TEDxRVA Real Time Book

WELCOME

Andy Stefanovich2013 TEDxRVA Curator

9:08 a.mHeadphones? Check.

“There’s probably a 99% likelihood that the person next to you had something to do with making today happen. So I’d like you to turn to your right and your left and say: Thanks. And....who the heck are you?

Today’s about imper-fection...it’s about sitting in a room of 600 people and having a big fat conversation.

And if something goes wrong we’ve got The Space Bomb band, the single most overquali-fied house band.

We’re in a moment in time here in Richmond. We’ve seen a lot of cre-ative rhythm, traction and momentum here over the last decade – we’re on our way to seeing this community become a first-class creative hub, and TEDx will be a punctuation point in that process.”

ELEWPerformance ArtistAs the opening presenter this morning, he was a wake-up call like no other – thunder-ing chords, plucks of piano strings, riffs of

familiar melodies like Sound of Music’s “A Few of My Favorite Things” juxtaposed with roaring, improvised crescendos.

Matthew E. WhiteFounder, Spacebomb RecordsAt the forefront of a beautiful soul rebirth, pushing music forward using its own histo-ry as fuel, White creates a sound that res-

onates across genres—and as our ‘house band’—across the TEDx Richmond audi-ence.

Ed AyersSPE AKER

President, University of Richmondpresident.richmond.edu/ayers

Working with Univer-sity of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab, Ayers is creating a multimedia history atlas of American history.

Ayers passion? Histor-ical places and build-ings, including TEDx Richmond’s venue.

“You can’t make places like this…you can’t go 100 years after the fact and say, I’d love to have a cool building like that.

I believe that history gives us hope that remarkable things can still happen.”________________

I absolutely love the concept of looking back to get creative versus only looking forward. Off the hook! Standing on the shoulders of our history in order to move our futures forward kicks booty. Thanks for the inspiration. –SUSAN

Steve PetermanA CONVERSATION WITH

Diector/Co-Founder, Art House Co-opsketchbookproject.com/arthouse

Collaborating with your colleague can be a challenge, but imag-ine leading global, col-laborative art projects for a worldwide collec-tive of 60,000 – it takes passion and talent.

Steve is co-founder of Art House Co-op, a global art project orga-nization.

“It kind of works like a food truck but instead of tacos you get a sketchbook. And then you create and share.

“I encourage every-one to meet people,” Steve says, “go beyond social boundaries and connect to create...and I really believed that amazing things would come out of this.”________________

What a great idea! It’s simple, but fascinating – I really believe in the idea that everyone’s thoughts have genuine merit, that they’re monu-mental in some way. –ONOFRIO

Sketchbook ProjectA global, crowd-sourced art projectsketchbookproject.com

An interactive, traveling exhibition of handmade books with a participant community is made up of over 75,000 people— The Sketch Book Project is in the permanent collection at Brooklyn Art Library holds over 26,000 sketchbooks from 135 countries around the globe.

Participants from all walks of life are invited to fill the pages of a blank sketch-book and send it back for inclusion in an ever-grow-ing library of inspiration.

Sketchbooks also head out on the adventure of a lifetime in a custom-made Mobile Library, and can be

tracked as they head city to city on the tour. At each stop, the library is set up to allow the public to search and check out the sketch-books. Anyone, from anywhere in the world, can participate in the project.________________

I encourage everyone to meet people,” Steve says, “go beyond social boundaries and con-nect to create...and I really believed that amazing things would come out of this. –STEVE PETERMAN

Oh, Guy next to me has an iPad, an iPhone, and a computer in his lap. I wonder which one he’ll take a picture with first. @rachelweatherly | At #TedxRVA warming up to the day, literally, its a bit chilly but the atmo-sphere is alive and bubbling. Excited for what’s to come @MariaCar-raRose | Great creative party atmosphere here at #TEDxRVA and a room full of really cool people! @SeeChangeStudio | Wow... first @TEDxRVA speaker is wearing gauntlets....@JenniferSyer | Playing piano in gauntlets? SOLD. @mrbeefy | I’ve never seen a piano played like this. Get it, Elew! @eavercoe | The headphones at #TEDxRVA are wonderful @artsinthealley | Andy’s energy is contagious--we’re for-tunate to have such a dynamic organizer! @SaMi_Am | Elew inspires me to Discover, Observe, Share! @AngelaMcDaniel_ | Elew starts @TEDxRVA w/ a powerful #mashup of Teen Spirit and These Are a Few of My Favorite Things @dbmac | Creativity is not just looking to the fu-ture while forgetting the past @SaMi_Am | #tedxrva Pounding pianos and plundering historic Richmond. Ideas worth spreading. It’s good to be committed to lifelong, creative learning. @MDPartner | We can rein-vent RVA, it’s been done before, it can be done. Reconnect to the river, each other, & get racism outta here. - Ed Ayers @BAYONETbrand-ing | @VentureRVA we here at #TEDxRVA are thankful for your work! @mwkc | Can someone explain the application process to get into the #TEDxRVA livestream? Will it be multiple choice? How many references do I need? @nedoliver | Woot! The Sketchbook Project finally comes to #RVA @arthouse @dbmac | Started listening when he said dandeli-ons @BethanySimsy | “Go beyond boundaries and create something amazing.” - Steven Peterman @SarahKMansfield | Moms - the ulti-mate creators @SaMi_Am

Mother of two, Kath-erine wondered “Why was I out of control when everyone around me acted like Shirley Partridge on perfor-mance enhancing drugs?”

The light dawned on her that motherhood was not the storybook happyfest that many perceive it to be, and

she decided to act on that notion.

“I asked moms from Shanghai to Seattle… The number one emo-tion was ‘doubt’. It’s a code of silence; suffer-ing in silence, crying in silence. It’s time to be who we really are, say who we really are, and accept who we really are.”

Katherine WintschFounder, The Mom Complexthemomcomplex.com

Robert Meganck & Matthew Wallin

SPE AKERS

Educators, Artists, Innovators

“Right now we expe-rience color in two dimensions. We’re creating ways to see it in three dimensions.

Color influences how we experience the world. When see see a certain shade of red, we recognize a ripe tomato. In time, we’ll be able to read a color to determine if a tumor is malignant.

The implications ex-tend across art, sci-ence, techology, and

into medicine.”

It’s a complex, abstract concept, but if it can be done, Robert and Matt can do it.________________

I graduated from the department where they teach, and every time I work with color, I’m looking back through their teachings. I’m really proud and hon-ored to have had that experience; it’s great to see them recognized. –AMELIA

“I have decided for this event to share with you all some simple truths, simple lessons pro-found insights … and I’m going to share them with all of you: Play is necessary.”

Play is also active, experiential, collabora-tive, community, un-predictable, inventive, nimble, emotional …

a ball … recess for the soul.

Reading from a scroll, Kevin says he’s a bit like a town crier, and his message is refresh-ing in a world where recess is not necessar-ily valued.

Kevin CarrollAuthor, Social Change Agentkevincarrollkatalyst.com

Noah KimTeacher Advocate“Great teachers inspire, they’re on the front line every single day, and they know schools better than any elected official could ever

hope to, especially the grown-ups who hav-en’t set foot in a school in decades.”

Mike HenrySPE AKER

Comedian, Actor, Producerheymikehenry.tumblr.com

A phone call from his brother Patrick’s col-lege pal Seth Macfar-lane, took Henry to the west coast to write for the newly born animat-ed Family Guy.

But it was not instant crazy success so he continued doing odd projects, hoping for more. “I just wanted to be funny and I didn’t care.” And more came along with the success of Family Guy and The Cleveland Show.

“I believe it was all from sticking with what I think is funny and going with that.”.________________

I loved that he set aside the easy path to financial success and chased his dream for as long as it took. I left a corporate job two years ago to start a business I believe in, CarLots, and it’s been a great run so far. –MIKE

“What aren’t you no-ticing in your commu-nity?’ and ‘what would you do with something once you’ve noticed it?’

Walker’s Dead Bicycle Project moved from being a graphic design experiment and turned into a platform for community building.

“Sometimes there are smaller problems you can solve through by observation. One of the things I noticed was all these aban-doned bikes….they’re all over the city, some locked to a tree forever … dead bikes.”

James WalkerMFA Design Candidate, VCUjameslouiswalker.com

Eric Stanley & Rob GibsonArtists, Creative CollaboratorsThey are phenomenal talents, and it’s awe-some to see them come together. Being an RVA local, it was really meaningful to me that

this talent was homegrown; it’s important to represent our city onstage. –CHEATS

Charity:WaterNon-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries.charitywater.org

It’s staggering to think that 800 million people in the world today don’t have immediate access to clean, fresh water.

Charity Water is an amaz-ing organization that helps raise awareness and funds to help those in need. As our major philanthropic partner for the day, they sent us 70 jerry cans - large yellow cans that hold 5 gal-lons of water. Charity water sends millions of these cans around the world to help people transport clean water.

We thought long and hard on a way to use these cans in an artful and emotional

way. So, we put a call out to a small group of people in the community and asked them join us in a project to “walk in the shoes” of those less fortunate.

Roughly a 1/4 mile away from the event, 20 partic-ipants met before regis-tration, picked up a 40lbs jerry can and began a trek to the TEDxRVA space. As simple as it may seem, the experience of carrying the heavy cans up and down rugged streets and paths of Richmond creates a deeper understanding and empathy of the cause.

Zoe is a distance runner -- and we’re talking thou-sands of miles – and she believes that anyone can accomplish extraordinary feats.

“People ask, ‘how do you know you can run across the country?’ but the thing is, it’s not because I know I can do it, it’s because I don’t know. … I’m right smack dab in the middle of effort and failure; at that in-tersection of vulnerablility

and disciplined determina-tion which is where I think innovation truly happens.”

After astounding the crowd by sharing her next goal of running the Tour de France, Zoe headed off-stage. She didn’t see that she’d garnered a standing ovation until Andy stopped her: “Look around, look around! Zoe, Zoe, look around!”

Zoë RomanoVisionary Athlete, Writerzoegoesrunning.com

#create a wi-fi #disruption? Check. @R_Brosmer | “The number one emotion was doubt.” @mrbeefy | We can only be who we really are, and that HAS to be good enough #tedxrva @SaMi_Am | “Scientists should work with painters & printmakers should work with sculptors... And amazing things will come out of this” @KWIRTYbored | Kath-erine is KILLING IT! @TEDxRVA #rva go girl! @Richmondmom “I’m going to start referring to this type of red as the color of the sports car I should be driving.” @rachelweatherly | Play triggers my “getting smacked in the head by a ball” anxiety. @mrbeefy | Had no idea what those numbers in Photoshop meant ‘til the creative breakdown of color #Wallin and adorable #Meganck @judicrenshaw | Host doesn’t even look like the same person from the hippodrome. That’s a crazy tan...in winter. @DanielMRegan | Whole room just took 30 secs of quiet after a high energy, word & music filled morning. The contrast was powerful. @SeeChangeStudio | A 30 minute break from #tedxrva? So what am I supposed to do now? Work at my job? @tweetwithkiara | Totally dorking out with today’s #TEDxRVA #whatinspiredyoutoday | @Lock-sofGold | #TEDxRVA is becoming the best kind of reunion of #RVA creatives -- Almost all of my favorite people are here! #blessed #create @mwkc | Matthew White awesome as always at #Tedxrva @rumors-boutique | If I were a teacher, I’d want #NoahKim in my classroom! @LocksofGold | Mike Henry is talking about how Richmond inspired Family Guy characters. @christerickson | Wow! The power plant is surging with energy once again! @VentureRVA | After the first batch of amazing speakers, I’m feeling pretty excited for what else has yet to come. @b_gif | The connective thread in #TEDxRVA talks is that all this virtual stuff is not what life is about. @suzisart

Bill MartinSPE AKER

Executive Director, The Valentine Richmond History Centerrichmondhistorycenter.com

“Richmond’s the third most tattooed city in America.” Ink, Martin contends, is part of a cresting creative wave, and it should be noted.“As an institution, we knew that we needed to push; to find another way to tell the story.”

This is not your moth-er’s History Center. Thanks to Bill, the mu-seum’s director, there’s a fresh breeze blowing through the galleries, a willingness to consider

inclusively all of our city’s cultural facets, past and present. ________________

When he was speaking about pushing for your untold stories and find-ing more within yourself, that hit home for me. You never know it all; we need to hold on to that, keep things in perspec-tive. –MARY

Ivy RossSPE AKER

Artist, Executive

“People think the opposite of play is work and it’s not, it’s depression.” Play at work—creating a space in which people feel safe enough to let go, to share freely and connect the dots ex-isting in the collective mind—should be the center of how compa-nies operate.

Ross’ current inter-ests have taken a new direction: sound the ‘sinoscope’, which

imprints sound vibra-tion. “When we speak, sing or chant, we bathe all around us in our unique patterns; no two are alike.”________________

Wow, the power of vibration and sound! Talk about changing the world. Everything is vibration, and for someone to bring it to light in this way, across the world, across all sectors, is phenomenal. –MARY

Stephen FongSPE AKER

Biological Engineersystemsbiology.vcu.edu

Combining fun and science makes Ste-phen beloved by stu-dents at VCU. And he recommends his meth-od as a way to expand the possibilities for innovation in the lab.

“We need creativity in education for sci-ence and engineer-ing. Research is part of the solution; but it’s also part of the prob-lem. Research does not equal creativity.”

“We’re constrained by knowledge ... there’s knowledge every-where, and people can learn that on their own. What’s more important now is cre-ativity.”________________

Right on the mark, very deep – that we’re teach-ing science the wrong way, and it’s impacting research and other ar-eas. That’s an important message. –JIM

Deb AdlerSPE AKER

Designer, Entrepreneurdeborahadlerdesign.com

Mindful about the impact of good work, Deborah’s not about design for design’s sake; she’s seeking meaningful solutions that improve the expe-riences of people.

Because her grand-mother mistakenly picked up the wrong pill bottle, Deborah de-signed a color-coded container that’s easier to identify.

“The personal is the

universal; my grand-mother’s medicine cabinet is millions of medicine cabi-nets. … Go to the real place where the work is done, watch, ask, solve at human scale. The little things are the big things.”________________

She’s designing devices that affect patient health! Creativity and catheters! It’s wild, and so inspir-ing. –PAIGE

JR ArtsLarge scale collaboartive art project between artist JR and the Richmond communityinsideoutproject.net

During the event, curator Andy Stefanovich will introduce a video from 2012 TED Prize winning artist JR.

After the video, Andy invited the audience to take beautiful black and white photos of our diverse cre-ative community and email them to [email protected].

They will be processed at JR’s studio in New York where his team will print large format posters and send them back to us to put up all over the city.

At today’s event we bor-rowed from this concept by taking quick pictures of our

attendees with ipads, print-ing them and wheat pasting them on our walls. ________________

It’s such a beautiful idea, honoring the invisible amongst us.–MATT

John BlakeWriter, Co-curator of Slam Richmond Reading SeriesI love the fact that he’s asking us to bring poet-ry back. It’s been relegated to cocktail hour, or slam, and he’s asking us to educate children

to write, speak and produce in this way is important.–ERIKA

A Three cheers for Bill Martin for talking about the power of women in our com-munity. @sarvay | Got to hang out with @peytonrowe @hotrodwrter and @SHAdams at lunch. Love the company and the connections at #tedxrva @art-sinthealley | Spacebomb, the most over qualified house band! @danalloway | My happy place. #tedxrva we’re back! @SallyWitzky | Friday afternoon popcorn/creativity. TGIF! @blairgilch | Thanks to the young men in the #sketchbookproject mobile library & their info today at #TedXRva . Hope to see at your library in Brooklyn. @hawkstv | Glowing beer?!?!?! Yes please. @evacolen | Zoe Romano is a beast. Such a badass @jessejspring-er | I just realized how important is a good design in medicine or pharmacy @BeataStrack | Sat next to a stranger. Learned his story. Totally inspiring. Prob-ably the best TED talk I have ever had. @FraserDesign | I have so many things to do, but I can’t stop watching the live stream. @Eoghann | The amazing Ed Trask, muralist extraordinaire, creative genius, lover of RVA... Big fans @spax-ton | @arthouse has collected over 26000 sketchbooks, which you can check out like a library book. Like Instagram, but art you can touch @TEDx | @JohnSur-vivorB is already giving me chills watching him speak. Love watching #TEDxR-VA on live stream in NYC. @eMP5 | What happens to the next writer when we scrap poetry for SOLs? @SaMi_Am | Speechless. Amazed. @capohanka | Eliminate bureaucracy in our school system; poetry only requires pen and paper. @JohnSurvivorB @dianeoneal | The lack of wi-fi this morning was oppress-ing my tweets. @brothermanifest | Well I’m totally charmed by Joey Cheek. @RossCatrow | Dead cell phone battery halted my tweets but #TEDxRVA continues to inspire! @SHAdams | Hell to the yeah! @peytonrowe just got to wear Joey Cheek’s Olympic gold metal on her birthday! @spaxton | There is a huge picture of my face on the wall (: no biggs. i feel famous @Alyson-Nailah14 | All the pasta tastes the same #tedxrva @streetlamp

Joey CheekSPE AKER

Olympic Speed Skater, Philanthropistdailyhouse.com

Cheek shared his story of competing in long-track speed skating and winning Olympic gold. “I trained for 12 years, all for 34 sec-onds of competition … the thing about speed skating is that for those 34 seconds you have to be better than any-one. The difference between first place and 20th place is a fraction of a second. They did not invite the 20th place guy to come and speak to you today.”

Using his place on the gold medal platform, Joey talked about the plight of kids in Darfur. ________________

The way he combined the technical excellence and the moral excel-lence of what he did, that really embodies the energy of Richmond to-day. We really needed to hear that.–RHO

Focused not only on how to provide medical treatment, but how to share the power to create it with countries who need it most. Being able engage third world econo-mies in making their own drugs in a de-centralized manor. If you can make drugs on-demand in a com-bat zone, why can’t

you make them in your pharmacy?”________________

I loved his discussion of knowledge vs. creativity, and how one can’t exist without the other. The reverse exists, too—you can be creative all you want, but you still need the knowledge. There has to be a balance.–DWAYNE

Frank Grupton, Ph.D.Chair, Deptartment of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, VCU

@heymikehenry ‘s story is all about grit - believe in yourself and your vision and stick it out til you achieve. @evacolen | The porta-johns are surprisingly the warmest place to be at #TEDxRVA @eosiol | My feet are cold. My nose is running. I am not leaving. This is awesome. @jschwartzRVA | UPDATE: Local snarks run out of words that rhyme with TED. @fakeNBC12 | #tedxrva definitely delivering on creative inspiration. @Tony_Vengrove | Does Sheryl Connelly drive a DeLo-rean? @zhoosteen | I’m hoping for warm bourbon drinks to de-thaw my extremities from the @rvapowerplant @iAmLarkin | I have a crush on #SherylConnely @SEpperson | Charleston is awesome, but we’re bummed we’re missing #tedxrva. How’s it going, #RVA? Seen some pretty great tweets rolling out! @Ledbury | #TEDFact: Sheryl Connel-ly has the dopest slides at @TEDxRVA. #simple #playful #awesome@ACeCallwood | Second time I was mistaken for a #TEDxRVA speaker as I was flattered that random strangers wanted to speak to me #goodlookingasian @steve_kimkim | We love you and are inspired by you Mike Hughes. #gifts #rva @mwkc | Now a video message from Mike Hughes of the Martin Agency: Take the TED feeling and energy out into the world. @JackCooksey | Mike Hughes delivers video saying how great #tedxrva is. Right back atcha, Mike. @peytonrowe | Many tears, and a huge standing ovation, for Mike Hughes. @angieleaf | Very touching recognition of Mike Hughes of the Martin Agency for his creative contributions at @row4it | Creative leadership is about creating results that create EVEN MORE results. @kaospilots @ VentureRVAt | There is no Best Way, only a Better Way & Healthcare changes one expe-rience, one person at a time. #hcsm@DebAdler @MDPartner

Martin Bird ScupltureAn interactive scuplture asking the community to share how can they creatively effect change

Every year Purple Martins descend on Richmond, mesmerizing us with their beautifully chaotic mur-murations. In the blink of an eye, the vibe in Shockoe Bottom can transcend from a sleepy street to a haunting jungle as the Martins soar unpredictably overhead.

So we will honor them as we honor ourselves by cre-ating a permanent sculp-ture in their form.

As each attendee finishes registration, they will be given a metal Purple Martin and a sharpie. They’ll be asked to write what in-spires them to create on the

bird. They will then drop the bird into a box and continue on to the event.

During the event, two local fabricators will set up shop inside the space and fabricate all the individual Martins on a preconstruct-ed base.

At the end of the event, we will have physical repre-sentation of our personal and collective inspirations. The piece will be installed on Brown’s Island as a permanent reminder of our day.

Sheryl ConnelySPE AKER

Futurist

While most may con-sider predicting the fu-ture the work of those with tarot cards, Sheryl emphasizes that every one of us is predicting with every purchase—because we’re either joining a trend stream or rejecting it.

Trend experts like Sheryl analyze that info to anticipate the needs and desires of custom-ers. “What’s the one quality we should em-body to be able to see

forward? You have to let go of the idea of pre-dicting the future; once you recognize that you can’t control the future, you have to, by default, become more nimble, more prepared.”________________

Future planning is all about embracing your destiny and allowing yourself to just go with the flow; I loved how she wrapped that idea up. –ADAM

Dr. Amir ToorSPE AKER

Associate Professor of Medicine, VCU Bone Marrow Transplant Program

Not content to accept the human biologi-cal systems as just random, Dr. Toor has instead dug deep to discover the order in seeming chaos and that research has helped develop safe cancer treatments.

“Evolution has given humans this marvel-ous T cell receptor gene, an immune sys-tem cell. The antigen is the key; the T-cell receptor is the lock.”

Understanding the mathematical order of our systems has made a difference in his work, and that trans-lates into better treat-ment for patients.________________

I really appreciated how he looked finding beauty within chaos. He also reminded me of the value of looking at the natural world for inspira-tion in my own work. –SKY

Brian AndreasSPE AKER

Artist, Writer Founder of tumblecolud and StoryPeopletumblecloud.com

Brian’s current proj-ects explore the process and art of storytelling and open it up for collaborative opportunities.

He tells us, “Creativity is not a separate skill set. It’s not something you work on. Trying to get more creative by following a set of rules is a waste of time--it’s really fun; but it’s going in the wrong direction. Creativity is bred in the bone… The best way to

be more creative is to be more alive, because creativity comes more naturally when you’re alive and engaged. If you want to be more creative, do things that make you feel more alive.”________________

I couldn’t help thinking of my friends whose levels of creativity I strive for. People who are so creative that they just live—they don’t even have to try. They just do.

Julie CrowderEducatorRVA Valentines: Love Letter to Our City was simple: cut out a heart, write something you love about Richmond--one simple but

specific thing—tape it to a stick, put it in the ground. And we showed the love big time.

Michael Birch PierceFiber ArtistChanneling a close-up view of a human face through his sewing machine, artist Michael-Birch created a stitched portrait

onstage, connecting through his seemingly magical craft with a volunteer subject.

Cheryl HellerSPE AKER

Communication Designer, Innovatorhellercd.com

Cheryl is a transform-er—she may not look like the big metal kind, but her impact is that huge. Leading huge corporations and nonprofits through transformational periods has been part of her game for years, and lately, her focus has been on social innovation. Specifi-cally, mentoring social entrepreneurs in their efforts to ameliorate poverty, water, energy and health care issues.

“The creative process is really simple: you have figure out where you are, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there. And then you have to do it.”________________

You can’t help but be encouraged by her en-thusiasm and innovation –SUE

Ben MargolisEntrepreneurCool tennis shoes and t shirts aren’t all Ben Margolis is selling – he wants to change the world by empowering his customers to

express themselves and accept others, and he’s even given his philosophy a hashtag: #niceiscool.

Tony ScottCase Manager in Conflict ResolutionProject Director of Boaz and Ruth, a faith based non-profit, Mr. Scott is a man with a mission of rebuilding lives and communities

through collaborative work and partner-ships with diverse organizations through-out Richmond.

Tweet GraffitiSeleted Tweets represented by local graffiti artists, yo!

Last year’s G40 summit brought some of the country’s best artists to Richmond. Living on the wall of the Power Plant where the TEDx-RVA event will take place is a collection of their work.

Richmond also has a large number of super talented local artists, and we want to high-light them at our event. So, during the day we’ll monitor social channels and pull out the most inspirational

thoughts. Outside the event, 2 artists will be stationed waiting for these nuggets of in-spiration to artistically visualize. Once each piece (4) is finished, it will be carried inside and hung on the wall.

KAOS PilotsSPE AKER

Leadership and Innovation Schoolkaospilot.dk

“We offer an education that gives people the opportunity to create their own future; tap-ping into their creativi-ty and potential, find-ing their direction.

The audience was instructed to scribble on a piece of paper, then trade papers with neighbors. Then everyone held their scribbles above their heads. “Why this is important? We can choose to greetscrib-

bles in two ways -- we can say, what’s this? This sucks. I can’t work with this. Or we can choose to accept and in this acceptance, there’s a lot of possibil-ities. How do you meet scribbles in your life? Just ponder on that.”________________

I did the drawing, with my friend, it was an unexpected, good mo-ment to share. I realize that I need to collabo-rate more. –DAN

Marti Beller, Brian Marks and Geoff Weathersby

SPE AKER

Philanthropic Entrepreneuers

A boy was discour-aged from throwing beached starfish back in the ocean, saying he’d never save them all – the boy says, “Well, I made a difference with that one.” And Geoff cited the dramatic chang-es in demographics, where the wealth will shift from the hands of boomers to millenni-als – his questions for them: will you be the one to pick up starfish and throw them back in

the water?

It was a good ques-tion to end the day, thoughtful and, if answered in the affir-mative, hopeful.________________

Oh, the starfish story. Are you the starfish, the old man, or the little boy? I’m thinking we’re all hoping we’re the little boy. –KRISTIN

Real-time BookA physical manifestation of TEDxRichmond’s inspiration, courage and and captivated energy

What’s an event based on the theme “create” without actually creat-ing something? Lame, that’s what.

During the event, we created a hardcover book—in real time. We assembled a team to capture content, design, print, cut and bind a book in 8 hours.

Highlighted in the book are reactions from the 30 speakers, audience Tweets and images, documentation of

multiple experiences happening in and out of the space, etc.

At the end of the day, 45 books were created as gifts for our speak-ers and main spon-sors.

How we’d do it? We have no idea. And please excuse any typos ;-)

Core TEDxRVA Teamback row

Jaime Seagraves, Ed Trask, Robert Tarren, Josh Epperson, Alex Dahm, Jack Berry, Charlie Foley, Brad Dey, Stephen Lecky

middle row Andy Stefanovich, Leah Fremouw, Suzanne Hall, Luke Rabin, Farrah Haddad, Lisa Sims, Diane O’Neal, Mavis Wynn, Renee Gaines

front row

Christine Rochester, Tim Couillard, John Mills, Katie Benson, Brian Cannon

not pictured Sharon Bassard, Chrystal Neal, Noel McKenzie Johnson and Terence Sullivan

In-Kind

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