History
Explore the key moments that have defined our organization over the years. This timeline highlights our milestones, challenges, and achievements. It offers a glimpse into our past, showcasing the steady progress and dedication that brings us to today. Take a moment to see how far we’ve come.
NWA TECHFEST – 2023
May 16, 2023Should you be scared of artificial intelligence? Yes. Do we have some time until you need to be actively scared of it? Also, yes. Use that extra time wisely! Come to our one-day conference on May 16th at the Jones Center in Springdale!
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NWA TechFest 2020-2021
August 11, 2021Due to persistent effects of the COVID-19 virus and its variants, the organizing committee for NWA TechFest were forced to delay and then cancel conference plans until the health and safety of attendees could be maintained. This was the year that the NWA TechFest meetup group was created to maintain some smaller ongoing events during the downtime between conferences. Join the Meetup group!
NWA TechFest – 2019
April 19, 2019The seventh year of NWA TechFest moved to the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. It was held on April 19, 2019. Over 250 technologists and students attended to learn from each other and build the community. The keynotes were Aavron Estep, researcher and STEM advocate, and Dave Gandy, founder and CEO of Font Awesome. This year, donations from attendees and sponsors were spread across the year to give back to our community: In Q2 of 2019, NWA TechFest gave $2,500 to Girls Who Code In Q3 2019, $1,300 was given to Ignite Professional Studies Scholarships, in partnership with Ozark STEM In Q4 of 2019 for $1,000 at GiveCamp NWA In the upcoming Q1 of 2020, NWA TechFest will donate $1,000+ in the form of local grants for STEM programs and educational technology
NWA TechFest – 2018
May 17, 2018On May 17, 2018, the sixth year of NWA TechFest was held at the Fayetteville Town Center. The keynote speakers were John Weis, the NASA Educational Specialist for our region, and Gary Dowdy, Head of Innovation and Disruptive Technology at J.B. Hunt. Speakers spoke along three tracks: Innovation, Education, and Technology. About 300 technologists and students attended to learn from each other and build the community. Proceeds from the event enabled NWA TechFest to donate $5,000 to go toward scholarships for Experience Robotics, a summer robotics camp in Bentonville!
NWA TechFest – 2017
May 18, 2017After a few years hibernation, NWA TechFest roared back onto the scene on May 18, 2017. The event was held at the Fayetteville Town Center, had over 250 attendees and was able to donate $5,000 in cash and materials to help upgrade the Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club computer lab. The Keynote speakers were General Tamhra Hutchins-Frye and Colonel Bobbie Dorenbos discussing Arkansas Air National Guard tech and Kevin Clark, CEO of NOWDx. The Arkansas Air National Guard also brought a MQ9 Reaper drone flight simulator and a mobile unit for emergency operations disaster relief. Breakout session topics included: “Building Data Pipelines with Python”, “DevOps for the Little Guy”, and Crypto Before Computers”.
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NWA TechFest – 2014
January 31, 2014The fourth year of the event returned to the UA Global Campus on January 31, 2014. The Keynote speakers were John Foreman, chief data scientist of MailChimp and Jason Seats, co-founder/managing director of TechStars. The number of attendees topped 350 and there were 32 breakout sessions. Mark Brandon returned to organize the event, along with Victoria Coppett, and the entrance fees and items collected once more were donated to NWA Food Bank.
NWA TechFest – 2012
August 24, 2012The third year of NWA TechFest was held at the UA Global Campus on August 24, 2012. There were 48 breakout sessions, featured a keynote panel discussion, and the theme was “Tech Entrepreneurship in NWA”. Organizer Mark Brandon said the message of NWA TechFest is: “We want you to not be afraid to start your tech enterprise in Northwest Arkansas, we want you to in Northwest Arkansas, and we are here to help.”
NWA TechFest – 2011
March 25, 2011The second year of NWA TechFest was held on March 25th, 2011. The entrance fee was $2 or 2 cans of food and those donations went to the NWA Food Bank. Breakout sessions included: “The Creamy Goodness of Nuget!”, “ASP.NET MVC3”, Attack of the Cloud”, and “The CAP Theorem and its Consequences”.
NWA TechFest – 2010
July 8, 2010The first NWA TechFest was held on July 8th, 2010 and was modeled after its sister event the Tulsa TechFest. The entrance fee for the event was $2 or 2 cans of food. The event was considered a resounding success when its over 250 attendees raised $269 for the Jones Center in Springdale, AR and many cans of food for the NWA Food Bank. The Keynote Speaker that year was Murray Vince, Microsoft’s General Manager, OEM Division. Session topics included: “Visual Studio 2010: config file transformations”, “Estimate Your Requirements With Planning Poker”, BCS, Enterprise Search, and “Your Data in the Cloud, Securely Using OData (The Open Data Protocol)”.
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