The Memphis tech community lost one of its leaders this past weekend. Dave Barger, founder and CEO of LunaWeb, Inc., died in a kayaking accident.
Dave was one of the early organizers of the Memphis tech community. He was key in organizing the BarCamps in which techies and creative types came together and shared presentations and information. He also was one of the main people involved in the monthly social media breakfasts that kept people informed of the latest social trends. As Erik from MemphisWeather.net pointed out, Dave gave freely of his time, and of his money, to raise the local tech community to a higher standard. Many of the leaders in the Memphis social media community got where they are today because Dave helped them.
When I was laid off from my job in October 2008, Dave was one of the first people to reach out to me. He told me there might be a place for me at LunaWeb, and even if not he’d keep his eyes and ears open for other opportunities for me. I ended up going in a different direction, but I really appreciated Dave contacting me and offering help.
Rest in peace, Dave. Thank you for all you did, and you will be deeply missed by many. My thoughts and condolences are with his family, his many friends, and his LunaWeb family. If you have memories of Dave you’d like to share, put them on Twitter and hashtag it #rememberdave. These tweets will be compiled and given to his family.