@Leslie L Meneus, I forgot to mention the "in-between" conferences.  

I'll let others chime in on their experiences, but from a motivational perspective, I think attending live events and getting the "conference high" is something that only happens through in-person connections and being in the same room with investors who are eagerly pursuing their real estate/financial goals. 

A contact of mine has been thriving with STR investments in suburban Chicago, targeting guests visiting for conferences.

Network in person, see if they have a publication where you can post your deals and what you are looking for, and if there is a larger annual conference for investors locally consider getting a vendor table to talk about your business and what you are looking for.

He runs the Boutique Hotel Conference and puts out a lot of content on hotels.

I spoke to a few other brokers at the BP conference in Cancun about the same thing and they agreed. 

Maybe you want to attend real estate conferences or join more real estate groups to expand your network.

In doing this, I've signed up for some free conference calls and webinars.

Did you all ever connect via conference call to discuss? 

Experienced syndication sponsors are considered experts in the real estate field and are often invited to various investment conferences to speak in keynote presentations and on expert panels.