The partner-focused part of Summit runs from Sunday, July 10th through Tuesday, July 12th.  Beginning on the afternoon of the 12th and running through Friday, July 15th, the conference switches gears and becomes completely focused on customers.  The best part of this arrangement is that Sage and partners (like us) will jointly welcome and host the customers.

It provides a fantastic opportunity for you to not only spend time with Sage executives and educators but to work one-on-one with your Sage partner to improve your knowledge of Sage products and to hone your project management skills to make you an invaluable team member for your company.

Here is a guide to all of the General and Breakout sessions along with prices for attending the conference.  Summit is being held in the Washington, DC area at the Gaylord National.

It’s a great location for bringing the family along as well.  All 3 of us are going this year, which I’m definitely looking forward to.  There is a Metro station close by and a water taxi that runs the Potomac from National Harbor to Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon.

I’ll see all of you there!

What also caught my attention are the markings on each and every one of the brownstone bricks.  Since there obviously were no electronic time keeping systems in the 19th century, the stone masons kept track of their time on an honor system.  For each day of work they completed, they would imprint one star into a brick.  The church elders were confident that none of the workers would cheat on their time because they were working on a church.  Who would dare to pull a scam on God, right?

Unfortuntely technology projects are not churches.  Time sheets and billing by the hour are fertile territory for cheating.  Rarely are time sheets accurate which means that you rarely receive an accurate bill from a consultant who bills by the hour.  In almost every situation, a consultant is compensated based on the number of billable hours she or he generates.  Where does that put you if you are their customer?  In a very unholy position!

How do you avoid being in this predicament?  Insist on an up-front, fixed price for every project before you move forward.  The consultant should be focused on your desired results and should not care how long it takes to accomplish those goals.

Winyah Bay is formed by the confluence of the Waccamaw, Black, Great Pee Dee and Sampit rivers.  It provides access to the Atlantic Ocean and was a favorite hiding spot for Blackbeard.  It’s also part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which runs from Norfolk, VA to Key West, FL.

As we headed out of Georgetown Harbor aboard the Carolina Rover, we were introduced to Captain John and First Mate Ed.  Ed also served as our tour guide and local historian.  The history lessons were especially important since the Georgetown area has a long and interesting past.  Many historians believe that the first settlement in North America by Europeans was in Winyah Bay in 1526.  When the Marquis de Lafayette landed in Georgetown in 1776, he described it as DeBordieu which loosely translates to a place so beautiful that it must be the border of God’s country.  During the Civil War it hosted a Confederate fort and was the scene of the Confederate sinking of the USS Harvest Moon.  The Union ship’s smoke stack is still visible.

We found several perfect whelk shells and a horseshoe crab tail on the North Island.  The North Island is a totally undeveloped island which still supports wild pigs, bears and Carolina panthers.  It is part of the Tom Yawkey (former owner of the Boston Red Sox) Wildlife Center.  My daughter and I had a blast looking for and finding some incredible shells along the jetty.

On our return trip we passed the Georgetown Lighthouse.  It’s been operational since 1801 although it is no longer manned and has been completely automated.  It continues to serve marine traffic in the bay.  We were not allowed to go inside of it due to security concerns resulting from 9/11.  It has also survived many hurricanes over the years including Hugo in 1989.  The water was as high as the lowest window on the lighthouse after the storm.

I hung out at the stern and had a great conversation with Captain John.  It turns out that we are both from Charlotte, NC and that he now lives in the town where I grew up.  He had his captain’s license for many years but never really put it to use.  Having become a little bored with retirement, he decided to captain the Rover tours.  Other than the excitement of dealing with the occasional thunder storm, captaining the Carolina Rover is relaxing and fulfilling for him.  He also knows exactly where to find dolphins in the bay.  That really made my daughter’s day!