ODTUG Board of Directors election results, 2013

Introduction

Most (Some?  None?  All?) of you know that I am on the ODTUG board of directors.  Of course you, the ODTUG membership are responsible for that and I am obliged for your confidence in me.  It sounds a cliché, but serving as a board member really is a tremendous privilege and responsibility.

Board members who care, a lot, are the hallmark of a successful user group and I am pleased to state that your ODTUG board of directors is filled with some of the most caring, passionate, and smart people I have ever met.  How can I drive this home?  Sometimes, when I meet with people professionally, I think to myself (and yes, I do have the conversations with myself and yes, it worries me too, as it should), “Hmm Cameron, this lot definitely isn’t top drawer, you know more than these bozos do combined.”  Other times, I have flashes of clarity that say, “Cameron, you’re the bozo.  By a long shot.  Try not to embarrass yourself too much.”  And so it is with the ODTUG board.

With that little bit of probably too close for comfort humor, you hopefully get the idea:  the ODTUG board is made up of really smart people whose service has helped produce the very best Oracle user group extant.  

Introducing…

With that, I hope you understand the importance that individuals can make to the board and by extension ODTUG itself.

And that brings us to the point of this blog post – the just-declared ODTUG board of directors elections.

You haven’t kicked us out yet

Four of us did not run for election, although our moment of doom comes up next year.   Additionally, two incumbents were reelected.  I’m honored to count as my peers:

• Tim Tow
• Barbara Morris
• Tim Gorman
• Martin D’Souza (incumbent, reelected)
• Monty Latiolais (incumbent, reelected)

And the new ones

But of course new people were elected as well.  They are:

• Natalie Delemar
• David Schleis
• Mia Urman

Natalie is a fellow EPM geek whom I met for the first time at Kaleidoscope (as it was then called) 2008 – the very first ODTUG conference that included the EPM community.  Oddly, I had “conversed” with Natalie through web forums but didn’t even know her real name as she went by DaveJonJoshMom.  That ability to actually physically meet people is one of the things that makes ODTUG so special.  Natalie and I went on to work together on the Hyperion SIG, the EPM/BI content selection process, and of course as coauthors in Developing Essbase Applications.  I’ve been after Natalie for years to run for the board because I think she will bring great insight and energy to the job.  I am therefore beyond pleased to see that she made it and will help represent the not entirely small EPM/BI Kscope contingent at the board level.  

David actually has been on the board before as an appointee for a board member who did not complete his term so I have worked with him before.  He is equally passionate about the technologies he represents and additionally has an atrocious taste in shirts (wait, is it me who commits the fashion faux pas?) that simply must be admired. David also has a sense of humor that embraces the ridiculous and is an engaging speaker.  In short, I am really looking forward to working with him again.

I’m afraid that I don’t know Mia, but my ignorance is in no way a reflection of her qualities.  A quick google-stalk of Mia shows that she is the president of her own firm, an Oracle ACE, and an expert in ADF and Forms.  In short, she is the typical highly accomplished ODTUG board member (I am overlooking yr. obdnt. srvnt.’s somewhat inexplicable inclusion in that august group of geeks).  I look forward, a lot, to working with her as a board member.

The ones that are going away

Lest you think that all of my Sammy Davis Jr.-like encomiums are mere window dressing, please know that I am beyond sorry to see Bambi Price, Jerry Ireland, and John King roll off the board.  All of them were (and are) fantastic contributors to ODTUG.  I know that they will remain active in ODTUG.

This is what democracy looks like

You, the ODTUG membership (only full ODTUG members can vote – if the above election fills you with joy, great, if instead you are filled with a rage inchoate, next year’s election is your chance to throw we bums out, but only if you are a fully paid member) are responsible for the results of the election.  The board represents your interests, your needs, and your technologies.  I hope you are pleased with the results of your voting – I know I am.

Be seeing you.