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You had to be there. It wasn’t our biggest conference, it wasn’t our most extravagant—but it was our best.

We kicked off “the Scene” on Friday night with some real fun and entertainment: the Pitchapalooza. Everyone who wanted to pitch got a chance, and the entire panel of industry professionals was amazed at our small group’s talent and enthusiasm.

On Saturday, with eight solid speakers (all of whom were fantastic) and fifteen speaker sessions, it meant for a full day with lots of choices. Members and guests were appreciative, saying things like “the best conference ever” and “something for everyone”. The speakers were professional, patient, gracious and impressed with both the conference and our attendees. The Hyatt Hotel staff was courteous and helpful, and the KWA board and helpers were on their toes and proactive in order to ensure this conference was a shining success—one that will go down in what is sure to be a long history of wonderful conferences.

William Bernhardt’s Keynote punctuated the 2012 Scene Conference. About halfway through, when he said, “I should stop here…,” he certainly could have. He’d given us an excellent Keynote, one of the best I’d heard—and I’ve heard many. But he went on. What started as a touching autobiography of Bill, became an autobiography for us all—all writers. Incredibly motivational and inspiring, it left me with a deep feeling of importance and responsibility, but also so choked up I couldn’t talk. As I looked out into the audience of teary eyes, “Wow!” was the most I could utter while getting a grip on myself in order to wrap up this extraordinary event.

Bill’s keynote speech could not have been a more perfect way to end the weekend, a truly indescribable, nearly overwhelming one. The punctuation at the end of this story—this fantastic conference—is not a period or a question mark. It’s one that writers are told to use super sparingly: “!” Wow!   http://www.kwawriters.org