User Group Leadership
User groups are programming's answer to a professional association, and I have founded, led, sat on boards, and followed several user groups over the past decade 2000-2010
Groups founded or co-founded by me:
- Hands On Java
- DallasRulesGroup
Groups led or co-ked by me through significant portion of time
- J2EE SIG (special interest group)
- JavaMUG
Additionally I have served as board member in the following positions for the very large and prestigious JavaMUG java user's group in Dallas.
- President 2007
- Vice President 2008, 2009
- Webmaster 2002
- Secretary 2001
User groups are funny entities, they can get very fractuous at times, discorganized at other times. My leadership has always been recognized as very organized, and my negotiation of the many interests has led previously fractured groups to work in a cohesive, motivated, self interest manner. We have never avoided controversy, as that is the spice of life in user's groups. But we have always resolved issues openly, quickly, and without needless personal animosity, and growth of the groups has reflected this management.
I owe much of my success in such groups to loyal (and sometimes boisterous) relationships with Erik Weibust (President 2008, 2008), also a leader of many groups over the past decade, and with previous JavaMUG Presidents David Dietz(2002), Dan Kern Ekins(1999 - 2001), and Bob Byron (2006).