CEO Summit

I talk a lot about this offline, so I figured I needed to plug/brag about this online…

This is a BIG deal that my organization is pulling together… Note the names of our Co-Chairs who are leading some of the thought behind the agenda (CEO of AMD, President of UT, CEOs of big banks and hospitals in Austin)…

The idea is to convene a hot-shot list of CEOs and bigwigs in our community to propose and take action on some education issues in Central Texas (Chapter 41 stuff, ACC referendum, etc). This is quite an innovative approach (focus is on action and not on talking heads) and is going to get huge, possibly national, media coverage. We’re almost at our target for CEO RSVPs… It makes me proud that our little rag-tag organization has mobilized such an awesome event with tremendous opportunity to actually achieve change!

Note that this is concurrent with our annual Career Summit (no longer “Fair” courtesy the marketing wonks) which will have 3500 high school students exploring various career options by interacting with many area businesses and organizations!

I have 2 major roles with the career summit and my IT Cluster: fill the IT section of the fair with companies. It’s tough. Getting IT companies to shell out money when they aren’t hiring is a hard sell… we’re having to cut some outrageous deals to make sure those booths are filled. I’ve become a telemarketer, which is decidely unpleasant (but not unexpected).

My second role is “producing” a Multmedia showcase for students to demonstrate their skills to industry folks. That’s fun. It’s a great experience for everyone.

On top of all that, there are only 3 other people that will be directing this mess (and tons of volunteers to direct, as well).

Needless to say, if I’m a little slow responding to email or posting here, rest assured that I’ll be back on track on April 10.

Oh, and we’re looking for volunteers… email me…