Meet the Geeks, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization in Asheville, strives to grow the local economy through technology, while providing technology-education to local business owners. The aim of the group’s upcoming WNC Business & Information Technology Summit, slated for Tuesday, June 4, at Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park, is exactly that: to empower small business owners to rid any fear of “geek speak,” and embrace the tools of the times.
The summit, a half-day marathon that begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m., will include a keynote presentation, “Demystifying the Cloud,” with Yung Chou, Technology Evangelist in Microsoft’s U.S. Developer and Platform Evangelism team. The summit will also feature break-out sessions, informational presentations by Ian Bryan, the founder of Sensible City; Cindy Ireland, VP of Meet the Geeks; Matt Fraser of Epsilon Inc.; and a presentation by Molly and David Wessel of Ringfree Communications.
“Our goal,” says Styles, “is to provide businesses with access to the knowledge and tools they need in order to run their organizations more efficiently, and more profitably.”
“Many tech events in the area focus primarily on the tech community itself,” says event organizer and business owner Hillary Styles. “Our event is designed to cater specifically to the technology needs of small businesses and organizations.” A marketing consultant with New Media and the owner of Styles Marketing, she hopes that the upcoming summit will “help take your business to the next level,” by focusing on social media, technology and profitability and hiring the right IT staff.
“Technology can be a little overwhelming for small business owners,” says organizer Cindy Ireland. “We want to be a resource to assist the entire business community. To make this happen we are partnering with the Mountain Area Workforce Development group as they are also aware of the gap between business and technology, and we believe this summit will be the first opportunity to uncloak some of the mystery and be helpful many types of businesses throughout the region.”
Ireland adds that Meet the Geeks are “working really hard to ensure that this event is not filled with ‘tech speak’ or as we like to call it ‘geek speak.’ It will be down-to-earth, practical and give small businesses a chance to meet with area service providers in an informal way.”
The Western North Carolina Business & Information Technology Summit will be held on Tuesday, June 4, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, and include breakfast. Nonprofits will receive a $10 discount. If you would like to participate as an exhibitor, contact event organizer and member of the Board Jason Lee at info@meetthegeeks.net. To register, click here.
Meet the Geeks host free technology classes and networking events throughout the year. For more information, see www.meetthegeeks.net.
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