GEL 2007- Recap
A recap of GEL 2007 is available now. It's good. The recap.
But the event is so-o-o-o-o much better. It's really an event as an event should be: well-run, events start and stop on time, good food, prompt food, plenty of time to network and talk and discover, an vast array of speakers and topics and styles and personalities, somehow blended together under the vision of Mark Hurst and his merry band of co-horts, a diverse and eclectic group of attendees, a clear purpose to the event, an open interaction with the attendees, each event better than the last, inspiring, invigorating, entertaining, informing, amusing, great location, good wireless connection, lots of staff to help make the experience smooth and helpful, plentiful pre- and post-event communication.
What's the point of GEL? Good question. GEL is about good experiences. Good Experience Live. And as an attendee, you're guided through amazing, aha-giving, laugh-creatin', pause-to-wonder, giggle-fillin' experiences ...your products and services should ultimately give to your customers.
I'm not sure if I can pick a favorite presenter. Here's but a few that stood out for me:
Marie Lorenz: Tide and Current Taxi driver. This woman is fearless. F-E-A-R-L-E-S-S. Funny too. Honest, creative. Anyone who swims into the East or Hudson River to retrieve a wooden canoe...'k?
And then, as a Tide and Current Taxi Driver, she takes clients on a taxi ride in same, said, boat. The clients propose a location and they decide on a day and ...Vaya'ing con Dios and the Tides and Currents...they end up, somewhere.
It's the ultimate road trip, only you're not driving, and you're with a stranger...at least at the start of the trip.
Marie's the kinda person you'd want to share a cold-one with while she told that day's story because it would be a story you couldn't imagine on your own.
Andrew - Songs to Wear Pants to. Andrew. What a crazy, delightful, satisfying, amazing, inspiring surprise Andrew and his Songs to Wear Pants to. The guy...has raised the bar of song-writing so high...with such passion and love for his craft. His site is an open forum where his fans challenge his song writing skills and he, I think gladly, accepts corporate requests too.
John Williams - Frog's Leap Winery. He was a delight. So real, honest, caring, doing something right, letting it grow, sharing more. He's not from the South, but he should be. We'd accept him as a cousin.
Robert Fox - Fox Media. Robert's undertaken an ambitious project to document the impact of our military base on Greenland's Inuit community. He shared some of his work to-date which included film clips made by one Inuit member who remained on the base for over 30 years. Touching, painful, beautiful. Robert and I and a host of others, mostly volunteers with GEL and CEC had dinner after Friday night's event. Great guy. Very inspiring, very funny.
Ira Glass...I'm already a big fan of his. He doesn't walk on water...but he does walk on thin ice without fear.
All of the presentations were excellent. Not a one suffered. All were examples of people's passion for doing something remarkable, something worth talking about, something worth a life's efforts.
We'll send 2 of our employees next year. And I'll pay for The Missus to attend, too. It really is THAT good.
PS: Gene. Where'd you go Friday night?
PPS: Favorite word at GEL? Crappyjack. It's a better word for junk food. It was created by the participants in Erin McKean's Word Lover's Boot Camp session.
Thanks, Zane! Looking forward to seeing you and the missus next year.
Posted by: Mark Hurst | May 12, 2007 at 12:31 PM