I talked about some of the things we’ve been working on, and what we need next. We’re looking to fill several logistics roles, like internet/wifi coordinator, so if you’ve been thinking about trying to get more involved as we get closer to the conference, this would be a good time to fill out our volunteer info form.

We also talked about how to get more out-of-town attendees. Having the awesome 24-hour hacker lounge at the Hilton is tied to getting enough people to register in our room block, and we only have another month to meet that goal. So after my presentation, we split into two groups: one to talk about outreach and marketing, and another to talk about how we’d like to use the hacker lounge space.

We’re still looking for sponsors. As a first-year conference, we don’t have the padding of money from a previous year’s event, and as an all-volunteer grassroots organization, we’re not attached to a larger organization we can fall back on. This means that we have to raise all of the money we need to run the event, before the event, whether that’s through sponsorships, individual contributions, or advance registrations and hotel sales. We’re part of the way there, but we still need more.

I don’t know about you, but I am really excited that we’re just two months out from the conference. We have a great selection of talks we’re getting ready to announce, and many parts are falling into place. We just need you, and the rest of the open source community, to help us and join us at the Oregon Convention Center in June.