DrupalCampPDX 2009 Planning Meeting

So I brought up DrupalCampPDX 2009 at last night's DUG and there was much interest as well as interest in helping to make it happen. However it was pointed out that there had been a lot of interest at prior meetings and yet nothing had come of it, so the suggestion was that we simply set a time for those of us interested in making this happen to meet, and just meet. So a few of us agreed that about two weeks time sounded good, and here it is. I'm setting the meeting at the same pub where we met regularly for DrupalCampPDX 2008, namely Rogue Distillery & Public House (Map here).

What is a DrupalCamp?
We have a lot of new members who have never been to a DrupalCamp before. It's a simple conference that we (the members of this group) run for ourselves and it is loosely based on the BarCamp model, although last year we did more pre-planning because we had limited space and and more focussed conference and this made it a much better conference. It's worth checking out last year's website to get an idea of what to expect. You can see who the presenters were or try what sessions were on offer and finally, a more readable view of how the day went.

It makes for an amazing day (or two) and is a big part of the giving/pay it forward community we are a part of. We all learn and grow and it grows the group, the local Drupal community and the Drupal community at large. Everyone wins. You can't beat that ;).

Who should attend?
You! Well, anyone willing to help make it happen. DrupalCampPDX can only happen if we get enough volunteers to run it, and later on enough volunteers to be on panels/make presentations. We need help setting up program, finding a venue, organizing sponsorships, planning food, setting up the web page, planning, admin, etc. Anyone who wants to help will certainly find something to do. So if you are willing to offer some of your time, maybe even take on specific responsibilities, then please join us.

What Will We Discuss?
Everything. We really just want to get the process started. We will need a bigger venue than last year, or will need to cap size again, so we'll discuss venue options. We'll discuss our goals (A one day event? Or two? Free food again? Where to get sponsorships. How many tracks of program? How much unconference vs. planned? Will we cater for Drupal 101? How much advanced programming? How many people do we want to attract? Etc, etc, etc.) and we'll discuss specific interests the volunteers have and what responsibilities they'd be willing to take on, as well as what areas we think we need to cover.

This will be the first conversation and will hopefully be the pebble that gets the avalanche started. Here's hoping to see a bunch of you there.