he mountains surrounding Palm Springs California reach to above 8,000 feet and are covered with snow in the winter months. Down in the Coachella Valley below, Palm Springs – long known as a refuge for the rich and famous – served as the venue for this year’s Applied Power Electronic Conference. While enjoying the bright, mid-70s days, many of the attendees I spoke with were happy we were here and not back in last year’s venue - snowed-in Washington DC.

The attendance for this year bears out the popularity of this location as well as signs of revival of our industry so impacted by the great recession of 2008 - 2009. Registration reached nearly 2,600 individuals – up a full 20% over last year. Over 900 people signed up for the combination of educational seminars and full conference technical sessions.

The plenary sessions were in my observation, the best attended in many years. My unofficial estimate of attendance on Monday afternoon was well over 1,000. Over 300 technical sessions were presented. The tradeshow was, as always, a lively and well-attended venue for networking and learning about the latest new products. The opening night of the tradeshow was marked by the cutting of huge cakes decorated to mark the 25th anniversary of APEC – which without a doubt is the leading technology event for the industry.

On Wednesday evening, the outdoor social event was entertained by a troop of impersonators that harkened back to the heyday of Palm Springs. Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Frank Sinatra sang their old favorites. But the real highlight of the evening was when Marilyn Monroe brought Dean Veneable (APEC’s first General Chairman) up to the stage and serenaded him to the delight of everyone there.

And now it’s on to APEC 2011. We’ll be heading back to the heart of Texas next year. So mark your calendars and plan to be there with us in Ft. Worth next March 6 – March 11.

Provided by Greg Evans, APEC 2010 Publicity Chair

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