And now, for a word ABOUT our sponsors

[Pat Coyle]

My Dad always used to say, 'it's better for someone else to say good things about you than for you to talk about yourself." In that spirit, I want to share just a couple of thoughts about the amazing group of people / companies sponsoring Smaller Indiana and the Bigger ideas Conference.

I've appreciated our sponsors from day one, but this week really exemplified just how important TRUE sponsors are to Smaller Indiana. By TRUE sponsors I mean folks who are not just investing money in SI to promote themselves, but people who enjoy participating in the SI community, who want to see SI fulfill its mission, and who are willing to go above and beyond to help.

Take, for example, Kristian Andersen and his gang at KA+A. They've been involved since (before) the beginning as they donated the Smaller Indiana logo design, and acted as consultants to me as I formulated my strategy. They designed the T shirts that some of us are proudly wearing...and just this week when I put out a call for help promoting the Bigger Ideas event, they brainstormed and offered a street-level marketing idea (featured on main page today)...and they didn't just offer an idea, they designed the stencils, got the paint and made a list of possible places to paint.

KA+A ended up working hand in hand with Daniel Herndon, who runs an experiential marketing company in town called, Red Wall Live. Daniel's not a sponsor, but he saw what KA+A and SI were trying to do, and offered his company's services to execute the concept. This all happened in a span of about 20 minutes from the time Daniel offered to help, and I said "go for it." This is a great deal for both parties...Daniel gets to show SI what his company can do...and SI gets expert leadership on an edgy marketing initiative.

Before, during and after the stencil event, I've been bouncing ideas of Lorraine Ball at Roundpeg. Roundpeg is a sponsor. They handle the day-to-day administration of new membership, and they handle the PR for SI. This week we're getting press in IBJ and we'll be on Gerry Dick and in Star...thanks in large part to Roundpeg's work and relationships in the media. I owe a special thanks to Lorraine who has to put up with several text messages a day from me...I tend to bounce stuff off her because I trust her judgement, and I know that she has a deep grasp and appreciation for the spirit of Smaller Indiana.

As does Ron Brumbarger at Bitwise Solutions. Bitwise is anothre sponsor and Ron is another guy I look to for advice. Just yesterday I notice in Bitwise's E mail newsletter they featured the Bigger Ideas conference as the lead story. That's what I'm talking about!!

I could tell long stories about other sponsors like John Qualls at Bluelock, who is member #3 in SI, and was the very first firm to step up and invest in sponsoring SI. John is yet another member of my informal personal advisory board...he is always there whenever I have a question, and has been a staunch supporter of SI since its inception. He even helped me get Mark Hill interested in speaking at Bigger Ideas.

I feel bad that I have to list these folks one at at time...and only the folks who read to the end will discover my appreciation for Brian Payne at CICF. Brian and I started talking about Smaller Indiana before it was even called Smaller Indiana...a year before it was launched. He has been a steady supporter all the way through...and has been instrumental in the Bigger Ideas conference coming together as it has.

And how could any love letter to sponsors be complete without tipping my hat to Doug Karr and his Marketing Technology blog? If you ever see me involved in anything that involves technology, you can safely assume Doug is behind the scenes interpreting what I'm saying, and making the vision come to life...thing is, he usually makes it even better than I pictured it, which is what I love about that guy!

I gotta run now as Saturday morning duties are calling, but I don't want to sign off without acknowledging the countless members of Smaller Indiana who are volunteering their time and passion to make this community go. Please know that even though I haven't mentioned any names, there are dozens of people out there to whom I owe my gratiude...thanks everyone! We've got 6,000 SI members and over 170 registered for Bigger Ideas. Way to go!

[Douglas Karr]

Thanks Pat! I'm a sucker for recognition... luckily, there are folks like you to dream it up though!

[Lorraine Ball]

Thanks for the mention. But this is really a labor of love. I am having a ball, and can't wait to see it all come together