Small Spaces Create Big Ideas
Claustrophobics need not apply.
Text by Abigail Wright
$3.25 million is on the table and up for grabs to all the creators in this year’s One Spark Festival taking place in Downtown Jacksonville from April 9 through April 13. The mass appeal of the second annual event has an international reach, as spectators and creators arrive from all over the globe to participate. It’s evident that One Spark is a huge part of the resurgence in Downtown Jacksonville.
Let’s do some numbers:
5 days
1758 registered volunteers
20 city blocks
More than 150,000 voters
8 paid employees
900 square feet of office space
Wait, what? One Spark is functioning with only eight employees in a room the size of your average garage?? It’s hard to believe that these people can pull off such a huge event. But they will — just as they did during the 2013 festival. Some Jacksonvillians truly believe that One Spark will single-handedly save our city.
Eight people co-work every day in a 900-square-foot room at joined desks — and they're kicking ass. These folks started planning One Spark 2014 during LAST year’s festival. Executive Director Joe Sampson was an avid professional golfer watcher. He ventured to all the major tourneys, up to six or eight a year. Now Joe says he tries to get ‘six hours of sleep’ a night. The group overall seems to run like the proverbial well-oiled machines. All the employees and planners are advocates for Jacksonville and work tirelessly in many different organizations to help continue the resurgence efforts in our Downtown.
Vince Cavin, the finance guru, has a hand in many pots around town. Aside from his One Spark duties, he is also a founder of PB&J (Party Benefit and Jam), hosting events throughout the year. Meredith Johnson, the volunteer manager, has been involved in politics, managing campaigns all over the country — including serving as a consultant for Jesse Wilson’s campaign during the Jacksonville City Council elections in 2015.
Then there’s Elton Rivas, Dennis Eusebio and Varick Rosete. These jet-setting co-founders and directors are busy as hell spreading the good news about One Spark and Jacksonville. It seems like they check in on Facebook from somewhere different every week. So how, in such a small space, with so few people working such insane hours, are they going pull this off?
Collaboration is the key factor. Each one involved believes in the movement. Sampson truly hopes that any market One Spark enters will eventually turn into a booming tech and creative hub with numerous startup teams, incubators and co-working spaces on the rise along with some noteworthy exits under its belt. To get there, he says, they need those markets to become a center for tech and creative talent to live, work and play, adding that "quality of life is everything. I think One Spark leads out there, collaboratively with numerous organizations and teams in each market.” He mentions that humor is important, too. “Generally, I can always count on Chad Landenberger [the brand marketing manager] and/or Patrick Murphy [the customer solutions specialist] to add a little comedic perspective to just about any situation. With a small team producing something as big as One Spark, it's good to have a couple of team members to help keep everyone loose in otherwise stressful situations.”
When asked what his plans are for the day after the festival ends on April 14, Sampson says, “Media interviews and planning the 2015 festival.” They. Never. Stop. One last question: “How much coffee do you guys go through a day?”
“We don't track this data. :-).”
One Spark is being held in Downtown Jacksonville April 9-13. For details, go to beonespark.com.
http://folioweekly.com/SMALL-SPACES-BIG-IDEAS,9480
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