2014 ODTUG board of directors election results

First of all, thank you

You have, perhaps a trifle unwisely, reelected me to the ODTUG board of directors.  Thank you and I will do my best to serve all ODTUG members to the best of my ability.

I have to say that given the intense campaigning this time round, I was pleasantly surprised to be reelected as this blog post is all that I did to announce my candidacy.  So again, thank you for your belief in me and I will do my best to not let you down.  I may even make you happy.  :)

Who got elected

Yr. obt. svt.

You are reading my blog, perhaps you even voted for me.  You know who I am for better or worse, and as I wrote before, thank you for voting for me.  

Tim Tow

Tim has been treasurer for as long as I’ve been on the board and was originally (I think I have this bit right) appointed to the board when ODTUG first welcomed what was then called Hyperion back in 2008; he subsequently ran for the board and is now on his third reelection.  Tim is also a personal hero of mine; anyone who knows him in the EPM and ODTUG community knows and respects him as well.  Tim and I are both reaching the end of our six year term limit so this will be it for him, at least for a while.

Mike Riley

Mike is a former ODTUG president (so slightly insane then, but nice) and Kscope conference chairman (again with the slightly out of his mind, but again thankfully someone took on that Herculean task).  He hit his six year term limit last year, took the mandatory year off and is back.  

Mike helped bring EPM to what was then called Kaleidoscope, so everyone who reads this blog owes a debt of gratitude to him.

I don’t think anyone can doubt his dedication to ODTUG and drive.  I look forward to serving with him again.

Sarah Zumbrum

Sarah is new to the ODTUG scene and has seemingly exploded out of nowhere.  That’s not actually true as she was a member of the former Hyperion SIG.  I’ve worked with Sarah on the EPM Community initiative and have been very pleased with her work ethic, determination, and ability to lead the other volunteers.

She will make a great contributor to ODTUG and I look forward to serving with her for the next two years.

What I’m going to do after this term

ODTUG board members are currently limited to three contiguous two year terms.  After that, they must take at least a one year break.  This upcoming two year term will therefore be my last as 2014 is the end of year four for me.

But it’s going to be more than just the end of my maximum three concurrent terms – the upcoming 2014 to 2016 term is it, there ain’t no more to give, I’m moving out, it’s Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen, Tot Ziens, and Cheerio after that.  

It’s not that I don’t love ODUTG, but I feel that six years is more than enough time to enact whatever vision I have (I am speaking for myself and no other board member) and with the grassroots EPM Communities initiatives I am managing (Ah, management:  I give very few general directions, which are largely ignored and rightfully so, and Jennifer Anderson, Courtney Foster, and Sarah Zumbrum along with a bunch of other people do all the work and somehow credit is accreted to me.  Why am I not a manager in real life?) I think I have found the task that strikes passion in my ODTUG heart.

So I have two more years to help get the EPM Community initiatives get their sea legs, do all of the other sundry tasks and requirements of ODTUG board members (some are quite exciting, others deadly boring, so just like a real job), and then get out of the way for the next group of volunteers.

Am I divorcing ODTUG?  Is this a community property state?  Who gets custody?

Absolutely not.  I owe a huge professional and personal debt to ODTUG – it has had all kinds of impacts on my career.  These include:

• Writing a book – Developing Essbase Applications:  Advanced Techniques for Finance and IT Professionals
• Becoming first an Oracle ACE and then an ACE Director
• Meeting a raft of people I would otherwise never have meet (Natalie, John, Jason, Tim, Dan, Gary, Jessica, Mark, and many others)

I am not going to forget or fail to repay that.  I’m not sure what kind of ODTUG role I will be able to carve out in future but even if it’s stuffing bags at Kscope17, I’ll be involved.

I’m not dead yet

I want to finish my work with the EPM community initiatives – you have elected me to do that.  Once that is done, it is time for someone else to come onto the board for the first time and go through his process of learning and contributing.

Until that time, I look forward to serving every single member of ODTUG.  Thanks again for believing in me.

Be seeing you.