PASS Executive Board Election

Last week at SQL Rally we had a PASS Board meeting for two days. On the second day we started the process for electing the next slate of officers (President, VP Finance, and VP Marketing) for the upcoming two-year terms. Without hesitation I put my name down as someone that wanted to be considered for an officer position.

[This is where I point you to the PASS Bylaws, and that link will require a login to the PASS website.]

The process is not very complex and I would urge you to read Article VII which covers the process in more detail. At some point in the very near future the Board will get together to decide the officer selections, but we have not set a firm date yet. We will decide the office of President first, and then the VP of Finance next, followed by the VP of Marketing. We are doing this in such a way that if a person loses the election for one office they are allowed to run for the next. For example, if a person runs for President and loses they are allowed to then declare themselves a candidate for VP of Finance and try again.

This is a significant change from how officer elections were done in the past and it also allows for some flexibility in the years of service a Director is required to serve. Previously you would move from one post to the next which meant you were signed up for an eight year commitment (including your two years as the Immediate Past President). The new structure means that either VP is eligible to become President (if desired) after only two years of service, making their total commitment only six years.

At the last Board meeting we had five people step forward and spend ten minutes giving a short speech and answering questions about their intent to serve as an officer. The five were Bill Graziano, Rick Heiges, Douglas McDowell, Allen Kinsel, and myself. Only Bill and Rick are eligible for the office of the President.

I am going to ask that we have forums set up over at the PASS website so that the Community can ask us questions directly. I really don’t know if this will get done and considering that we are going to be having the elections very soon it may not have much value. But I wanted to make certain that the Community can voice their opinions somehow, so if you have a question for me about my candidacy feel free to leave them in the comments. If we do get the forums built I will make certain to update this post and redirect all conversations there.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has given me the necessary support to get me to where I am today: sitting at home typing this blog post.