Who is PASS, really?
After attending the PASS Summit last year, I made a decision to become more active in the PASS Community. During the Summit, I had the opportunity to meet so many incredible people from the community – chapter leaders, regional mentors, speakers, board members and just normal folks like me.
As many of you know, I’ve been a part of the Program Committee for the last six months. Originally, I was tapped to head up a task team – a group that would work on projects that had been on the radar, but hadn’t had the manpower to get them completed. Along the way, I became more involved with other aspects of the Program Committee – the things that need to happen so that the PASS Summit can occur.
I think I was sucked in by the vision of the weekly meetings being wonderful opportunities in which we were magically transported to a beautiful meadow with full-on double rainbows, prancing unicorns and woodland nymphs presenting us with bacon-wrapped treats. It was that, sometimes, but it also was long hours, endless emails, looming deadlines and seemingly insurmountable roadblocks. Even with those, the thought of being involved in pulling together a valuable, enjoyable event for the community pushed us forward. I had the opportunity to work with a huge number of volunteers (many of whom I’ve never met face to face) that put in extraordinary effort and working with members from PASS HQ that were very helpful and hardworking.
Reading the tweets and blogs over the last few days makes me wonder if I’ve been duped. I’m continually seeing that PASS has failed and that PASS doesn’t want to get it right and how people are frustrated with PASS. Apparently PASS is some evil, faceless organization that has committing mayhem and creating obstacles as its sole agenda. I’ve listened while people close to me have become disenchanted with PASS as a community, not because of decisions that have been made, but by the reactions of the community members in these last few days.
I’ve been accused of being a pollyanna before and probably will be now, but I thought PASS was more than the BOD and committees. I thought PASS was the people that lead and contribute to user groups and virtual chapters, speakers, volunteers, Summit and SQLSaturday attendees and all of the rest of the people that participate with PASS in some manner. Things have happened that I disagree with and missteps have been made. I’ve voiced my opinion when I thought it was necessary and tried to address issues with the people that inolved – I strive to listen and understand the reasons behind decisions just as I hope that they listen and try to understand my points. In any large group of passionate, intelligent professionsals, there will always be disagreement. The only difference is how that dissent is expressed and handled.
If I were a data professional that was just beginning to read blogs and get involved with Twitter, I seriously doubt that I would join PASS. I definitely wouldn’t volunteer for anything PASS related. So if you really believe that PASS is irrevocably broken, walk away – people will stop joining and stop volunteering and PASS will eventually fade away.
For me, PASS is the community of its members. That community is valuable to me, so for now, I will continue to volunteer and continue to suggest changes. I will continue to believe that the vast majority of PASS is committed to making this community a valuable organization.
Glenn Berry
August 20th, 2010 at 10:29 am #
Raising a stink about PASS is a fairly popular thing to do. It certainly gets a lot of attention. I try to stay out of PASS politics, but I do appreciate the work that all of the volunteers do to keep it going.
Matt Velic
August 20th, 2010 at 10:40 am #
Yes. What I’m seeing is a breakdown between PASS as an organization and PASS as a community. There are a lot of great qualities between the two groups. The community is caring. It is supportive. It’ll go all out to help you grow your skills. It’s more maneuverable and agile. It’s made up of individuals, everyday people. As an organization, PASS has presence. It has connections. It has fiscal viability. While we want these two sides of PASS to always work in tandem, the truth of reality is that they cannot. Sometime business decisions trump community spirit. And in turn, the community will voice it’s outrage. But still, these are two sides of the same coin, and while everyone seems really pissed off over the past few days, I think that each side continues to exist and thrive because of the other. The community might lose its cohesion without big time events such as the Summit, and the organization would certainly lose its viability without the support of the community.
Buck Woody
August 20th, 2010 at 10:50 am #
It is – you’re only hearing from those who don’t agree with what they see, and that’s OK. It’s part of any org, and moreso these days when we tweet about what we just had as a snack. It’s stream-of-counsciousness complaining that comes to nothing. In the end, your work will stand, the parade will go on. It’s good to listen to folks, to be sure, but you have to pick a course, define your logic and stick with it. If you try to please everyone, you’ll constantly be frustrated. So make sure you’re happy in your own mind with your decision, and move along singing a happy tune. Soon the unicorns come back with bacon.
Pat Wright
August 20th, 2010 at 10:58 am #
Well Said, And thank you for all the work you have done on the Program Committee. I agree it is all of us and will continue to be so far into the future.
Chuck Boyce
August 20th, 2010 at 11:31 am #
Hi Lori,
I recognize your enthusiasm. I had it once myself when I chaired the PASS Chapter Program. I hope you don’t think that people in the SQL community who are speaking up and conversing publicly are so one dimensional as you have depicted us. Most of us love PASS (or we used to and we are saddened to see things repeat year after year that we feel are counter to what made us originally love PASS). Speaking up is risky and it is the opposite of apathy. I am part of the SQL community and I engage every day on twitter – helping others technically and receiving help. I feel that a lot of what those of us who are outspoken have to say is worth listening to.
This is the best post that I have seen so far that articulates the cause for concern and I commend it to you:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/tim_mitchell/archive/2010/08/19/it-s-the-process.aspx
Thank you for all you do.
Chuck
tledwards
August 20th, 2010 at 12:09 pm #
Chuck,
I understand what you’re saying. I firmly believe that the by-laws and procedures of an organization should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are relevant to the community and changed if they are no longer benficial. I have two main concerns about the conversations that have gone on in the past couple of days. One is lumping all of PASS together as ineffective. The other is that we may be inadvertently preventing people with great ideas from volunteering. I know that I had thought twice (or more) before becoming involved with the Program Committee. Those are my thoughts, though. No more or less valid than the thoughts of any other member of this community. I really want to ensure that no one gets drowned out and all members see the value in their contributions.
Tim Mitchell
August 21st, 2010 at 1:27 pm #
Lori,
Very well written, and I share your optimism about PASS. If we were speaking of some far-away organization that only hosted the summit, the responses (both good and bad) would be vastly different. However, that’s not the case. PASS is you and me and Chuck and Glenn and hundreds of others who care about PASS (the community), and therefore we want PASS (the organization) to do well. We all have a stake in its success, and a sense of responsibility to maintain and improve things. That responsibility normally involves volunteerism and service, but occasionally it requires that we politely and professionally speak up when we find an opportunity for improvement.
My concern about the process that got us to this point doesn’t diminish my faith in the next generation of leadership. The five potential board members are highly qualified and have a history of service, including past board service, and I believe we’ll have a strong and capable leadership panel regardless of which three are chosen. But, because the PASS community has voiced concern and opposition to the process during the last two elections, it’s my opinion that we need to take a close look at whether the procedures should be updated to meet the needs and expectations of the community.
The PASS organization has a long history of success. Certainly they’ve had a few misses, but what organization of any size hasn’t? PASS has had far more successes and failures, and much of this success is due to folks going out of their way to improve things. I can’t speak for everyone who has questioned the process, but that’s certainly my motivation – that my words and deeds will improve the ability of PASS to serve the community.
Tim