Second TEDxYoungstown planned for January

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The second TEDx-Youngstown will take place Jan. 23, 2015, in Ford Theater located in Bliss Hall at Youngstown State University.

The theme for the independently organized event, licensed by TED, is “Breaking Boundaries.”

The inaugural TEDx-Youngstown event was last Jan. 24 and featured 18 speakers from around Northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley, including Jeff Hoffman, former CEO of Priceline.com. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.

With only 100 tickets available, the event sold out quickly.

“The feedback received from the first-year event was outstanding. Most attendees could not say enough good things about the event and the speakers,” said Bob McGovern, a member of the TEDxYoungstown team who works at FirstEnergy.

Over the next few months, committee members will seek event sponsors and speakers and prepare to sell tickets.

“We learned a lot in our first year hosting a TEDx event,” said Lori Shandor, curator for TEDxYoungstown and gift planning/campaign director at Park Vista of Youngstown. “The entire committee is excited to begin a second TED-like event to local TED fans.”

As plans unfold, information will be updated on the TEDxYoungstown.com website and on social-media pages.

On June 17, those who think they have an “Idea Worth Spreading” can attend open auditions. Auditions will be at the Youngstown Business Incubator in downtown Youngstown from 6 to 8 p.m. They will be on a first- come, first-served basis. A panel of committee members and past TEDx-Youngstown speakers will evaluate those auditioning. Visit TEDxYoungstown.com for details.

Speakers selected from the June 17 open auditions, along with those curated by the TEDxYoungstown team, will appear on stage at the Jan. 23 event.

Tickets for the daylong event are expected to go on sale in October.

Anyone wanting information about TEDxYoungstown can contact Shandor at TEDxYoungstown@gmail.com.