*Supplies unlimited. Side effects include warm and fuzzy feelings. Must claim your hug at Netroots Nation 2010 in Las Vegas.
I'm serious. Donate an item and I'll give you a hug in Vegas. How can you resist? OK, so yes this is a blatant beg for auction items. And also for everyone to get off their butts and register for the event. Why? Well read on to see why I think Netroots Nation is a can't miss part of every year.
There are always great speakers of course. What I have come to think of as "speaker-reveal season" began this week with the announcement that Gov Schweitzer of Montana will deliver a keynote address. You know he will get you out of your seat! Beyond the always great speakers, there are the sessions. I don’t know about any of you others who have attended one of these before, but I frequently request cloning due to conflicting spectacular panelists and topics. I mean, seriously, I am always looking for a slot that may be somewhat LESS interesting so that I can head back to my room for a nap (napping is key at these things) and yet I NEVER seem to find that! Every damn one of them will be worth your time.
Then there’s the people. Your fellow netroots bloggers. Kossacks whose names give you chills – have I mentioned how my knees collapsed at the realization that I was talking to freaking Kid Oakland back at YK06? Or that first moment when I saw the badge that read "Meteor Blades" last year? I was just happy there was that awesome, soft blow up furniture for me to fall into when I fainted. The reason you need those precious cat naps is because you will spend all night talking to people. Whether you drink or not, I promise you will be up into the wee hours yapping and singing and dancing with some seriously cool peeps. Whether you have met these people before or not, you will be pulled into bear hugs and be greeted as family instantly. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to any of these before – GO! I’ve been to all of them and I have no financial business going this year BUT..I’m going. Because I can’t NOT go. Especially since I just committed to this hugging thing :-)
Ok, so maybe I still haven’t twisted your arm into registering yet, but how about this: how about helping out with the auction? You see, the only reason I can figure out how to go with my budget is because they do such a darn good job of keeping costs down. It’s fundraisers like this which help them keep it that way.
Please join Markos and Bill in Portland Maine and donate an item to the Netroots Nation auction? You can post your auction donation online or send an email to the Netroots Nation Development Director, Karen Kolber at Karen at netrootsnation dot org.
The seven-day auction starts Wednesday, March 10th so please donate today! All proceeds from this auction directly benefit Netroots Nation, which brings you the yearly national convention (this year in Las Vegas, July 22-25) as well as regional salon series including in Minnesota and Colorado. That link is also where you go to register, so just DO IT for heavens sake!
Thank you so much and I better be seeing you in Vegas this year to claim those hugs