Okay, well not really "hacking for fish", but the name made it all too easy.  We also chatted with Jake from Tome Software about some very cool stuff they've got going on with IoT and bicycles...

Tome Software is at: http://www.tomesoftware.com/

Info for the hackathon: http://fishackathon.hackernest.com/

Here are some of the ways to jump on board (pun intended):

Participate! You can do so here. What then? You'll need to form a team and connect to mentors. The Fishackathon community connects on the HackerNest Slack leading up to and during the event. It's easy. Get your invite at about.hackernest.com/slack, then join the #fh04mentor and #detroit channels to chat up mentors and participants, form a team, and win at life. P.S. - there's some incredible global grand prizing at stake ;) 
Mentor! Mentors are critical as participants are general not "industry" experts. We look for mentors with varying backgrounds, like experts in fisheries management, the environment, IP law, VC's, tech, entrepreneurs, etc. Mentors should be available most of the weekend, on and off, to connect with participants, answer questions, and help guide participants in the right direction.
Judge! Judges can be mentors too, but they don't have to be! Judges should be leading experts in their field, and should represent an awray of expertise, much like mentors. Judges should be available Sunday afternoon.
Sponsor! Want to sponsor the Detroit event? Fantastic. We've attached the Detroit sponsorship deck here. We're also looking for catering sponsors, prizing sponsors, and in-kind sponsors. Let us know! It's a great way to get your brand out there, and support a worthy initiative. 

I've attached some information on sponsorship opportunities. Please note that these aren't "hard" numbers you see there and we have the autonomy to make sponsorship level decisions based on what you are able to provide as a sponsor and the level of engagement you'd like to have with the event. There are basically 3 "tiers" that we are utilizing as a guideline.

Silver - this is the 'light-touch' sponsorship for entities that want sponsor a great event; they would love to have global exposure but might not have the capacity to have strong at-event engagement.

Gold - this is everything you expect from the 'gold standard' of event sponsorship -- a reasonable figure for strong branding and engagement opportunities at the event

Platinum - this is the 'look at me, look at me' sponsorship, equivalent to us rolling out the red carpet and having a private helicopter waiting to take the sponsor to a champagne room where they can rub shoulders with celebrities; i.e. heavy branding and engagement opportunities

We would love for IT in the D to get involved in any way you think you can! I would have loved you to Judge but I know you said you have a Con event that weekend. I actually won't be there either because I'll be in Pennsylvania training for my new job haha.  I was thinking a way that you might be able to help is if you have any time to plug the Fishackathon on the podcast the next couple of weeks. Do you have any openings for guests for us to be able to talk about it?

Thanks in advance and let's connect on how we could potentially partner if you're still interested!!