Places to Stay near RE Bar Camp Phoenix

UPDATE: Bumping this post from last year back up to the top for our out of town visitors…

I’m THRILLED that we have so many from out of town already RSVP’ed! Several have asked me for hotel recommendations.

Here’s the deal — I can’t recommend a specific hotel. I live here, I don’t stay in hotels…

But there are a TON of options near the venue. Anything near “Old Town Scottsdale” would be ridiculously convenient.

Here’s a Google Map search for “Hotels near Scottsdale Stadium“. The venue is near the center of the map (with a little baseball and shockingly labeled “Scottsdale Stadium”). Clicking on a map marker will bring up info on these hotels.

Watch your rates. Some resort hotels in Scottsdale can be very expensive. If you’re are getting a car, there are several hotels near the airport and along I-10 that would also be pretty convenient and probably cheaper. (Just zoom out on the map) Personally, I’d avoid west Mesa. Phoenix is pretty easy to get around in, so unless you stay out in the boonies, you won’t be that far from the venue.

I’m going to TRY to get some reduced rates, but I don’t think we have the volume to get very far with that.

View Larger Map

Coming to Phoenix RE Bar Camp? Help support charities!

Attendance at RE Bar Camp is free.

And you’re going to get a TON of information.

For free.

If you are one of the first 400 to sign in on the morning of REBC, you’ll get an event t-shirt and lunch.

For free.

So how about paying it forward and helping some charities?

No, this isn’t required, but it’s a good thing to do. A very good thing.

We’ve decided to support three charities:

Desert Mission Food Bank:

Items most needed: tuna fish, peanut butter, cereal, soup, bath & laundry soap, baby formula, large diapers.

Packages From Home:

Items most needed:

AT&T International Phone cards – be sure they’re for calls from the Middle East to the US

FOOD Please Make Sure Your Donation has at Least Two Months of Shelf Life Left.

* Pre sweetened powdered drink mixes ( Crystal Lite, Gatorade, KoolAid…)
* Coffee ( ground, vacuum pak or small cans)
* Beef Jerky ( small packages)

HYGIENE

* Foot Powder (Gold Bond etc)
* “Cool Ties”
* Eye Drops (for desert environment)
* Lip Balm ( Blistex, Carmex, Chapstick etc.)
* Men’s Deodorant ( Stick type – NOT anti-perspirant)
* Hand Sanitizer ( small and medium size)

Mother’s Fighting for Others:

In desperate need of 35 backpacks (No rolling ones – you can’t roll on a dirt road) for orphaned school girls in Kenya. This is a wonderful organization. We don’t need 100 backpacks, so please leave a comment below if you can bring one. MFFO also needs:

* Pencils
* blue/black/red sharp or FINE point pens http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/181636/Paper-Mate-Ballpoint-Stick-Pens-0/
* Erasers, preferably the ones that erase pen too http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/930032/Paper-Mate-Union-Pen-Pencil-Eraser/

All of these organizations also need cash. Even a five dollar donation can go a long way. (More of course, is welcome) So if you can not bring a specific item listed above, please open your wallet and donate. We’ll pool all cash collected and distribute it to these fine charities.

I’m a real estate broker, I know what the economy is like. I also know what we’ve paid for some classes, and this event is going to blow most of those classes away. Please consider paying it forward.

THANK YOU!!

Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors (SAAR) is Premier Sponsor for REBCPHX2!

Major, MAJOR kudos to the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors (SAAR) for stepping up to be the Premier sponsor for Phoenix Real Estate Bar Camp 2!

Thanks to SAAR, we’ll be able secure the wonderful venue we used for last years RE Bar Camp — Scottsdale Stadium.

Realtor Associations are often considered stodgy “Old School” groups that don’t “get” different ways of thinking and communicating. That SAAR is open-minded and generous enough to sponsor an event like this speaks volumes. Their membership should be very proud of their Association. Obviously they are progressive and willing to think outside the box.

And that is a good thing. For their agent members, and those members clients and prospects.

Thank you SAAR!!

Not familiar with what Real Estate Bar Camp is? Just peruse this site for more information.

Take a look at who has already indicated they will be attending. We’ve got people from not just across Arizona, but from across the country!

Shouldn’t YOU be on that list? Just RSVP for the big event on April 9! It is free to attend and promises to be jam packed with information, techniques, strategy and tips to take your business to the next level.

Phoenix RE Bar Camp 2!! Get ready to rock.

It is on.

Mark your calendars for April 9, 2010.

Phoenix RE Bar Camp 2 is on. We’re headed back to Scottsdale Stadium, the site of last years event. We looked around, but really couldn’t find a better place (of note, we should be able to get wifi — which was the only remotely negative feedback we received from the last event. Oh, and coffee.)

The date is about 99% set in stone. We just have to wrap up a few loose ends.

What’s next?

RSVP, that’s what!

Don’t know what a RE Bar Camp is? Read other posts here. Ask. Come back for more info. Check out the photos from PHXREBC1. You can watch the video to see what people thought. But trust me on this, you are going to want to attend this event. AND PARTICIPATE!

Phoenix RE Bar Camp 2 will be free to attend. But it’s not free to produce. We need sponsors.

We need volunteers too. Wanna help plan/organize REBCPHX2? Contact Jay… jay@thompsonsrealty.com

It’s a Wrap! Feedback and Thoughts on RE Bar Camp Phoenix

RE Bar Camp Phoenix 2009 is over.

And personally, I thought it was a smashing success!

I’d like to take a moment to thank the organizers and the volunteers that made it all possible. They were an amazing bunch of people to work with, and I am proud to call them friends.

To our sponsors, thank you. The venue was fantastic. The food, while clearly not award winning cuisine, was good and having it on site (and free for the attendees) was greatly appreciated. People are wearing the t-shirts (with your name on the back) with pride. And we had enough water and drinks that no one passed out from heat exhaustion.

To those that facilitated sessions, thanks so much. You were an integral part of the success of the event. To those that wanted to hold a session, sorry there weren’t enough rooms. But I guess that’s a good problem to have. Keep that session in mind for the next one!

Most importantly, I’d like to thank all the people that attended. You can plan and plan and secure sponsors until you are blue in the face, but if no one shows up that’s all for naught.

And not only did people show up (over 300 attended), they participated. And it’s that participation that really makes a bar camp style event rock.

The organizers would LOVE to hear your thoughts. Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly. What should we do differently for the next one? What did we miss? Any (and I mean ANY) thoughts, ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a little video montage I put together with some feedback gathered that day. It’s too long, but I think it gives an overall feel for what many thought. But it’s tough to give “constructive criticism” with a camera in your face. PLEASE let us have some, it’s the only way to make the next event better!

#REbcPhx on Flickr

For those of us taking photos of REBarCamp-Phoenix activities, we’ve added a #rebcphx group on Flickr.  We would like to encourage everyone to add your pictures to the group and of course, take a look  at all the others that are there. 

Don’t forget to tag your photo with the ” #rebcphx ” hashtag.  Believe it or not, it really does come in handy when searching for like photos. 

Interesting that the event hasn’t even happened yet and already we have some great photos!

#rebcphx is gonna rock!

Free Parking in and Around Scottsdale Stadium

If Scottsdale Stadium, Home of the San Francisco Giants, can accommodate the parking needs of 13,000 baseball fans, then parking certainly will not be an issue for us

With this in mind, we just wanted to provide you with some ideas for free parking in and around Scottsdale Stadium

Registration will be set up at the south entrance (nearest the team shop). There are approximately 150 parking spaces in the stadium lot.

Other options include the Civic Center and the Library – also, free and located just north of the stadium. You’ll need to walk along the sidewalks to the south side of the Stadium, but it’s not a long walk. 

Scottsdale Osborne Hospital is across the street from the Stadium (just to the west), but probably not a good idea to park there … they’re always busy and need the spaces for patients.

Here’s a map of parking that you may find useful. Remember, registration begins around 8:30 with the first session beginning at 9am. 

#rebcphx is gonna rock!

Call for Speakers: RE BarCamp Phoenix 2009

RE BarCamp Phoenix 2009 is less than 4 days away.  We went by Scottsdale Stadium today and made preparations for exactly how we’ll use the available space for the various sessions.  What we’ll have is the team shop, which can handle 200 people, the press box which can handle 50 people, then 2 smaller rooms that can each handle 25 people.  On top of that, we have an awesome networking area with 5 rooms that will handle 5-10 people each, for those smaller more intimate sessions.  Outside those rooms is a large foyer for general networking between sessions, that 50+ folks can mingle in.  Couple that with all of the various patio spaces (it could be hot in the afternoon, so we aren’t relying on them), and there should be plenty of space to accommodate the 250 people we expect in attendance, plus some wiggle room.

The team shop and one of the 25 person rooms will both have projectors, however right now we do not have a wifi solution.  It seems Qwest has decided to stop returning phone calls.  If anyone has a connection at Qwest that will encourage them to call us back, have them call Jay.  It’s not critical, but it would be nice.

This leads us to today’s call to action:  If you are planning to lead a session, please leave a comment here with what you plan to talk about.  When we announced BarCamp, Jay requested this as well, but now that it’s closer, for those that may have been on the fence about presenting, please chime in now.  We’ll be formalizing the majority of the session leaders Thursday morning at 9:30am, but any pre-work we can get done now will help us plan the space, as it is a little spread out, and we recognize the need to “map it out” so to speak.

As a guide, here’s what we’d like to see in your comment:

Presenters Name
Session Title
Description of Session
Do you need a projector?
If you won’t be there all day, please let us know when you can present.

If you cannot be there at 9:30am, when we set the day’s agenda, it’s important we know about your session in advance, so we can slot you in accordingly.

Likewise, if you are attending, and you’d like to hear someone lead a session on a specific topic, please post a comment with what you want to hear about.  Again, Jay asked for this back on February 20.  If you commented on that post, thank you!  You don’t need to comment again.

Session Schedule for RE BarCamp Phoenix

RE BarCamp Phoenix is only a few days away, and if you are attending, you may be thinking, what happens and when?  So here’s the schedule for the day:

8:30a – 9:00a	Registration	Scottsdale Stadium
9:00a – 9:30a	What is Bar Camp?	Scottsdale Stadium
9:30a – 10:00a	Session Scheduling	Scottsdale Stadium
10:00a – 11:00a	Session 1	Scottsdale Stadium
11:00a –11:15a	Break	Scottsdale Stadium
11:15a – 12:15p	Session 2	Scottsdale Stadium
12:15p – 1:00p	Lunch	Scottsdale Stadium
1:00p – 2:00p	Session 3	Scottsdale Stadium
2:00p – 2:15p	Break	Scottsdale Stadium
2:15p – 3:15p	Session 4	Scottsdale Stadium
3:15p – 3:30p	Break	Scottsdale Stadium
3:30p – 4:30p	Session 5	Scottsdale Stadium
4:30p -	#phxafterbar	Salty Seniorita

.
That’s 5 sessions for an hour each.  Those that plan to lead a session now know they have one hour to fill, not 45 minutes and not 75 minutes.  If you can’t make it the entire day (which would be quite a shame), this schedule should help you target an arrival/departure time.

The specifics of who will lead the sessions throughout the day will be set from 9:30a-10:00a. Given that Scottsdale Stadium is a large venue, we plan to allow for as many concurrent sessions as there is both demand and willingness to lead them.  With over 250 registered attendees, it won’t surprise any of us if there are 4 or 5 concurrent sessions throughout the day.  Or even more.  Folks may be talking during a break and then create an impromptu session via their discussion.  That’s cool. Don’t feel like you are “blowing off” something important if that happens.  Likewise, if you are in a session and the value isn’t there, get up and walk over to another one.  That’s part of the magic of BarCamp.

Plus, don’t forget the warm up party at RedPear the night before BarCamp.

See you there!

Stacey Harmon on RE Bar Camp Phoenix

I had the pleasure of meeting Stacey Harmon at Inman Connect in New York City in January. She’s a smart one, and a terrific person (even if she struggles with luggage and getting on trains….)

I was thrilled when I heard she was coming to Phoenix for Bar Camp!

Here’s a post she just wrote about a session she is going to hold –titled “Nuts and Bolts – How to Get Started in Social Media”.

YOU TOO can hold a session! Or just attend. Or hang in the halls and talk to people. It’s your “conference”, you can really make it into whatever you need!