Nearly 4 years ago, Rod Sanford and I founded the Jacksonville Developers Users Group. Initially, our intention was to see how much free software and books we could get. At the time, I never imagined the group to be as successful as it is today.
Today, JAXDUG is the largest developers’ users group in the North East Florida region. We hold regular monthly meetings; our web site includes a job board, blogs and forums; also a few of our members participate in our Special Interest Groups:
- Project Backyard gives user group members an opportunity to learn new technologies as well as assist local non-profit organizations.
- DotNetNuke SIG provides a way for members to learn about DotNetNuke, ASP.Net, and assist with our web site.
- MCSD Study Group helps members to achieve a Microsoft Certification.
We have also helped other user groups such as the Jacksonville SQL Server User Group and the Jacksonville Agile Group. Finally, last month we held our first Code Camp with over 220 attendees and more than 35 sessions. The enthusiasm and determination of the Jacksonville developer community is inspiring.
On October 4th 2005, I will be stepping down as President of the Jacksonville Developers User Group. My reasons for stepping down are to free up more time for my family, career, pursue other interests and possibly go back to school. I do plan to remain active in the user group and the Florida developer community.
During my time as President, I not only developed new friendships but I grew as a developer, an individual and a professional. It is truly a privilege to be a part of something that has made such a positive impact to the Jacksonville Developer Community.
In the past, user group leadership roles such as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and even President were loosely defined and filled on a first come first serve basis. The informality of our group has worked well up to this point. However, I recently received feedback that some user group members may be interested in stepping up to fill a role but are not aware that a role is available.
In the interest to the long term success of the group and our ability to be self-sufficient, we are planning an election during the October 4th meeting. The following positions are available:
- President – leader of the group, sets goals, chair meetings and responsible for the overall state of the user group.
- Vice President* – assists the President, may lead SIGs or special projects/events. (Dennis Bottjer is currently the Vice President and plans to run for President. In the event he is elected as President the Vice President role will be available.)
- Treasurer – maintains accounting records and files necessary reports.
- Secretary – records proceedings, handles records and correspondence. Assist and coordinates between the other user group roles.
If you are interested in one of these roles, send an email to vote@jaxdug.com. Include in the email the role you are interested in and be prepared to give a 5 to 10 minute speech during the October 4th user group meeting.
If you are unable to attend the October 4th meeting you may vote for your preferred candidate via email. A couple of days before the meeting I’ll announce the candidates and you may vote by sending an email to vote@jaxdug.com. I’ll include your vote on October 4th 2005.
I believe that JAXDUG will benefit greatly from the renewal that comes with selecting new leadership. I encourage you to attend the October 4th meeting and participate by voting or stepping up to make a difference as one of JAXDUG leaders.
Thank you,
David Strommer