As we close out 2011, I wanted to take a moment to thank our sponsors, members, and volunteers on the board who have helped to make this a very successful year for Softec. Softec is all about connecting knowledge seekers with educators, job candidates, idea guys, and money guys in the local technology industry through "Softec moments" at our events. We hope that you have either directly or indirectly benefited from our efforts in this past year to make these moments happen!
This year started off with a decision to take over TechBrew, an informal tech networking event, and work hard to build up the attendance and viability of the event. Over the course of the year, attendance has grown steadily, and we have a great venue at Pappy McGregors. Lots of "Softec moments" have happened through TechBrew and we look forward to continuing this event in 2012 with spotlights on individual companies at each event.
We had many successful events and open houses this year, but I wanted to spotlight a few.
We had our first ever Solar special event, with experts from REC Solar, First Solar, and SunPower explaining all of the potential business to business opportunities that exist in their fast growing industry. With over 100 attendees and a lot of buzz created by the SunPower and Topaz and solar projects, we had a very successful event that showcased one of the fastest growing technology clusters in world and the huge impact utility scale solar projects are going to have on the Central Coast.
Fast forward to September when we had our largest ever Symposium, which brought together many of the local resources that Central Coast entrepreneurs can use to help their businesses thrive. This event was the place to be to learn about microloans, incubators, Cal Poly resources for entrepreneurs, City of SLO resources for small businesses, and venture capital resources, just to name a few. Rick Stollmeyer of MINDBODY gave a great keynote about connecting the dots and bringing internal and external resources together to build a successful organization, and we had two great panels that highlighted the local resources and how to utilize them.
And then in October we had an extremely successful Robotics event that was covered on live TV by KSBY during the evening news hour. Held at Kennedy Club fitness, there were even underwater robots on display! We donated $4,100 to several high school robotics programs to help their programs grow and to promote an early interest and enthusiasm for science and technology.
In December we wrapped up the year with a combined TechBrew and Buckboards event, and got to hear hi-lights of what businesses and individuals had accomplished in the past year.
Softec's online community is growing, too. Thanks to the countless hours put in by Justin Couto and his team at Couto Solutions, softec.org is a content-rich and interactive resource. From discussion groups to job forums and expert blogs, there are great resources for our membership and sponsors. You can go back into the event history and find pictures and PowerPoints from previous events. And with the increased traffic to our web site, sponsors are benefiting from their prominent placement in the Sponsor Showcase.
Thank you again to Softec's terrific Board of Directors, it has been an honor to serve as your President this year. My one year term comes to an end on December 31st, and Adi Ringer is incoming President, joining Glenn Shackelford as Vice President, Ken Long as Treasurer, and Deborah Bayles as Secretary. I look forward to continued involvement with Softec as Board Chair, and an exciting 2012 with Adi leading the board on a new adventure.
To our members and sponsors, Happy Holidays and enjoy your time with family and friends during this season. See you all next year!