[OSGeo-Conf] Letter of Intent for FOSS4G 2014

[Eddie Pickle]

*

Dear FOSS4G 2014 Selection Committee,
*

After two years abroad, it is time for FOSS4G to rock in North America
again. Please accept this letter as indication of our intent to submit a
bid to host the FOSS4G 2014 Conference in Washington D.C. in September
2014. We believe FOSS4G 2014 held in Washington D.C. can be one of the best
FOSS4G conferences yet. This conference will provide great content to
welcome practitioners, entrepreneurs, and outreach while maintaining the
strong developer program FOSS4G is known for. We anticipate the program
adding an exciting new area exploring where GIS and Enterprise IT converge.
Venue

The Walter E. Washington Convention Center
<http://www.dcconvention.com/>is located in the heart of Washington
D.C. near numerous government
offices, tourist attractions and hotels. Easily accessible accommodation
options are diverse ranging from $20 USD/night for hostels and up with many
well known hotel brands available nearby. The venue has the capacity to
comfortably host FOSS4G, scaling between 500 and 42K attendees. Floor plan
options<http://www.dcconvention.com/Attachments/Convention-Center/Floorplans-Apr2011.aspx>allow
an integrated plenary for up to 1458 people. It is a modern, sleek,
and highly energy efficient facility. Public transit is directly connected
to the facility and is clean, affordable, safe, and efficient.  Washington
is served by three major airports affording exceptional access to
international travelers.  This venue was the site of the successful FOSS4G
North America event in 2012.
Dates

We propose to host the conference September 22nd to 26th, 2014. In the
unlikely event of conflict for those dates, the event will be held
September 29th to October 3rd.
Conference Chair

   -

   Eddie Pickle (OpenGeo), Washington D.C., United States

Eddie Pickle is President and CEO of OpenGeo, a world leader in commercial
open source geospatial software.   Since joining OpenGeo in 2009 he has led
the company to rapid revenue growth, and in early 2013 directed its
successful spin-off into a private company from incubator parent,
OpenPlans.  Prior to joining OpenGeo, Eddie was a founder of OGC web
services pioneer, IONIC Enterprise, and served as its Chief Operating
Officer until its purchase by Hexagon in 2007.   Eddie holds an M.A. in
Geography from UCLA, specializing in demography, and has a broad range of
solutions expertise in location technology software and analytics.

Eddie led the teams that organized the successful FOSS4G North America 2012
and FedGeo Day 2013 events, which were both held in Washington D.C.
Experience

FOSS4G is a large and important annual event for the community. We are
fortunate to have a very experienced chair and a team with much depth. The
committee is supported by full-time staff who specialize in event planning.

   -

   Members of the team organized the successful FOSS4G North America 2012
   and recent "FedGeoDay 2013" (275 attendees) events in Washington D.C.
   -

   The logistics for this conference will be organized by the Eclipse
   Foundation’s expert conference organizing team who run two similar-sized
   EclipseCon conferences annually.

Conference Committee

   -

   Dave McIlhagga (CEO of MapSherpa and IMIA Board member, Chair of FOSS4G
   predecessor - OSGIS 2004), Ottawa, Canada
   -

   Andrew Ross (Director, Eclipse Foundation), Ottawa, Canada
   -

   Philip Bogden (Senior Scientist, Radiant Blue), Washington D.C., United
   States
   -

   Denise Mackenzie (Executive Director of Marketing & Communications,
   OGC), Melbourne, Australia
   -

   Kate Chapman (Acting Executive Director of the Humanitarian
   OpenStreetMap Team), Washington D.C., United States
   -

   Eric Gundersen (CEO, MapBox), Washington D.C., United States
   -

   Xavier Lopez (Director, Spatial and Graph products, Oracle and
   LocationTech co-chair), Boston, United States
   -

   Thierry Badard (CTO @ Spatialytics, Professor @ Laval University,
   co-chair of the ICA commission on open source geospatial technologies and
   OSGeo Quebec Steering committee member), Quebec City, Canada
   -

   Dr. Fraser Taylor, (Distinguished Research Professor & Director of the
   Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre, Carleton University), Ottawa,
   Canada


The diversity of experience and energy of the organising committee will
deliver a stimulating and enjoyable program. Most of us have worked on
successful events previously, and have attended and/or presented at several
previous FOSS4G conferences.
Financing

This bid does not require financial backing from OSGeo.  Based upon the
strength of the organizing committee, constituent organizations, and
factoring experience from FOSS4G 2011 (Denver), FOSS4G NA 2012 (Washington
D.C.) and this year’s FOSS4G (Nottingham), it anticipates a positive
financial return to OSGeo while keeping fees as low as possible.
Tourism

Washington D.C. boasts countless historical monuments, galleries, and
museums including the prestigious Smithsonian Institution. There are many
other governmental buildings including Capitol Hill, the White House,
Library of Congress, and more. There are sights to see and activities for
all tastes in addition to the great conference.
Supporting Organizations

This bid has support from the following organizations and groups: OpenGeo,
The Eclipse Foundation, LocationTech, Oracle, OGC, MapBox, MapSherpa, OSGeo
Quebec chapter, OSGeo Ottawa chapter, IBM, Actuate, Azavea, GCRC at
Carleton University, AvidGeo, RadiantBlue Technologies, George Mason
University Center of Excellence in GIS, Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI), and
more.
In Summary

FOSS4G 2014 will welcome developers, practitioners, academics, and
entrepreneurs from around the world. Washington D.C. is one of the best
possible places in the world to host FOSS4G 2014. It features a vibrant
local community, a strong base of innovative entrepreneurs, academics
exploring the frontiers of our industry, unique access to many governmental
agencies, and simplified travel for international participants. The team in
D.C. has proven they can run a great event. With a diverse, experienced,
and energetic team, we believe FOSS4G 2014 in Washington D.C. will be
remembered as one of the best.



Sincerely,



Eddie Pickle


J. Edward Pickle
Chief Executive Officer
*OpenGeo*
http://opengeo.org
epickle at opengeo.org
703-608-0200 - Mobile
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/conference_dev/attachments/20130510/5b37719e/attachment.html>