After arriving at the hotel from the Dallas airport, I walked around the conference area that will be dedicated to Future Connect over the next few days. It was of course relatively empty because the event doesn't start until tomorrow, but a few things quickly became clear. First, a lot of resources have been made available to attendees in the form of handouts and other materials. The conference book is very user friendly because it provides space for notes and exercises for each session. Second, many companies have taken this event quite seriously. For instance, Kroger Co. sent about 150 associates and set up a dedicated welcome area for its team. Third, it's nice to have this opportunity to reconnect with industry members, who were gradually flowing into the conference hotels as the day progressed.