This blog is written by one of 15 individuals attending the South By Southwest Conference in Austin with the intention to bring back ideas and to reimagine Richland County.
On a plane to Austin and South by Southwest Interactive. It’s wheels up, and this #SXSW419 thing is happening.
Starting Saturday, you’ll hear a lot from all of us as we immerse ourselves in the festival of ideas that is SXSW. But before we get there, I thought it might make sense for you to know a little about how we got here.
This idea, this trip, and this group have been almost exactly 11 months in the making. I had just returned from my fourth SXSW and, as usual, I was dealing with a nagging feeling that our small group of three had left 95 percent of what we could’ve learned on the table because the festival is so massive. It’s impossible to even get close to seeing everything, even if you narrow your focus incredibly well. You just shrug your shoulders and accept that missing out is part of the experience.
But there were so many people who could’ve benefited, and in turn put their inspiration to work in Mansfield, if only they were there. So I started with an email exchange between myself and Richland Area Chamber of Commerce President Jodie Perry. That turned into a meeting with Annamarie Fernyak, founder of Mind Body Align. We ended up with several questions: “What if somehow we sent a bunch of people to SXSW? What might happen? How could it be organized for the maximum benefit of Mansfield?”
There were lots of others, too. But that’s how it started. There are literally dozens of people now involved in what is showing itself to be a thoughtful and genuinely different way to approach community development.
So before we land in Austin, let’s thank a few people who have placed bets on this project and the people involved.
-Thanks to Carl Fernyak for the first four years of SXSW, and Dave Baldwin for the crazy ideas.
-Thanks to Jodie for reading my email and teaming up on this.
-Thanks to Brady Groves of the Richland County Foundation for listening to our pitch and instinctively understanding the vision.
-Thanks to Gog Meisse, who has seen more strategic plans than he cares to admit and was an immediate and forceful ally.
-Thanks to the board at the Foundation for unanimously approving the funding.
-Thanks to Allie Watson and Nikki Lewis for their seamless organization.
-Thanks to the 14 folks who committed the next year of their lives to the place they call home.
-Thanks to the 26 advisors who will help us shape our ideas into a cohesive plan.
-And a special thanks to our families and co-workers who are picking up slack while we’re gone.
Almost ready to land. Big week coming up. Excited for what we’ll learn and bring back to help move Downtown Mansfield forward. Talk to you soon.
Follow us at #SXSW419. And check out other blogs at richlandsource.com/rising_from_rust/sxsw.
