A few months ago, {grow} community member Arminda Lindsay called me and said, “I want you to have a party for all the people in the {grow} community. When do I get to MEET these people?

I’m a full-service blogger, so OK — Let’s do it!

I would like to invite all of you to my hometown for the social media party of the year.

Through the organizational wonders of Social Media Club – Knoxville, some of the brightest social media minds in the country are coming to Knoxville (TN) on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 for a can’t-miss marketing and PR throw-down: SocialSLAM 2011 (presented by Pyxl)

This conference is designed to let you interact with experienced social media marketing practitioners who are out there actually doing this stuff — not just preaching about it.

First let’s talk about VALUE!  Ticket prices start at $49 and include:

FOUR Acclaimed Keynote Speakers:

• Jay Baer, Global Top 50 marketing blogger and author of The Now Revolution!
• Christina “CK” Kerley, America’s foremost authority on mobile marketing
• Trey Pennington, author, professor and one of the top Facebook marketers in the world!
• Brian Winter, Former VP Sun Microsystems and current CMO Carpathia Inc.

FOUR Amazing Panel Discussions:

• Social media’s re-invention of PR
• Building a business case for social media
• Critical digital media mega-trends
• Social media and B2B marketing

NINE Nationally-Recognized Panelists:

Eric T. Epperson, Vice President of Corporate Culture and Communications for Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines Corp.

Anne Deeter Gallaher, Owner/CEO of the Deeter Gallaher Group LLC, a Pennsylvania marketing/PR firm

Glen D. Gilmore, The well known Twitter “TrendTracker,” attorney, and principal of the New Jersey-based Gilmore Business Network, a social media consulting firm.

Amy D. Howell, CEO of Memphis-based Howell Marketing Strategies, LLC, a PR, marketing and social media firm

Billy Mitchell, Partner and senior creative director at MLT Creative, an Atlanta-based B2B marketing agency

Ryan T. Sauers, Marketer, entrepreneur, speaker and President/CMO of Atlanta-based Sauers Consulting Strategies.

Jeremy Victor, Founder of Philadelphia-based B2B Bloggers, VP of Strategy & Operations for VertMarkets and Jameson Publishing, President of Make Good Media

Deborah Weinstein, Internationally acclaimed PR Pro, President and Co-founder of Strategic Objectives, Canada’s most award-winning PR agency

… and Me.

But wait … we’re not done yet!  Also included in this ticket price:

• Free copy of The Now Revolution by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund
• Free copy of The Tao of Twitter by Mark W. Schaefer (this book hasn’t even been announced yet!)
• Continental breakfast
• Lunch
• After party networking event with our speakers!

If I’m coming across as excited about this event, well … I AM!

Most of all, I’m hoping this will be an opportunity to meet many of you.

I hope you’ll come to the {grow}-fest.  You can find all the details, including a special hotel package, a full agenda and registration details on the SocialSLAM 2011 website. Please register soon to capture the best price for event tickets!

Who’s in?