We are very happy to announce Gary Vaynerchuk as the first speaker in the Legion of Talk series. Gary’s dynamic and engaging style has made him a new media sensation and one of the most sought-after speakers around. An immigrant from U.S.S.R., Gary took over his family’s New Jersey wine shop and has brilliantly leveraged the Internet and digital media to dramatically increase sales and inspire legions of loyal fans who watch his daily webcasts on Wine Library TV, his personal blog and follow him on Twitter.

Gary Will be in town speaking to Powells customers as he tours the country talking about wine and his new book “Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World” But we asked Gary if he would talk to us about how he uses digital media to promote a traditional business with amazing results, and he graciously agreed. If you’re into digital media, web-based business or just a fan of Gary’s you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see and meet Gary in person.

The where & when:
July 1, 2008
Wieden+Kennedy
224 NW 13th Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
7:00pm to 8:00pm
RSVP on Upcoming

Free tickets will be available on this site on June 24th.
Seating will be limited to 297 seats so check back on the 24th to get your ticket.
We will reserve some seats for unticketed admission at the door as well.

Here’s Gary’s official bio:

Gary Vaynerchuk, self-trained wine expert, is revolutionizing the wine industry. His blog, Wine Library TV (affectionately known as The Thunder Show), boasts a cult-like following resulting from his enthusiastic, unconventional, and often irreverent wine commentary. In the name of “expanding one’s palate”, Gary convinced Conan O’Brien to lick salted rocks and shared samples of dirt and grass with Ellen Degeneres.

With a wealth of knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit, Gary rebranded the family business as Wine Library. Within a five year time period, Wine Library grew from a $4 million dollar business to a $45 million business.

What raised Gary’s notoriety even more than his business acumen was his foresight. Inspired by sites such as youtube.com and facebook.com, Gary leveraged technology to reach an untapped audience. His daily 20 minute webcasts caught the attention of a demographic new to wine and eager to learn. Within a short time, beer sales were outpaced by wine. While his youthful following broke down barriers in the wine industry, the business world (and Web 2.0) admired Gary for creating a new generation of branding, focusing on the internet.

Gary’s unique identity as both a wine expert and a “real person” has reinvented the concept of wine tasting for a new generation. His first book, 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World, was released in May of 2008 and is available in bookstores nationwide.