Databus Issue: 2010 3 07/31/2010
President's Message
Dr. Kelly Calhoun President, CETPA
PDF
Summer’s coming, although some of us have been wondering of late if it ever would. We’ll all soon be complaining about it being too hot just as much as we were recently complaining about too much cold and rain. But early or late, fast or slow, the seasons change. Like them, change is constantly happening for us too, and it comes whether we want it or not. The question is how we face it.
This year has been such a terrible one for so many people in education and everywhere else with devastating budget cuts, lost jobs and times of great suffering. In times of trial (and it’s been a major one for me this past year too, so I know whereof I speak), sometimes it feels like happiness and good times are gone and will never come again. How are we supposed to be supporting and inspiring others when we may be at such a low ourselves?
These are the times when it becomes hardest to strike that balance between dealing with reality as it sits before us today, and shifting our gaze into the future, where hope surely resides. Many of you have lost jobs, or have had to tell others that they are losing theirs. You’ve had to cut beloved programs that you and others have built with hard work over so much time. You’ve been battered with greater and greater demands at the same time your resources are being ripped away.
Great technology leaders are those that constantly seek and find this balance: they face reality, but maintain a certain faith and optimism that from the worst of times can sometimes come amazing things. They dig into the resilience and creativity that makes us unique and special within each of our organizations. They know that we can participate in taking whatever is happening and use it to make something better for others.
We’re doing just that as your CETPA board, looking for ways to expand member services--like the new ones you’ll see popping up on the web site now and in the coming months. We’re putting structures in place to better engage our members in opportunities to volunteer and participate. And we have exciting new changes we’ll be sharing with you further in the coming months.
Speaking of creativity, this issue’s theme is open source. The open source community has developed and shared countless application resources for others to use. What are the questions you need to answer to know how you might leverage these in your organization? What are the implications of dependence on open source solutions? What are the things to consider when choosing between an open source or commercial product to solve a challenge? This issue takes on these questions and more, to help our members get and keep up to speed on this fascinating topic.
Don’t forget our 50th anniversary celebration in Monterey in October. Though our annual conferences are always awesome events, this one promises to be even more special. And remember you’re invited to my party--the President’s Reception at the spectacular Monterey Bay Aquarium, included with your conference registration! Check out the CETPA web site for more details on the conference. Yes, these are tough times with many changes, but an event like this one can help support you through them in more ways than one!
