BarCamp Nashville progress report

I had no idea that way back in May, before I was hired with Emma, that I would be responsible for creating what will soon be "the" new media event of the year in Nashville. I should note that were it not for my partner in crime, Marcus Whitney, this wouldn't even be happening.

A brief background of how this has come to be...

Back in the Spring of this year, I was busy networking with Nashville media and marketing firms to try to get a grasp of the market here. I met with incredible people like Mike Sechrist and Mike Tarrolly at WKRN, some of the people behind Nashville is Talking.

Karen Stone, the president of the Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association was an incredible person to meet. She went out of her way to help me connect with the right folks in Nashville that could help lead me in the direction of full time employment.

A cold call to News Channel 5's General Manager, Debbie Turner ended up paving the road to where I am today. Debbie had no positions available at CBS, but she did introduce me to Jamie Boham of Bohan Advertising. Jamie suggested that since my strong background is really Online Marketing, that I should speak with Hannah Paramore at Paramore|Redd Online Marketing, a company that specializes in Online Marketing.

I was excited to meet with Hannah and her husband Kidd. Hannah went out of her way, above and beyond the call, to introduce me to Clint Smith at Emma. Just so I'm clear here, she actually called Clint to suggest he meet with me on a Friday afternoon. Hannah even printed out an extra copy of my resume and an article about Emma, so I could read up on the company before I met Clint.

I hurried over to Hillsboro Village shortly afterwards to chat with Clint. We hit it off instantly, but I was told there wasn't really anything with them at that time. He did suggest I meet with Emma's Director of Technology, Marcus Whitney.

Marcus and I met soon after at Fido for a coffee. To say that we also hit it off instantly is an understatement. Our caffiene-fueled geek-speak-chat ran at full speed. We quickly determined that Nashville needs an event that will bring together all of the digital communities. Straight away we began to plan BarCamp Nashville and became fast friends.

Soon after Marcus and I met, I was hired at Emma as New Media Manager/Monkey. I am more than happy in my position, working for a company who's corporate culture fits me perfectly. I am finally at home at Emma. What other company would allow me so much time to prepare for what is shaping up to be Nashville's greatest digital event ever?

Thanks Marcus, Dean, Clint and the Emma gang, the BarCamp Nashville Crew, and you for believing in BarCamp Nashville. Oh, and if you haven't already registered to attend (for free!) you better get on it sooner than later. Don't forget to sign up to speak if you want to be heard.

You can follow the BarCamp Nashville buzz online here:
http://tinyurl.com/29lhub and here: http://tinyurl.com/22br5b

Cheers,
Dave