Whew ... Earth Day was actually two weeks for Solar Oregon's staff and volunteers this year. It seemed like we were everywhere; at Intel's Earth Day event, at Nike's Eco Fair, at conferences, at Wells Fargo's employee event, and our Solar Drinks event at Tonkon Torp the evening of April 22nd. Many thanks to David Petersen, Duncan Delano and the entire Tonkon Torp LLC law firm for hosting our April Solar Drinks event, and for sponsoring several more of them this spring. We appreciate your support! Our May Solar Drinks event is already scheduled, so check it out.

Another rite of spring here at Solar Oregon is combining our love for solar with our love of wine.

Yes, we're hosting our second annual Solar Winery Tour on Saturday, May 10th. I went last year and it was a fun and educational event. We learned a lot about how nature and wine work together, and we were able to drink some great wines in the bargain. Board member Corey Omey (see profile) is the instigator of this event and he's got the backstory on how and why these great wineries went solar.  Seats are limited and I'm told we're already half full, so get your reservation in today.

Our new volunteer coordinator, Kenn Kochi, has been busy slotting in volunteers who attended our recent orientation. Several have put in tremendous hours in support of our events and office work. A shout-out of THANKS! to Britt, Bryce, Ian, Chatham, Chuck and Kenn himself! You folks complete me.

Lastly, I want to urge everyone to attend the upcoming 2014 Solar Now! University conference - scheduled for June 13-14 in Hillsboro, Oregon. This is our 5th such conference and it promises to be our biggest and best ever. The City of Hillsboro is hosting, and we've developed a solid program, lined up a great group of presenters and speakers, and Hillsboro will be taking attendees on a couple of field trips. So, this will be a jam-packed event and is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to network, share ideas, learn some new things, and push solar into the mainstream. Please sign-up today as some of the associated events, such as dinner at The Venetian and the field trips are limited seating and will be first-come in priority. Plus, our Early Bird pricing ends May 15th so act now. I hope to see you all there!