I remember how I used to promise myself that if I ever got elected to the PASS Board of Directors I would do everything I could to make my activities as transparent as possible. One such way would be to write about some of the finer details on my blog. While I doubt anyone would be interested in reading about them, at least they would be available. Sadly, I have yet to do that. Why not?
Well, for one thing, because membership on the Board is not the most exciting. And it is rarely funny. And I like to write about things that have some humor, or I find exciting/interesting, or as a way blow off some steam. So that helps to explain why I have not been writing that much about what goes on behind the curtain. The other part of the equation is that, well, I can’t. There are simply some thing I cannot tell you until a specified time. For example, the new PASS Summit website. I would have liked to have written about the changes coming to the new site but was not allowed. So, while it may have been interesting to hear about the work the marketing team was doing on the website, at the same time it is not something we can talk about publicly, so instead you get…silence. That does not seem right, but it is reality. So I need to find other things to talk about.
One thing that I find interesting is that the Board communicates with each other very frequently. In addition to the three or four face-to-face meetings during the year, we also talk once a month via a phone conference for at least one hour. In addition to those discussions there are regular email chains being floated around. I think I am a part of no less than four different chains at once, each one dealing with a very interesting conversation, but typically not anything I can discuss publicly.
And there is the crux of my issue. Knowing where to draw the line between what I can talk about, and what I cannot. In most cases it is just easier to play it safe and stay quiet. We publish our meeting minutes, we make our financial sheet available, and I encourage anyone to ask me questions at any time. If I can comment, I will, but in most cases I will play it safe. Doesn’t sound like America’s Most Exciting DBA, does it?
Of course one subject I am always free to discuss are the current activities of the SIGs. We have six active SIGs right now, and I am hoping to get at least two more started before the end of the year. The SIGs operate like a Virtual Chapter, hold monthly meetings on a wide range of topics, and look to help PASS increase membership and reach. The next SIG that I would like to get started would be a Professional Development SIG. If anyone reading this (ok, if either of you reading this) is interested, drop me an email and I can discuss some of the boring exciting details.
I used to complain to Pat Wright about how the Board was this mysterious entity, and how no one knew anything about how it operated, and how we were hoping he was going to change all of that. I still remember how Pat would tell me “Wait until you get your chance. After one year on the Board you will understand”. Well Pat, it did not take a full year, it only took a few months.
I understand.