We had a good turnout for our first ever civic tweetup at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Many familiar faces and some new. We packed almost 200 boxes of food in about an hour and a half. We were like a well oiled machine with a group assembling boxes, a group wheeling the boxes around the room, a group (myself included) standing by the pallets and loading the boxes and another group taping up the boxes when they were full.

We got a little sweaty, but in one of those good ways where you feel like you helped someone.

So then it was off to La Chiquita for some tacos and air conditioning! And thanks to Katie, we all got to try some tamarind, most of us for the first time. I’m now officially a fan.

Emily from The Courier was there doing a story about our growing group. Since we tend to socialize during our tweetups more than we talk about the group itself, it was an interesting chance to reflect on the tweetup and its purpose in the Cedar Valley. Why are we doing this, and what do we hope to accomplish?

My answer? It’s a chance for me to meet new people who likely share many of my interests. I had heard of or seen many of the tweetup regulars around town or on Twitter and it gave me a chance to meet and interact with them. Personally, it’s a chance to build friendships. Professionally, it’s an opportunity to network with some potentially influential people. I think one very important purpose is to show people both living in and outside of the Cedar Valley that we have a vibrant group of socially connected, civically minded and creative individuals here and that we’d love for you to join us.

The next tweetup is scheduled for July 30th at the Waterloo Bucks game – $2 tickets! See you there!

Posted under Food and Drink, Twitter