I agree with much of what has already been said. There were several really great speakers and the turn out seemed quite strong. However the location logistics were really very tough; I ended up missing ECCO on Friday and most of the party at Smart Design on Saturday because I was at the mercy of NJ Transit for those trips.
I would add one other thing: the portfolio review. It seemed very short and very chaotic. At other conferences (Boston 09, Charlotte 10) the format was more formal and there was more than a single hour-long session. Students would get about 10 minutes with a professional at a table and other students could listen in at the same time. This session was so loud, so fast, and so chaotic that the people I spoke with claimed they didn’t actually get much out of it. It didn’t really help that there was a networking event going on at the same time that seemed to pull many professionals away from looking at portfolios. The food, the parties, the giveaways, the speakers…those are all great, but the real meat and potatoes for students attending the district conferences is the face time and interaction with professionals. Especially the review time.