I'm a candidate in the 2012 PASS Board of Directors elections and believe that an important part of what makes a good candidate is support from the community that they wish to represent. During the last 5 years I have connected with people in PASS community from chapter members to speakers and from SQLSaturday volunteers to Directors. I've been fortunate this year to receive several letters of recommendation in support of my desire to continue serving on the Board. In this post I'm sharing the letter I received from Jes Borland (Blog | Twitter).

Like many people in the PASS Community I first "met" Jes on Twitter about two years ago. Over time we tweeted and emailed back and forth, and at the 2011 PASS Summit we met in person for the first time. Jes is even more energetic in person than she is online!  Throughout the last year she and I have had some great conversations about volunteering, careers, and life in general, and I'm fortunate to be able to include her in my network of SQL peers. Here's what Jes had to say about me:

I finally met Kendal Van Dyke in person at PASS Summit 2011, after “meeting” him through Twitter and talking to him virtually for a couple years. Kendal has given me guidance on consulting, and answered questions about SQL Server, user groups and SQL Saturdays. Anytime I’ve had a question, he’s been willing to take time out of his day to answer me. He’s reached out to me when he’s wanted an opinion or needed a volunteer for PASS tasks.

Kendal is passionate about growing the PASS community in a truly grassroots way. He wants to focus on growing members, but not just in numbers. He wants community members to connect with each other, and wants individuals to grow through opportunities such as speaking and volunteering. He has ideas on how to do this, and the drive to accomplish them.

I fully support Kendal running for the PASS Board of Directors, and think he will guide and grow the PASS community with passion and integrity.

Jes Borland

For those of your who have already cast your vote - thank you for helping to decide who you want to lead PASS forward. And for everyone else yet to fill out their ballot, please take the time to visit the elections website, read about each candidate, and exercise your right to vote. (And of course I hope that you'll consider voting for me!)