[OSGeo-Conf] Thank you from the FOSS4G-HFX team

[Jeff McKenna]

Dear OSGeo Conference Committee,

We are very proud to complete the final bid questions, and to share all 
of our FOSS4G vision with you, for 2020, in Halifax.

We have been working very hard on this bid, for a long time now, with 
our first letters of support coming in July; we are so appreciative of 
the overwhelming support shown through 52 letters, from OSGeo and 
industry members from all over (https://foss4g.ca/letters-of-support/).

Today we realized that an important meeting with our partners, where we 
discussed this vision, happened exactly one year ago this week.  We have 
went on to assemble an unbelievably strong and experienced planning 
team, that spans all of North America: members from Mexico, United 
States, and Canada; as well as bringing together 3 OSGeo local chapters: 
Ottawa, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.

You will notice that our planning team, as named in our initial Letter 
of Intent, has not changed at all; we have the right mix of chemistry, 
experience, and community knowledge.  This is a strong team, who had 
several face-to-face local committee meetings BEFORE August, long before 
a public mention of a possible RFP release, we were all so excited to 
get moving on this.  And, we are so glad we did.

As co-chairs, we are also proud to be strong representatives of Canada, 
one being French speaking and one English speaking.  We are also proud 
of our diversity, and we are thrilled to already begin working with the 
GeoChicas on a diversity and inclusion track for FOSS4G-HFX (see support 
letter https://foss4g.ca/letters-of-support/#geochicas )

Karine and I are very proud of the HFX team.  Each and every member has 
played a big part in how we got here today, and deserves thanks.

So we will end this Q/A round by thanking each FOSS4G-HFX team member by 
name, for their outstanding passion and commitment over the past year.

In no order:

   Thierry Badard
   Lenore Bajona
   Jon Pye
   Laura Beazley
   Debbra Wilkinson
   Paul Boudreau
   Bob Branton
   Andrew Sherin
   Alexi Westcott
   Matthew Hanson
   Jérôme Jacovella-St-Louis
   Mary Kennedy
   Dmitry Kiselev
   Tom Kralidis
   Dave MacLean
   Jonathan Murphy
   Mark Sunohara
   Marian Tudorache
   Vicky Vergara
   Assefa Yewondwossen


This is not the end, but the start, the start of something magical.

FOSS4G-Halifax 2020
14-19 September
https://foss4g.ca

--
your FOSS4G-HFX co chairs,
Karine Jean & Jeff McKenna