It’s been 10 years since Houston hosted a WordCamp but we are back and we are back with a vengeance!
John Peterson, Adam Shed, Rick Ankrum, and I worked hard to build the WordPress community. Each was dedicated and made sure we had regular monthly meetings with local speakers these past 3-5 years. As it grew from one location to two and now three, it’s been a delight to watch new WordPress enthusiasts gather and help each other.
It’s been a slow growth but the Houston community came together and excitedly agreed to begin planning last January 2019 with the hopes of a Spring 2020 WordCamp.
Yes, I know, we were told we were planning too early but Houston is a big city and we hadn’t hosted one in so long. We needed time to get our bearings. I am glad we did.
We spent a lot of time hunting for a venue and surprisingly found it very difficult to find the perfect place that could accommodate our needs and budget. I think since we are new, venue managers and higher-education directors were not familiar with our mission. So after talking with the WordCamp Foundation, we found that we could host it at a hotel and found the Hilton NASA in Clear Lake perfect and within our Houston borders!
After that decision, a signed contract, and an approved budget, we were off!
Having the Hilton NASA be our home base, it became clear how we should brand the Houston WordCamp. We decided on the rocket and astronaut theme to coincide with Houston’s ‘blast off’ into WordCamp. The logo and a Wapuu (designed by my company, GlobalSpex) followed and we started to build the website.
Where We Are Now
Houston WordCamp will be held in the Clear Lake area down the road from Space Center Houston (see map). This location is close to Hobby Airport and if you plan to bring your family, there will be things for them to do while you enjoy WordCamp. You’ll be near The Space Center, Kemah Boardwalk, and Galveston Beach. All are within a short driving distance.
The hotel is also close to the water and Houston during May makes for nice weather. There are plenty of restaurants and shopping as well.
We are lucky to have Adam Silver as our mentor and Heather Baker was eager to join after her recent move to Houston. Heather has become very instrumental in the planning since she was very much involved in WordCamp Atlanta. With both of them, we have seasoned guidance.
Our web team, Chris Hughbanks and Baljinder Singh (Mike), created the 2020 Houston WordCamp website as Joanna Bonner helps as the content editor.
Our Speaker Wrangler, Heather, has been hard at work and we’ve received over 50 speaker applications so far! Heather said, “I’m really excited about our potential lineup as we look over the submissions we’ve received. Our call for speakers doesn’t close until February 29th, so there’s plenty of time to submit a talk! I’d love to see some more content around SEO and design.”
Our Volunteer Wranglers, Omar D’Elia and Shawn Quinn, are currently working on organizing the volunteers and will open that application on March 17, 2020. Omar said, “Being a volunteer at the 2020 Houston WordCamp is exciting and full of opportunities. Volunteers are an essential part of WordCamps, and a great way to give back to the community. By signing up you’ll enjoy some great perks too. Sign up now!”
The publicity team, John Davis and Joanna Bonner, have been working hard on our publicity and are doing a bang-up job!
Mike and Alex Juchniewicz, Fundraiser Wranglers, have been reaching out to local Houston businesses for sponsorship. Sponsorship applications are open now.
Join Us At WordCamp Houston!
The following is a timeline for the calls for sponsors, speakers, and ticket on-sale timeline:
- Call for Sponsors: NOW – Space is limited, so contact us today to reserve your sponsorship.
- Call for Speakers End: February 29, 2020
- Ticket are on sale now: Buy Your Ticket Now
- Call for Volunteers: March 17, 2020
Follow the WordCamp Houston’s official social media channels for announcements.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wordcamphouston/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WordCampHouston
Email: https://2020.houston.wordcamp.org/contact/
Hola y saludos desde España:
Ya me gustaría asistir a este evento de WordPress, pero las economías de una gran parte de los españoles, o al menos la mía no está para este tipo de dispendios, así que les deseo que el evento sea muy fructífero y que aquellos que se lo puedan permitir, pues que lo disfruten.
Cordialmente
Un español del montón
You might want to think about putting the WordCamp event dates in the body of your email somewhere. I could see the dates for call for speakers and volunteers but nothing that said the actually event dates until I clicked into the link for the website. Just saying! Great job getting this together though!!