on JavaScript, Azure, and Design and I learned something in every session. I also had a long conversation about Azure Notification Hubs with Azhar Salahuddin and Charlie Chapman. I have used Notification Hubs indirectly through Azure Mobile Services, but they showed me how they work under the hood and how to work directly with notification hubs

I also spent some time with Angela Dugan of Polaris Solutions picking her brain about how organizations can become more agile and with Charlie Chapman and Gus Emery talking about universal apps.

I learned a lot at the St. Louis Days of .NET and I also got a chance to get to know the communities in the western Midwest a little bit better.

The organizers were already planning to reprise St. Louis Days of .NET in 2015. I recommend you check it out.