Hopefully everyone who reads this is a member of PASS and has received a ballot for voting in this years Board of Directors elections.
There’s a really strong candidate turnout this year, it makes for tough choices when it comes to voting. I was able to pick my three, I’m going to tell you who and why.
*None of the following is endorsed by any candidate, nor have I mentioned that I am writing this post to any of them. The thoughts and feelings expressed as regards each candidate are my own. I am not being negative towards any of the other candidates either, and nor should you be. I am just looking at the positives for these three as I perceive their value on the Board.
Rob Farley
I first got to meet Rob at the PASS Summit a couple of years ago and found him to be an all round nice guy (despite the fact that he is an Arsenal supporter). He’s worked very hard to build his business back home in Australia and by all accounts been very successful in doing so. Rob has already shown great dedication to the community which can be shown by virtue of his being an MVP for the past 6 years.
Rob brings a great many things to the table. The one thing that I really feel makes him a standout candidate is how he fits into the future of PASS. A great deal has been talked about how PASS needs to grow internationally. Rob is a part of the international market. Indeed his different perspective was acknowledged by the current Board when they brought him in as a non-voting member earlier this year.
Rob really seems to care about this stuff. Enthusiasm is infectious and I believe he will kick start some different thinking.
Adam Jorgensen
I don’t know Adam. I’ve never met him, but I know of him. He’s the President of Pragmatic Works; on the board of their foundation for getting teachers and veterans back to work in technology; SQL MVP and PASS regional mentor. Community really seems to be at the core of everything that Adam does (highly commendable stuff).
Again, Adam brings a lot to the table, the key thing for me is his financial experience. There were delays in getting the PASS budget approved this year. It’s not something that the Board wanted to happen or intended. Budgets are always tight and with planned international expansions and additional things like SQL Saturday and SQLRally events I think someone with a firm understanding and great experience with business financials would be a bonus to the Board.
Kendal Van Dyke
I’ve met Kendal a couple of times briefly (you know how PASS can be crazy that way). He started MagicPASS down in Orlando and was on the planning team for the first SQLRally event. Kendal deservedly received his first MVP award this year (he was one of those guys where you go “wait, he’s not an MVP?”)
There were a couple of things that really piqued my interest as regards Kendal’s platform. Firstly his wanting to work with the virtual chapters. I feel that they are very neglected right now from a Board perspective. I think a great push needs to be made for those. We get hundreds of people for every 24HOP presentation but the numbers are very low for the Virtual Chapters. Getting the word out about them and having a solid push in that direction from the Board would go a long way. Second was his desire to work with PASS partners and work on mutual benefits with them. I think it would be a good thing for PASS membership to go beyond folks just getting a vote. We really need to find a way to grow membership and engage people further. I feel that this may be a way to do achieve that.
Get out and vote
Or rather sit on your rear and click some buttons. If you have a ballot go and vote. It’s important you help put people in place that are going to affect how PASS will impact you in the future.
You have until December 20th to get your vote in.
While I’ve stated who received my vote there are other candidates, I encourage you to check them out and see if they might be a better choice for you:
SirSQL.net 