Whew! What a ride...
Pond Boss VII was
nothing short of amazing!I feel fortunate to have found Pond Boss just days before the conference and was able to attend on short notice to not only get three days of content PACKED with value, but also to have the opportunity to meet so many of y'all.
I do want to send a special thank you to Bob, Mike, and the whole Pond Boss team for the work they put into making this happen. They did a spectacular job executing this not-to-be-missed expo. The PB staff were all so incredibly friendly and helpful... and the event ran (from the attendee perspective) as smooth as butter.
Despite this brand-new-guy drinking from a fire hose for a couple days straight, I actually learned/retained an incredible amount of valuable information that changed and enhanced my perspective/approach. I feel there could not have been a better start to my pond ownership and management journey than attending Pond Boss and getting indoctrinated into "the family". I'm feeling blessed.
For those that couldn't attend, I'm hoping some of the content will be made available for the forum. There was really SO much "good stuff" that it would be hard to get it all online. I'm probably forgetting some, but a few of my favorite bits that come to mind:
Dr Masser's and Dr Roelke's talks on aquatic plants and killer algae respectively were incredible.
Liz Edgerton's and Patrick Goodwin's talks on aeration and impact on water quality/pond health had a big impact on me.
Todd Watts sharing his journey from vision to realization of High-Wattage pond really got the dreamer firing on all cylinders! Todd, I need to figure out how to subliminally feed your slide show to my wife.
I absolutely loved Dr Boyd's presentation on water chemistry. Good stuff right there!
As a long time naturalist, I really enjoyed Dan Van Schaik's presentation on attracting wildlife and habitat decisions required to be effective... and Jim Willis talking about what his non-profit has done for soil rehabilitation was great.
Scott Tucker sharing some of the pond life from Australia was great... and Ty Kleeb's entering the mind of that monster bass and how to think like her was awesome!
Landon Wiet's talk on using natural microbes to clean your pond water was very interesting to me since one of my pillar goals is establishing a natural ecosystem and wildlife habitat in the pond. I'm going to dig into this to do some more homework.
Of course, Mike Otto and Bob Lusk were awesome. You can't help but smile when Mike is talkin'... he not only exudes experience and is genuinely authentic, but he's just a fun guy to listen to... between he and Bob presenting their own scheduled content and also covering the content for presenters that couldn't make it, they were two of my favorites of the whole event.
Bob's endearing personality and authentic sharing of stories (often parables for the pond owner) sprinkled between him presenting, keeping the schedule on track, and holding the show all together, just really shows you what kinda guy he is... so thank you, again, Bob Lusk... for a great event and for being you.
This time last week, I didn't know Pond Boss existed. In the last handful of days, I found Pond Boss, joined the forum, attended a Pond Boss conference, met a whole gaggle of folks that love ponds, lakes, and fishin', met Bob and Mike, learned a ton, and made a slew of new friends! (
oh, and signed up for a 2 year subscription to the magazine... had to say that for Bob 
)
If you missed
Pond Boss VII, don't miss the next one! You won't regret a penny or minute spent. This event was world class.
Cheers!
Clayton
