What a day?!

I arrived at the venue by 7am…enjoying the quiet calm before the hum of people arrived to register and mingle in between coffee, biscuits and exhibition stands.

By 10am, as David Mond, Chairman of the DRF, addressed an eager room of delegates, running through what has been achieved over the past year and expressing his opinions on the future, it was inspiring to see so many people from our industry in one place – purely for the reason to work together to ensure the best possible practises are carried out within our sector, and to ensure the most ethical services are available to debtors in the UK.

I was delighted to see the conference room was full to the brim and if truth be known, we even had a waiting list of people wanting to attend, who we had to turn away, due to this year’s DRF Conference being a sell out!

From 9.30am til late evening, people all around the UK, united at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, to hear key speakers: Conservative Treasury Spokesman Greg Hands, Phil Kelly from the MoJ, Nigel Cates from the OFT, Karol Sanderson from the IS and Michelle Butler from the IPA. Debate was high as talk evolved regarding the shape of our industry and the future of the debt sector as we draw closer to 2010.

In between conference sessions, coffee breaks were buzzing as delegates networked with each other, exhibitors and even our key speakers who gave up their “lunch break” to meet with anyone who wanted to talk one on one, rather than in the open forum environment.

As the main event drew to a close, delegates were clearly keen to continue discussions of the day and so gathered at Lakota for a final networking opportunity.

By nightfall, I arrived home. Feet finally resting, head to pillow, I smiled….ready to start planning next year’s event!

So let me know your feedback here – what you thought of the event as a whole and what you’d like to see at next year’s conference!