Thank You

It isn't hard to say, but it's pretty rare to hear. We all work hard to move our community and region forward and it's easy to lose sight of the end goal.

There's an article that's been all over my Twitter feed tonight about Cincinnati becoming an unexpected startup hub. It's being shared and retweeted by people outside the tech community and that's when I realized that something was different. It isn't often that I see things like that shared outside our circles.

When something like that happens, we're all proud and happy to share. We like success stories and it's fun to post them for friends and family to see. We love our city and want others to as well, but it's easy to forget all the blood, sweat, tears and meetings that went in to creating that story.

I mentioned it on Twitter to J.B., Dave and Rob, but I wanted more than 140 characters. I want to say "Thank You."

Thank you for putting your time and effort in the Brandery.

Thanks for sticking it out, seeing classes come and go and making it better every year. You're changing this city's image for the better and we all benefit. Thank you.

There are others I want to thank, too.

Erin Kidwell: thanks for your leadership and insistence on collaboration. I'm thankful that you always remind me there are others who want to help. Thank you for helping organize QCMerge. Thank you for organizing GDICincinnati.

Ry Walker: thanks for jumping headfirst in to the startup scene. You bring experience and talent that's needed as a developer and entrepreneur. You're braver than I and I hope to do something like it someday.

Gerard Sychay & Bill Barnett: thank you for starting Cincy's first coworking space. You're always ahead of everyone else and you both took risks. I'm sad we didn't have more support, but a lot of great things came from that space and you should be proud.

Joe Pantuso: thank you for making Ignite Cincy happen over and over again.

Josh Owens: thank you for always challenging people to do more, better.

Chris Ridenour & Nikki Pfhaler: thanks for helping me organize the most successful meetup group I've ever been involved in. Nothing makes me happier than hearing about someone's new job because of the Drinkup. Thanks for all your work on Startup Weekend, too.

Matt Brewer & Ryan Cromwell: thank you for making Southwest Ohio Give Camp happen. It's a great event that helps more people than we know.

Bobby Uhlenbrock: thank you for helping make Queen City Merge happen. Thank you for coming back for another round this year.

Mark Windholtz: thank you for organizing Agile Roundtable. It also grew to something much larger.

RoadTrippers, ChoreMonster, Modulus, Repp, Ahalogy and others: thanks for staying here. It sounds silly, but seriously, thank you for not heading west. These articles don't happen without all the work you're all doing.

Gaslight Team: thank you for being so talented and willing to help. I get to work with the smartest, most passionate people I've ever known. We've accomplished so much and it's only the beginning. Thanks for letting me come along. You're helping me to grow every day.

I'm certain that I'm failing to mention people, but maybe I should just do this regularly. Maybe you should, too.

Photo credit: Cincinnati Riverfront Sunset by ChrisIrmo, on Flickr