About WIN 09

Willamette Innovators Night 2009
Technology Threads—Connecting Our Community
Thursday, November 5th from 3-9pm
LaSells Stewart Center/CH2M Hill Alumni Center
Corvallis, Oregon

Willamette Innovators Night (formerly High Tech After Hours) brings together the Willamette Valley’s most innovative companies and organizations to share, learn, and connect. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other innovators, researchers, potential collaborators, investors, and academics while celebrating the creativity and innovation in our community.

Featuring Keynote Speaker James Curleigh, CEO of KEEN Footwear, a History of Innovation exhibit, Community Q&A with an Innovation Panel, Open Innovation Exhibit Hall, WIN 2009 Community Choice Awards, the first ever three-city Beer & Blog, and IGNITE! Corvallis II.

The Willamette Innovators Network web site is a hub of connectivity, a place to connect people and organizations so the synergy and conversation can continue year round. Join the WIN community and start connecting today.

Sponsorship & exhibitor opportunities available. Contact the planning committee at contact@willametteinnovators.com for more information.

Learn all about this year's event straight from the planning committee chair, Mark Van Patten.

What is the event all about?
This event is about critical mass and creativity, breaking down barriers, and enabling & creating community around the shared experience of bringing something new into being – It’s a venue for people to come together, share ideas, see new things and, hopefully experience that “Ah ha, THAT’S why I’m here” moment. If this event can spark even one new idea that contributes to the economic vitality of the area, it will have been a success.

Who is this event for? Who benefits?
This event is for anyone who enjoys seeing and participating in the process of creative thinking and connecting the dots of technological advances – in whatever industry. Who benefits? Ultimately, downstream, everyone in the community. Good ideas lead to good businesses and increased economic vitality, which leads to good, hopefully sustainable, quality of life.

Who is organizing and hosting this event?
This event is being hosted and organized by the joint effort of three important organizations within the Corvallis/Willamette Valley area that have a strong history of representing change, innovation, and supporting economic vitality for the area – the Corvallis Chapter of the Software Association of Oregon, Oregon State University, and the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition.

Why is the event name being changed after all these years?
The concept of innovation transcends all industry boundaries, and while “High Tech After Hours” has brand recognition, it’s association with software and IT became a stumbling block in our efforts to be more inclusive and expand the venue to showcase achievements across other industries.

What are some of the big changes we will see?
First of all, we are expanding the day’s activities to include a guest speaker who can speak to the concept of innovation & creativity as a collaborative experience, and the importance of convergence in the economic development equation. We are also focusing significant effort on inviting representatives of various industries throughout the area that have proven success through innovation, putting them together with the intellectual resources of the university and seeding the interaction with the background dialogue or thought stream of the innovation-rich atmosphere that is the Willamette Valley. This year’s event will celebrate innovation from the past and the present, and through that exposure, hopefully initiate what could happen in the future.

What are some of the program highlights?
1) Our keynote speaker, James Curleigh of Keen Footwear, who will share his experiences of building Keen into the success it is. 2) An expanded showcase of examples of innovation being exhibited in the Innovator’s Exhibition Ballroom. 3) An IGNITE!! Corvallis mash-up of idea presentations 4) A “History of Innovation in the Willamette Valley” exhibit/display 5) Social networking on steroids between the “Beer and Blog” group, the Corvallis Young Professionals group, and the respective members of the partner organizations as well as all those who attend out of curiosity or special interest. 6) A current research presentation and sharing opportunity for OSU faculty and area industry/innovation leaders 7) Networking opportunities between all of the above and those empowered to take ideas and “run” with them (or support those who do) – angel investors, VCs, etc.

Why is the event changing to free admission?
With convergence being the main thrust of the event, it’s important to get people there. We want to remove all barriers to participation – and encourage all we can to attend, especially those in the creative side of technologies and industry. We think our sponsors and the Innovation Exhibitors can and will appreciate that.

Why does my business want to share our innovations at this event?
New ideas come from connecting the dots, and dots get connected by sharing information. In a venue such as this, that information might take the shape of new advances in technologies related to your industry, or even perhaps, the application of another industry’s approach to problem solving that you might not have thought of before. That kind of sharing only happens when people communicate what they’re doing and interested in. Your business is your business, and, conceivably, you’ve been successful because you do it well. No one’s asking to give away intellectual property or market share – we’re just asking you to come and see what others are doing and how you might work together or apply/bring a new concept to the market.

How can I get involved with the event planning?
Join. The social media site for the event is open to all. We’ve enabled transparency and collaboration as much as the technology will allow as a means of maximizing the potential of social media networks – in building community, fostering creativity, advocating change.

What are your personal goals for this year’s event?
I’d like to see enough people come together to be able to recognize that “Yes, Corvallis and the Willamette Valley IS a dynamic place to live and prosper.” That there is a rich tradition of innovation and creativity here, and that if we can build on this foundation and create a new tradition of celebrating and building community and innovation for the region, that will feel pretty good!