Stephanie here, finally surfacing after WordCamp Jacksonville 2019. Thank you so much to everyone that attended, helped out, and worked hard to make it all possible.
Problems (Expected & Unexpected)
Unfortunately, we had a few hiccups with t-shirts and registration this year, but I think we’ve figured out what to do to prevent the same problems next year. All our attendees were a wonder and delight. No one was upset about the t-shirt mix-up, and those that experienced troubles as walk-ins were so kind and gracious about the problems.
As typically happens, we had to replace a few speakers at the last minute, but we had some incredible people step up to fill the spots.
Amazing Sponsors
As I’ve said before, over 50% of our budget comes directly from sponsorships, and I want to thank all our sponsors again. We were blown away with 36 microsponsors this year! To learn more about each sponsor, click on their logo in the footer of this page.
Beach Umbrella Sponsors: Bluehost, Jetpack, KnownHost, Liquid Web, Pantheon, and WooCommerce
Beach Towel Sponsors: Create My Voice, GoDaddy Pro, GreenGeeks, HubSpot, Popup Maker, TitanHost, WP Cerber Security, WP Guys
Sunglasses Sponsors: DreamHost, Forks On The Left Catering, GoWP, HIGHFORGE, Kustura Technologies LLC, Market.us, Oyova, Redfin, WPSec.com
Beach Ball (micro) Sponsors: 411 Marine, Andrea LeDew, CSS International, Dagmar Marketing, Divi Host, European Leather Gallery, Events Replay, Fabric & Tile Masters, Farah & Farah, Fatima C Photography, FixUpFox, Flower Works, Fluid Junction, Global Risk Solutions, Harrell & Harrell Personal Injury Attorneys, HeartWired Digital Solutions, Joseph Holbrook, Judy-Ann Smith Law Firm, Live Healthstrong, Lusosystems, Inc., Marketers Delight, Massage Magazine Insurance Plus, Mobile Atom Media and Code, My Island Designs, Open Sky Web Studio, Parlor Media, Russell Connie, SEDA New Homes, Shepherds Loft, Suddath, Tailored WP, Thrasher-Horne Center, Tortoise and Hare Software, Turner Pest Control, Upchurch Law, WyNS
Wonderful Keynote
It was such a pleasure to have Christie Chirinos as our Keynote Speaker this year. She shared some very personal stories about work and life as she encouraged us to thoughtfully consider the consequences of how we do business. Her talk set a great tone for the rest of the weekend.
Fantastic KidsCamp
KidsCamp is a tradition at WordCamp Jacksonville. Not only do we teach the
next generation about WordPress, but they also learn collaboration, critical
thinking, and presentation skills through art and engineering projects that make learning fun.
Great After Party
Despite the heat, the After Party was well attended. I visited with several tables and overheard lots of wonderful conversations. Thanks to everyone that came over to chat with me specifically, it’s always great to take a few minutes and actually meet our attendees.
Thank You, Volunteers
We had many phenomenal volunteers again this year. Thank you for keeping us going throughout the weekend!
Our Incredible Team
Finally, I want to give a personal shout-out to every single one of our organizers. Without these important people, WordCamp Jacksonville would not be what it is.
Aida Correa: As one of two KidsCamp Coordinators, Aida brings her love of art and creativity to make KidsCamp Jacksonville fun and engaging.
Andrea LeDew: When I recruited Andrea to be our Social Media Wrangler, this beautiful writer told me she didn’t know how to use social media, but she’d do her best. Well, her best was fantastic! She had so many creative posts and kept the content rolling all year.
Daniel Iser: Throughout the year, Daniel worked to find us sponsors. During WordCamp Jacksonville, as our Community Engagement Wrangler, he kept a pulse on camp to make sure things were running smoothly, to help out as problems would arise, and to help maximize the happiness of our community.
Frank Corso: You might know Frank as “that number guy.” But he’s so much more than that. Without Frank’s numbers, properly planning would be so much more difficult. He was also our Speaker Coordinator this year. He collected and sorted speaker applications, contacted all applicants, and made sure all our speakers knew what to expect.
Gary Kovar: If you like tacos and/or popsicles, make sure to thank our Food & Beverage Coordinator. He works hard every year to provide WordCamp Jacksonville with delicious food for all types of eaters and those with special dietary needs.
Ian Svoboda: Without Ian we just would not have videos, plain and simple. He has done a great job the last two years as A/V Coordinator. We’re still trying to work out the kinks in the process, and the videos are not quite done yet, but they will be, and that makes me happy.
Jessica Fowler: As the Events Coordinator, Jessica put together our wonderful After Party. WordCamp Jacksonville is just one of many plates she keeps spinning, and yet she kept it going. She also spent lots of time and energy working on the Thank You Party for speakers and sponsors.
Karena Kreger: Without Karena as Volunteer Coordinator, WordCamp Jacksonville would fall apart. She’s the woman that makes sure everyone is where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do, during camp.
Laura Phillips: As our Brand Coordinator, she put together the logo and visual looks of the camp. She also kept the website running.
Linda Jones: As I told everyone during opening remarks, if you see a typo in our communications, it’s not Linda’s fault. It’s our fault for forgetting to have it proofread. Linda did a wonderful job as our Word Wrangler and I hope she will help us out again next year.
Scott Anderson: As our Tech Wrangler, Scott’s job is to ensure that all our technology (aside from A/V) is working properly. Scott did a fantastic job this year and there were only a couple hiccups.
Young McQueen: As the Speaker Mentor, Young helped our speakers with problems and questions they had. He helped to review slides and offer advice on how to improve speaker bios, talk descriptions, ad presentations.
William Jackson: Our other KidsCamp Coordinator, William is wonderful with kids. His enthusiasm and love of technology is infectious, and he is very encouraging to both the shy kids and the over-confident ones.
Thanks again to everyone that attended, sponsored, and assisted with WordCamp Jacksonville 2019. Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and keep your eyes open for 2020 announcements.