Although a much larger group of mentors will be announced, the current team is pretty impressive and represents management, finance, technology and other key skills for early stage companies. VentureBox will be offering mentorships, infrastructure and a milestone-based program to develop startups into investment-ready enterprises.

We think that VentureBox has great potential to help diversify the Central Oregon community and create sustainable, living wage jobs. That’s why we’re proud to be supporting and participating in the effort!

Perhaps the most well-recognized effort in this arena is the Bend Venture Conference. For several years, the homegrown BVC has attracted startups from across the Pacific Northwest to compete for cash investment and the and the attention of the regional angel and VC community. Previous investments have included some great companies ranging from medical devices to web-based SaaS  providers. This year’s keynote speaker is in none other than Andy Sack, the Executive Director of TechStars Seattle and the Founder and CEO of Lighter Capital.

The BVC is the highlight and in some ways the epicenter of Bend’s thriving entrepreneurial spirit. So we are proud to support the efforts of the conference organizers and hope to see you at the event.

We are planning a repeat performance next year. And, we are considering options for a summer/fall event in the next six months. We’ve kicked around the idea of a rumble, hackfest or even an agile theme. If you have any ideas or feedback that you’d like share, send an email to all the guys or drop us a tweet.

Finally, I want to send out a huge thanks to all the attendees, speakers and sponsors for making RoA 2011 so awesome!

Rubyists for Japan is an effort to help build awareness and drive donations through the American Red Cross to Japan.  Step up Rubyists!

Matt and I have been talking about doing a software conference here in Bend for quite some time. After all, there’s a lot of people that have never heard of Bend, Oregon, not to mention the exceptional technical talent that this community has attracted.

So while we were in New Orleans at RubyConf, thanks to some helpful friends, we came up with the concept “Ruby on Ales” combining three of our favorite things: the Ruby community, beer and snow! It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but what the hell! It’s all in the name of science. In fact, I am hoping to get some statistically reliable data to support (or debunk) the Ballmer Peak theory.

We’re stoked that it’s actually happening, in no small part because we found some great collaborators in Coby, Josh and Mark.

So, check out the details, submit a proposal to talk, become a sponsor and get your early bird registration in cause the Hungover Bird prices are coming soon!

Matt and Mike will be there. So if you’re gonna be around and wanna grab a beer, let us know. We’ve got stickers, too. So come track us down if you need a cairn for your laptop.

Just look at AT&T and Apple (dropped call anyone?) if you want to see how the law of unintended consequences can mess up a perfectly good relationship. But with Engine Yard, it is the unintended consequences that make supporting the company so worthwhile. Yea, there are other solid hosting companies out there, including some damn good Rails hosts. But, Engine Yard (like no one else) supports the Rails community. I for one feel lucky that guys like Yehuda and many others have the opportunity to work in an environment that supports the community so voraciously. Just watch Yehuda’s keynote at RailsConf this year and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Equally important, it’s because of these contributors that Rails developers are able to provide such a compelling service to our clients.

That’s why I’m proud to say that CodeBenders is officially an Engine Yard partner. And, I’m proud to put the EY badge on our site.

Alright, enough with the fanboy talk… back to work.

If you’re a subscriber, you can access the article here. If you’re not, we ripped a copy from their site and posted the complete article here.

After a crazy flight back to the west coast – 15 hours of flying, circling, diverting, waiting, unloading, loading, sitting, waiting for a pilot from Baltimore to Portland – these are the things that stick out in my mind the most…

As I previously tweeted, Yehuda‘s keynote speech was awesome. If you think Ken Kesey new how to mix up a tasty batch of Kool-Aid, you should taste Yehuda’s. Oh, man, was I inspired (and still am)! For all the bravado that is the Rails, Yehuda’s talk defined the moral center of this community. If there’s only one video to watch from the conference. This is it…

A good complement to Wy’s speech was Gary Vee‘s talk on the “Give a Fuck Economy”. Gary bring’s more emotion to his talks than a JV cheerleading squad, not to mention that he drops more f-bombs than Matt. During the Q&A, I got to ask Gary about his interest in social action. Although, I think he initially misunderstood that I was asking about charity, he did express some interest in the shifting world of non-profit, community action. When you combine Wy’s community participation ideology with Gary’s “mom and pop” grow a relationship with your constituents, I see a brighter future. And that future makes me even more optimistic about UniteNow’s mission.

Here’s Gary’s talk…

Lastly, although not a keynote, I really enjoyed Ian McFarland’s talk Agile the Pivotal Way. Whether you are a consultancy, a startup, a non-profit, a government agency or anything in between, these insights are invaluable. The slides and video have not been posted, yet. But I hope they will be uploaded here soon.