As some regular readers might know, I recently missed my opportunity in December to talk at the Denver CMS Expo due to some fractured ribs which kept me from flying to the event. Well, the ribs are healing nicely and I've now got my sights set on Las Vegas, Nevada, the site of the next Joomla! Day in the United States (April 3rd and 4th, 2009).

Not only will this be my first trip to Vegas, but while I am there I will be teaching Joomla! for the first time. In addition, JDay Vegas 2009 will feature some very big names in the Joomlasphere (besides myself ) including Steven Burge (JED editorial team), Toni Marie (JED editorial team), Wilco Jansen (Open Source Matters board), Anthony Ferrara (Joomla core team) and Andrew Eddie (Joomla core team.

If that wasn't enough to get you fired up, just remmeber. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas (except for all the awesome Joomla training that is. You should really remmeber that stuff).

For all the information and registration for both the training sessions and Joomla Day Las Vegas, head on over to lasvegas.joomladayusa.org.

 The January 2009 (and inaugural) Milwaukee Joomla User Group Meetup will be held on January 29 at the Milwaukee County Research Park. The 90 minute meeting will start at 11:45 AM and a catered lunch will be provided. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

I just wanted to write a personal and public thank-you to the guys at Joomla! Chicago for hosting a superb and professional event. In particular, John and Linda Coonen and Mike Carson deserve due credit for pulling off the event without a hitch. Respect.

The community support for the meeting was overwhelming. Over 250 people from across the country and across the globe showed up and treated the keynote speakers like rock stars. Thanks so much ... hope we see you again at the next EXPO.

 

Early bird registration for the 2008 Joomla! EXPO in Chicago has been extended 3 days to March 29. Please take the opportunity now to register for the EXPO and take advantage of the lower-cost earlt bird benefit.

Will you be in the midwest around May 16th? If so, The JoomlaChicago Group is pleased to announce its plans to host the first-ever JoomlaEXPO on May 16, 2008 at the elegant Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Suites Hotel.  You're invited to "come together, explore Joomla!" This unique all-day conference will sell out, so please register soon, to ensure you've got a spot.

Check-in starts at 7:30 to get your Welcome Packet; then, the event starts promptly at 8:30 am. Bring a friend who's a Joomla fan too, as after the conference, we'll host a one-of-a-kind Joomla Cocktail Party (open source, open party, open bar)!

The JoomlaEXPO program will focus strongly on technical education, of course, but will also address practical issues related to selection of Joomla (vs. another CMS) and operation of Joomla in a production environment.

Come learn from an impressive lineup of Joomla CMS experts, ready to share their keen insights on Joomla, including author and entrepreneur Barrie North (compassdesigns.net); Joomlacaster, author and security expert Tom Canavan (joomlajabber.com); Anything Digital Founder, President and CTO Victor Drover, PhD [that's me :) ], CorePHP's Steve Pignataro (corephp.com); Azrul Rahim, creator of JomComment and MyBlog (azrul.com); the "CEO of SEO," Mr. Steve Burge (alledia.com); and Joseph L. LeBlanc, developer and author of Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development as well as a number of popular online Joomla tutorials (JLLeblanc.com).

We'll have a lot more information for you here as May 16th approaches, but don't wait!  Other Joomla! events have sold out quickly, and we expect Joomla!EXPO will be no exception.  Attendance is limited to the first 200 registrants, so be sure to reserve your spot now!  "Early Bird" pricing of $100 for the day is available only through Saturday, March 29th, after which the price goes up to $125.