I was a lender for over 40 years and have been a member of SFNet for most of that time.   I have attended many conferences over the years.  I especially enjoy the SFNet Annual Convention.   A different city every year, an opportunity to catch up with all the people I know in the industry, but haven’t seen in a while, and an opportunity to meet lots of new people that I didn’t know or only knew by telephone or e-mail.   When I was a lender, our syndications group would arrange a lot of meetings with existing and potential new partners and very often was able to pitch new deals.   This was a time to solidify relationships, expand your professional and personal network and maybe get some business done.  For years, I never came home from the convention without at least one new potential deal to review.   And, of course, there were always exceptional keynote speakers and terrific panels to attend as well.