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.

I’m running for the ODTUG board, again

Probably because I eat pain like candy

It’s time to make your ODTUG voice heard – there are three members of the board whose two year term is expiring, and I am one of them.  Do you like what we’ve done?  Think we’re a bunch of bums who ought to be tossed out on their ears?  Somewhere (hopefully more towards the “like” side of the scale) in the middle?  If you are a paid member of ODTUG as of 1 October 2012, then you can vote until midnight Pacific 30 October 2012 (that’s 3 am Eastern 31 October 2012).

I would love to tell you to vote early, vote often, and you can – for up to four candidates.  Hopefully, one of the four you vote for is me.  :)  

I also hope you vote to return the expiring members of the board (Barbara Morris, Tim Tow, and yr. obdnt. srvnt.) because we are committed, active, and effective members of the ODTUG board but of course the choice is yours.

To give you a feel for why I want to continue in the is-it-pleasure-or-is-it-pain board director role, take a gander at my expanded campaign statement below.

Good luck to all!

Do I still love ODTUG?

You bet.  In the last two years I have:

• Gotten that ODTUG tattoo.
• Blogged, tweeted, and generally bored everyone I can lay hands on, personally or electronically, with the Awesomeness That Is ODTUG.
• Served my freshman term on the ODTUG board.  In spite of knowing exactly how the sausage is made, I am coming back for more.

Why reelect me to the ODTUG board?

I am still passionate about ODTUG because our user group gives us all an unmatched environment for knowledge sharing, camaraderie, and incredible value.  ODTUG continues to be the user group I dreamt of finding.  

ODTUG board membership means (Hah!  More like requests, requires, and demands.) hard work and dedication.  I think that my record shows that I embrace those sometimes almost overwhelming requirements to ensure that all members of ODTUG and the wider Oracle community are served to the very best of my abilities.  I am an independent consultant – when I take time out during the workweek to do ODTUG tasks, the opportunity cost of that volunteer work hits me directly in my pocketbook; I do it regardless because I love ODTUG.

Sometimes the anticipation of an act outweighs the consummation.  I think that my desires, hopes, and accomplishments around my first term have been more than fulfilled.  In the past two years I have:

• Led the charge to lower individual membership rates.  It’s now just $99 a year.  What an incredible (really) bargain.
• Initiated and stewarded the BI/EPM Kscope Labs in the Cloud, i.e., no more Lab Laptops From Hell.  If I had to point to a single accomplishment this is it!  As someone who has been both a trainer and a student, I know that the last thing I want to focus on during a lab as I feverishly try to process the material is “Why doesn’t my laptop have the right software/enough memory/the correct setup?”
• Passionately and effectively advocated for the EPM community.
• Been incredibly active in the BI/EPM content selection process.  Remember that crack about sausage making?  Meet the butcher’s apprentice.

As a returning member of the ODTUG board, I will channel that passion and energy into making ODTUG even better value for your paid membership through:

• New and innovative outreach initiatives like the soon-to-come virtual Ask an Expert Panels.
• Leveraging ODTUG’s relationships with Oracle and vendors to provide better online content.
• Increased outreach to all areas of Oracle’s product line.
• Being a fanatical advocate for continued and sustained focus on the technical subjects that make ODTUG so great.

Biographical Sketch

I first worked with OLAP technology in the dinosaur days of Comshare’s System W and saw the Essbase light in 1993.  

Since that life-altering event, I have:

• Introduced what was then Arbor Software’s Essbase to Johnson & Johnson Corporate.
• Independently consulted since 1996, with a brief foray into working for consulting companies.
• Created solutions for customers using Oracle’s Essbase, Planning, and anything else that ties to those two products.
• Actively posted on OTN’s and Network54’s Essbase board – sharing knowledge makes his day interesting.
• Presented at multiple conferences including Hyperion Solutions and of course ODTUG Kscope.
• Taught multiple formal classes and webinars.
• Served on the ODTUG Hyperion SIG.
• Assisted the BI/EPM Content Chair with conference content selection for the past two Kscopes.
• Been an Oracle ACE since November 2010 and an ACE Director as of August 2012.

Free For All

ODTUG is your user group and as a paid member, you can influence what your user group does.  To do so, you must vote.  Make ODTUG work the way you want.  Be seeing you.

Run while you can

It’s that time of year again

ODTUG is looking for nominations for its board of directors but you only have until 28 September 2011.  

As one of the members not up for election this year (see you next year), I was asked to write up why I thought you might want to run for this august group of geeks.  Take a look at the ODTUG blog for my guest post.  You may also want to check out Mike Riley’s slightly more sane post on why he did it and why it might be for you.

If my (not Mike’s) kind of drivel isn’t your cup of tea (But then why oh why are you even reading this?  I will leave that to you to ponder.), at least check out the call for nominations and the nomination guidelines.

If you’re interested, the nomination deadline is next Wednesday, so there isn’t much time.  Don’t let the deadline pass you by if you’re interested.