As we, as a community, continue to cope and process the recent senseless loss of Sam Blackman, many of our conversations have turned to remembering other amazing contributors to the Portland startup community. Contributors who inspired and impacted untold number of entrepreneurs. Contributors who, like Sam, were gone far too early. And of course, one of the names that has come up, time and time again, is Shelley Gunton.
We had been planning to celebrate Shelley’s life in some way during the Built Up Festival. Because she had such a significant and lasting impact on all of the cofounders of Built Oregon. Some might even say that Built Oregon only exists because of her. And that’s why we’re humbled to take part in the Walk for Shelley, this weekend.
This event, and much of what we are planning on doing at Built Oregon around consumer products in Oregon, was inspired by Shelley Gunton. Shelley was the Cofounder of Castor & Pollux, an active angel investor and tireless mentor. Her passion, vision and dedication for the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem was unmatched. As part of this, and all future Built Up events, we are organizing a walk to raise money for OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute. The walk will be a time to connect with friends and celebrate life, and will end with post walk beverage at a TBD location where we can plot how all of us can remain fired up and ready to go for Oregon’s consumer product ecosystem.
If you’re interested in joining us — and I sincerely hope you do — we’ll be meeting at Lake Theater in Lake Oswego at 2:30PM on Saturday, September 23, 2017. There will be a short walk in Shelley’s memory, followed by a happy hour gathering. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for OHSU.
For more information or to indicate your interest, please visit Built Up Festival 2017: Walk for Shelley.
