It’s that time of the year again – time to make your voice heard as a PASS member.  The PASS board elections are upon us, and if you’ were a PASS member as of June of this year, you should receive your ballot via email tomorrow.  Remember that this year’s voting window is very narrow – just five days – so be sure to get your votes in before the deadline of noon PDT on September 30th.  I would encourage you to get to know the candidates, if you don’t already.  PASS has an elections page where you can find out about the candidates, ask questions via the forums, and link to Twitter chats with the candidates.

This year, my decision on whom to support for the open board positions was complicated in that I count several of the candidates as friends.  I’ve known most of the candidates for several years, and know them to be hard-working and ethical folks, any of whom would serve the SQL community well as a board member.  In the end, I based my decision on personal experience working with a few of these candidates, through which I was able to get to know not only their work ethic but their passion and drive to serve the community.

For the SQL PASS board election this year, I am happy to support the following candidates:

Amy Lewis

I spent several years working with Amy through our shared involvement in the PASS BI/DW virtual chapter.  Amy was relentless in her efforts to sustain and grow the group, and as a direct result of her efforts the group grew significantly.  She rarely sought recognition for her efforts, but was the driving force behind the success and growth of this group.  I believe her ideas and track record of success will help her continue to serve the community as a PASS board member.

Allen Kinsel

Allen was one of the first people I worked with when I started volunteering with PASS.  I was immediately impressed with Allen’s passion and bias to action.  He is a shoot-straight Texan who is not afraid to speak up even if what he has to say is unpopular.  Further, Allen already has seen success as a prior PASS board member.

Jen Stirrup

I’ve not known Jen as long as the other two candidates I mentioned, but I got the chance to work with her a bit through the BI/DW virtual chapter.  A quiet and very humble person, Jen also has a great deal of passion and sincerity in her efforts in the community.  I believe Jen’s presence on the board will be an asset to the growing PASS presence in the EMEA region.