TechLife Columbus: To the Team behind TEDxColumbus: BRAVO!

by ruth on October 21, 2009

So, TEDxColumbus is over. At least the first one. We did it! Let me emphasize the WE part….

Eight amazing speakers and performers. A sold-out crowd of 300 at the Wexner Center. Energy, thought-provoking topics and eager listeners made for an electric evening.

First, if you missed it, visit any of the speaker’s pages for the our live-blogging comments. You can reach them through www.tedxcolumbus.com/speakersperformers.

I owe huge debt of gratitude to a number of people that helped to make this evening success:

- Of course, the speakers. WOW! That is no small feat they achieved individually and collectively last night. We hope that you will post comments on their respective pages and let them know your thoughts. Their diverse perspectives, content, presentation styles and spirits lended for what I thought was the best part of the night. An amazing array of talent all in one place, showing that knowledge is connected even if at first glance, you don’t think it is.

- Wexner Center staff – Jack Jackson got the official request in April to donate the space. They readily agreed and he participated and stuck with our process with great support and enthusiasm. From Sherri to every staffer that we worked with (EVERY ONE) were amazing. John, Bruce, Scott, Mark, Joanna, Claudia, Michelle, Jennifer, Tim, Jerry, Karen and probably others we never met!

- FOR – Friends of Ruth – Including but not limited to Bryan Huber, Dave Culbertson, Susan Weil, Jennifer Kerns, Kacey Campbell, Jennifer Lange, Alex Thompson, Brad Spencer, Dave Ungar, Paul Milligan, Andy Brush and most importantly my husband, Dave, who put up with literally 5 months of conversation, late nights and endless emails! These folks each contributed in their own way to supporting me personally through this process. I am humbled by their unconditional support.

- Kramer & Co. (aka Resource Interactive) – Had it not been for Nancy, we would have been just a mish-mash of talks trying to be TED-like. Nancy brought the true spirit of TED – the nuances in the program, aspiration for great speakers, tweaks about the flow, and countless other amazing supportive ways she found to help and truly be a co-collaborator. Her staff, Holly, Sara, Jackie, Mike and others I probably never met were amazing in their help with the program, graphics and overall planning.

- The Curatorial Volunteer Team – in addition to Jack and Nancy, we engaged Mike Curtin, Doug Kridler and Dave Ungar to help set the criteria and winnow down the nominees. This was a difficult challenge since we were looking for ideas that have or could touch the globe from compelling speakers and those who could be in town for our event. We appreciate Mike facilitating the invitation and interview with Senator Glenn, and Dave faciliating the speaker presentations and especially helping Chrystie prep for her fabulous talk.

- Our technical team at Live! Technologies was amazing, as always. I show my bias here over 20 years of working with Shawn and now Rob and their highly talented and caring team of professionals. TEDxColumbus’ videos that we’ll post online will be a result of their expertise and planning.

- We had a team of unsung heroes that helped last night – Susan Weil, Carri Jackson, Allyson Kuentz at the registration desk; Amy Sharp and Angela Condon, pro-bloggers; Holly Davis, tweeterextraordinaire; Paul Milligan and Andy Brush, my personal tech backup for all things computer and photography related (and a great off stage announcement or two).

-And speaking of Allyson. She supported me as the TEDxColumbus intern and sent out several thousand emails to applicants, inquiries, attendees, speakers, and more to facilitate the people moving aspects of this event. We did everything together and she was tenacious in being with me every step of the way. Kudos to Allyson for an amazing job!

We’ll be staying active on this site, on Twitter and Facebook to continue the dialogue and engagement in TEDxColumbus. We welcome you to join the community toward the sharing of more innovative, inspirational and memorable ideas.

Tired but inspired,

Ruth Milligan

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