TEDxHouston 2011

This weekend has been a frantic and fantastic one for me and many others in Houston. Saturday was the long anticipated, long toiled over TEDxHouston 2011 – the 2nd annual.

Organized by the fabulous Culture Pilot team and a host of collaborators, sponsors, and volunteers, TEDxHouston is Houston’s independent branch of the TED (technology, entertainment, design) talks – the renowned conferences that have educated and inspired thousands since 1984. The line-up of speakers and performers we had was golden – my personal favorites being Constance Adams of the space program and the Havikoro dancers. Although I wasn’t able to catch many of the speeches – being a little busy running around and tweeting it up – I was so thrilled with the quality of people we were able to round up for the event.

Mainly, I just want to say how grateful I am to have been able to work with such an amazing group of people. This was my first experience being on the inside of such a huge, meaningful event, and it was so inspiring and educational to watch how all the pieces fit together. Javier, Tim, and Kara – you all are troopers and some of the most kind, talented people I’ve met, and I’m so happy for the chance to work with you. From the first TEDx meeting to the balloon drop, you guys were %100 in, working like crazy. To learn from and emulate you is an honor.

Tim and Norma Thomson, seeing you in action as Hot Pixel Action was great. You both have the tendency to go far above and beyond what’s expected of you, and that makes you invaluable workers and precious friends. The amount of heart you put into all that you do is amazing. Thank you for being my surrogate parents and for tolerating a little bit of, uhh, shenanigans on my part.

Sarah, Candace, and Daniel – you guys are on the same trajectory as I, and it’s awesome to have such great company in the land of hard-working, too-ambitious-for-their-own-good freelancers/multi-taskers. Believe me, you’re all a part of the New World Order – and I am not complaining about that.

To all the volunteers involved: thank you. All the planning in the world could not have created the event that was possible with your hard work. It never ceases to amaze me how many driven Houstonians there are, always ready to throw their shoulder to the wheel and get things done for a good cause. You guys are what makes this city great.

In the end, the most rewarding part of TEDxHouston was seeing the faces of all of these people as we all walked on stage to be applauded. The exhaustion, relief, and happiness in every smile was enough to fuel me until next year, when I hope to be able to do it all over again.

I’ll see you there.