By now you’ve had to of heard about BIG Omaha coming this Thursday night and Friday. If you haven’t, then you must not be paying ANY attention.

I found out about the event in February just after attending Affiliate Summit West ‘09. Gary Vaynerchuk was the official keynote at the event. Being that it was held in Las Vegas, the late nights added up to some very tired conference attendees. Nobody was too excited about being up a 9am to listen to the keynote. But that changed just minutes after Gary took the stage.

“Why is this Gary guy such a big deal?” you ask. Well, there’s a few reasons.

Number one, he is extremely energetic. I mean this guy has a schedule like no other, a brick-and-mortar wine business, an online wine store and web TV show. On top of this he takes time to reply to tons of E-mail from fans and followers, offering insight and advice on business in the “social media” age.

Two, he’s intense, but at the same time approachable. Being a 1.5 generation immigrant from Russia, Gary learned hard work from an early age. He seems to relate well to anyone who understands the value of putting your nose to the grindstone. That’s the real draw that he possesses as a speaker – making that core connection.

So why should we be excited to have him in Omaha, Nebraska at a entrepreneur/tech conference? Because we here in Nebraska could use a bit more THUNDER. Don’t get me wrong – we work hard. But when you think of the plains of the midwest, you typically don’t get really excited (unless you’re a farmer). When it comes to building a new generation of businesses in our state, we need some prodding. So that’s what Gary is here to do. Bring some excitement, some energy and some much needed attention to what’s going on in the Big O.

I’m personally looking forward to a great event – and hopefully this is just the beginning.