David Jerome shares more on TedxElPaso

the theme of this years annual ted x el paso. it’s a locally organized offshoot of the global ted event– which is famous for its 18- minute-format and short attention- grabbing speeches. the event features will local presentations, nationally recognized speakers and ted talks videos. and joing us now with more is: curator of ted x el paso: david jerome t’s not for another eight months, but planning has already begun for this year’s tedxel paso. with more financial backing and the success of two previous tedx events to build on, organizers say they want to take the event and “blow it up. “we want to take it now that we have a little more time and a little more money, and increase the audience size and speaker contribution, to make it more like an actual ted experience,” said david jerome, who is the curator of tedxel paso this year. tedx is a locally organized offshoot of the global ted event, a popular conference famous for its 18-minute- format and short attention- grabbing talks that are part entertainment and part lecture. tedxel paso is scheduled for sept. 10 at the el paso museum of art. “why do it? because everybody values the opportunity to sit back, share ideas and be inspired a little bit – to get outside your norm, get stretched a bit and get pushed to see what else is within the realm of possible. “el pas doesn’t only have challenges, but it offers the world a glimpse as to what things could be like. the harmony that exists at this border is often overlooked; people in this region get along pretty darn well, actually,” jerome said. ted which stands for technology, entertainment and design, was founded 32 years ago to give a global platform to “idea worth spreading” – those idea that might never escape the lecture hall or stuffy journals. the non- profit event has become a cultural force and inspired hundreds of spin-off events called tedx. jerome is organizing tedxel paso along with gary borsch, immediate past chair of the greater el paso chamber of commerce; bill burton, ceo of mithoffburton partners; and kempsmith lawyer jack chapman. the el paso community foundation, which organized last year’s tedxel paso with local businessman chris cummings, is also supporting the effort. “it help to put us on the map knowledge-wise. it puts us on a different level,” sai borsch, who is also the ceo of el paso-based professional investment council, a money management firm. “el paso is no at the ‘edge’ or the ‘bottom,'” he said. “el paso i in the middle of some really important big, macro trends.” right now, the organizers are fundraising and trying to raise support for the event, which will feature local and national speakers. “we’ve been meeting anybody we can get our hands on for the past three weeks,” said jerome, a business consultant who was a senior vice president at intercontinental hotels group and led corporate affairs for brewing giant ab inbev. jerome moved to el paso a year ago from london, england with his wife tracey, who is director of the city’s museums and cultural affairs department. organizers have launched a facebook page and are hoping to launch a website in the next two months where people can