TEDxRochester 2010 was on Monday and I have to admit, it ROCKED! Really, though, surprise is unwarranted. We put together a fantastic speaker lineup and the caliber of attendees we had registered was just so high.
Yeah, right. It's so easy after the fact to say you knew everything was going to go well, but had you asked me even just minutes before the first attendee walked through the door I would've told you I was ready to collapse in terror. Last year was such a great event, we had a high bar to jump. But, somehow we managed.
From the moment Alemeta Whitus started her song of welcome to bring us into the event, to Shantarra Randall's poem to close out the day, pretty much everything went according to plan. Of course, not everything, but nothing we couldn't deal with or learn from for next year.
I've been asked by a few folks to point out my favorite moment of the day, but I don't have just one. Let me share some of my faves:
- One of my close friends brought his 12-year-old son to the event, and he was a networking machine. He must've walked out of there with 40-50 business cards. If he didn't meet everyone at the conference, it wasn't for lack of trying. Good for him to learn that lesson early. None of what we've done so far at TEDxRochester could've been possible without our team members constantly networking around town.
- Moka Lantum's talk. Not just because of the content (I must confess I wouldn't mind building and living in one of his eco-domes), but because of the man himself. Apparently we'd forgotten to tell him he needed to memorize his talk. On Saturday night, he found that out and was terrified. He stepped up, though, and rocked the house with his talk. I had told him on Saturday that I wasn't worried about him, though, and my faith paid off!
- Ralph Spezio's talk, of course. Ralph was the highlight of the event for a lot of people, and the standing ovation he received was very well deserved. Ralph is an honest, genuine man who cares deeply about children and is PASSIONATE about eliminating lead poison in this country once and for all. But, like Moka, he was nervous about giving his talk. He's not used to giving presentations to such a large crowd, but he, too pulled it off. Not only that, but he did so while the roofers had begun (unauthorized) and noisy construction on the roof. He did not let it bother him and he handled it like a solid pro!
If pressed, though, I'd have to say my favorite moment was after the show was over. Gary, Amanda and I were going through the FIFTY donation envelopes we received from the attendees. We found one that had three one-dollar bills in it. Someone had looked into their wallet and taken all they had and given it to us. It meant so much to us that it meant so much to them and if you're reading this, anonymous donor, thank you.
But, thank you to all of the wonderful people who made this event a success; from the organizers and volunteers to the sponsors and attendees, everyone has been so excited about this year's event and it shows. The only problem....
....the bar is MUCH higher for next year!!
It was an awesome event, and one the 12-year old networker will not soon forget. Your (and the teams) efforts to bring together great minds and ideas will have far reaching impacts not only for the current community, but in shaping the way the future will be by instilling great ideas in kids as well. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm also ready to build a dirt dome. Kinda like Yoda's hut (so says a certain attendee).