WordCamp US has always been an important part of the WordPress community. More than just a convention, it’s a gathering of passionate and like-minded individuals dedicated to creating a positive impact through WordPress.

Whether you are a content creator, developer, agency, or hosting provider, WordCamp US Portland helped spark even more inspiration and collaboration within the community.

Here is a look at some of our highlights at WordCamp US in Portland, Oregon from September 17 through 20, 2024.

Bringing The A2 All-Star Team

First and foremost, I think about the All-Star Team of leaders we brought from A2 Hosting. We wanted to show a sample of our team and culture to WordCamp US attendees as we did last year.

Our team is my favorite part of the work I do at A2.

So we brought a big group again that included:

• Bryan Muthig (Founder & CEO): Bryan is a sys admin by background and that makes him a great listener and problem solver. He’s a sponge to how people are using WordPress and how we can help ease their issues, personally leading several of our big WordPress initiatives, like our Performance Optimizations in TurboHub. I love having him anytime we can as he sets the tone of our culture at A2 Hosting and his passion for our customers.
• Justin Mazzi (CTO): Justin is one of our hosting industry veterans, but more so a great listener and people person, along with a brilliant mind. I loved seeing him mingle with WordPress developers and talk shop!
• Aaron Campbell (Director of Product): Not only is Aaron the leader of our Product Team and one of our WordPress Core Contributors, but he is also part of the WCUS Organizing Team. He was super busy making sure WCUS ran smoothly but was still able to make it for our key events.
• Elise Alley (Senior Manager of Customer Support): Elise joined A2 in July but I worked with her at iThemes for 8 years or so and love her vision and values for what we do here.
• Justin Drago (Customer Experience Manager): Justin leads the magical team that makes migrations and hosting recommendations for customers and agencies. We had several meetings together with agency owners seeking to move their WP sites to A2 Hosting. I’m the warm introduction but Justin’s the real talent who knows our products and hosting and makes it all easy… and everyone knows it!
• Andrew Jones (Senior WordPress Developer): Andrew is another one of our WordPress Core Contributors.
• Kelli Gray (Senior Product Manager): Kelli started at A2 Hosting in August and dove straight in, offering her vast experiences with web hosting and agency work to inform our product direction.
• Corey Hammond (Senior Director of Marketing): Corey is my marketing partner at A2 Hosting with deep experience and knowledge of our work and who we serve
• Josh Gale (Affiliate Manager)
• Tyler Hall (Senior Manager, Systems Engineering)
• Lauren Deakins (Director of Human Resources): We love having Lauren attend these events because we’re always hiring great WordPress people!

Last but certainly not least, our A2 Community Team members:

Our WCUS sponsorship, booth, dinners and Happy Hour as well as coordinating our booth team could not have happened without these two awesome teammates. They managed a million details and executed our plans flawlessly with a smile! And I’m honored to work alongside them:

• Katie Richards – Community Team Project Manager and part of the WCUS Organizing Team
• Katie Schlansker – Partnerships Coordinator

I call them the K2s and want to say a huge thank you to them for all their work!

 

A2 Hosting Happy Hour with Omnisend

To kick off the event, A2 Hosting partnered with Omnisend for a special Happy Hour event at the Metropolitan Tavern. Their rooftop bar offered an incredible view of Portland. It gave us the chance to catch up with friends, both old and new, in a more casual, relaxed setting.

I like these pre-events because you get to make some connections and have good conversations before the event starts and gets wild.

The A2 Hosting Booth with Custom Race Cars By LEGO artist Kelly Bartlett

Renowned LEGO artist Kelly Bartlett created several custom race cars for the A2 Hosting booth. It was incredible seeing Kelly’s work up close and meeting her in person after months of online meetings. (You can watch or listen to our conversation on the parallels between LEGO and WordPress.)

And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

From the moment we set up, attendees were drawn to the custom-built racecar (inspired by the McLaren Elva) as our booth centerpiece. It took 25,000 LEGO pieces and 500 hours to build!

Our theme was “WordPress: Drivers Wanted.” And Kelly designed the car to share what A2 Hosting does for our customers.

• The Engine – We wanted something mystical because our founder Bryan Muthig and team continually do optimizations on our owned infrastructure and with WordPress to ensure the fastest performance. And frankly, I don’t even know what they do!
• The Dashboard – Showcasing TurboHub, our new, cutting-edge WordPress control panel. This new tool streamlines performance, security, and site management in as little as one click. The dashboard had graphics of A2, WordPress, Support and navigation panel pointing to success.
• The Pit Crew – Namely our Support Team, with Elise Alley, head of support and Justin Drago, our customer experience lead… but also leaders representing all areas of our company from support, product, engineering, HR, and marketing.

And of course, Kelli had lots of easter eggs in and around the car, which were fun to find and discover.

On the walls were 4 LEGO race cars with customized A2 branding that we gave away at the end of WCUS.

Probably the most important part for our guests was that they were able to make their own LEGO minifigs. They could then wear it around the event on a custom WCUS commemorative baseplate and also display it on their desk when they got home.

It was a chance to show off their unique personality with those minifigs via the “accessory” tray. We encouraged everyone to make multiple minifigs and take home to family and kids as gifts. I think the most I made was four.

But what stood out the most was the engagement—we were always talking to someone, and I couldn’t be more proud of the A2 Hosting team for their energy and dedication.

The Green Table: Our Agency Leader Dinners

Dubbed ‘The Green Table,’ A2 Hosting held dinners at Clarklewis for clients, guests, and agencies within the WordPress community on September 19th and 20th. This was our second year to do this as we kicked it off last year at WCUS 2023 in Baltimore.

I think there’s magic when you put good people together, with good food and just let the conversation happen as it’s supposed to.

At A2, we call that Collaboration. It’s a core value we live and wanted to extend that to our guests.

As I scanned and walked the room multiple times, I saw and heard great engaging conversations happening.

And leaders from our A2 team were scattered around those tables to join in. This allowed us to get to share ideas and get a better understanding of our customer’s hosting needs. And, I have to admit, their farm-to-table menu was absolutely incredible, too.

These dinners reminded me how much I appreciate the collaborative spirit of our ecosystem. A huge thank you to everyone who made those nights so special.

The WordPress Community

WordCamp events are always full of highlights, but one thing that always stands out is the sense of community. Whether it was at our booth, during Happy Hour, or over dinner, every interaction felt meaningful.

I’ve had the great fortune to attend many WordCamps (I think 50+ so far) and they always remind me of how lucky we are to have such a collaborative and creative community. It’s always great to see old friends, make new ones, and get new perspectives about WordPress, agencies, and how web hosting can make it easier and better.

Although it was a whirlwind, I’m already looking forward to the next WordCamp, and we’ll be back!

Until then, thank you to everyone who made WordCamp US 2024 in Portland so memorable.

We’ll see you again next year for WordCamp US 2025 in Portland, Oregon, from August 26 to 29, 2025.

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