[Board] Support for OSGeo officers (Re: My attendance in Portland)

[Jeff McKenna]

On 2014-07-17, 7:28 PM, Frank Warmerdam wrote:
> 
> Folks,
> 
> I would like to second Michael's point here.  While I am very impressed
> by all they have done, Arnulf and Jeff have taken more on as President
> than they need to.  We are a volunteer organization and work needs to be
> shared around, and people should not be taking on more than they feel
> comfortable with. 
> 
> I know there can be a perception that the President is somehow special
> and needs to be the face of the organization, but I don't buy that.  We
> don't need to do that.  It is our choice.
> 
> I am speaking as a past president who was quite selective in what
> responsibilities he took on.  
> 
> That said, I have no problem with providing some travel support for Jeff
> or others on occasion.
Frank,

I am very appreciative of your support for Presidential travel, but I
must make some comments to your words:

The president of OSGeo plays a much larger role than you realize.  A
'face of the organization' is exactly what is required, and I am told
this from many charter members constantly.  One of the most successful
actions OSGeo has made was by Arnulf, as the OSGeo President shaking
hands with the president of the ICA - thanks to that we have almost 80
FOSS labs created around the world in only 2 years.  I am not saying our
software development is not important, but I am saying we need to grow
our foundation and just one of the ways is through this diplomatic role
that must be played.  Some, like yourself, do not care for such a thing,
that is ok, but you must realize that like it or not it is part of
leading (or 'running') a professional organization.

This type of OSGeo vision discussion can be part of something like a
2-day face-to-face Board meeting (I think Gerald proposed this last
night maybe?)...he is right, it is definitely needed.  I am finding
OSGeo is growing, but some are not happy with this growth (we have a
stable foundation, and now we are really beginning to work with other
organizations and things are happening very very fast).

Hello from the FOSS4G-E Code Sprint by the way :)

-jeff