[OSGeo-Discuss] Fwd: Board nomination: Jeff McKenna

[Jeff McKenna]

Thank you Cameron for kind words.   I am sure there are questions, and I 
am here to answer them for you.

As a long-time volunteer for OSGeo, I have always tried to represent the 
foundation and its community every step of the way.  During my term as 
President of OSGeo, we were really tackling the subject of the 
LocationTech-OSGeo relationship, and it became a very public discussion. 
I worked very hard to represent OSGeo, but sometimes my words may have 
been too strong towards Andrea Ross, and that could be my biggest fault. 
  When a letter was posted online criticizing me, and then shared to me 
during a Board meeting, this absolutely broke me.  I don't recommend 
anyone goes through that, seeing online words written about you, it was 
quite a feeling.

I was doing so much for OSGeo, making sure to give each issue or 
challenge time and effort, listening, and then talking, always publicly, 
that I obviously made many mistakes.  This can happen when you are so 
open, trying to make sure all of the community is informed.  At the 
time, when that happened, I felt that I was no longer doing the job 
(note that it is a job, fulltime, unpaid yes, but it is definitely a 
job, make no mistake) of the OSGeo President and I resigned immediately.

I have learned a lot since then, and for several years I worked on 
low-level OSGeo tasks, again helping wherever needed. But meeting Marc 
and Thea at FOSS4G-Boston and talking face to face gave me so much 
confidence, in the whole community - I am sure that both Thea and Marc 
felt the same way after our talk.  It was just so needed, and only the 
start of what I predict will become something magical.

You have many more emails and questions examining my career, which I 
will tackle in the next response.

Thank you for your words, more shortly,

-jeff



On 2017-10-09 8:01 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
> Jeff,
> 
> While I agree with others that you have been very enthusiastic toward 
> OSGeo ideals, I'm also believe that there are some unanswered questions 
> which should be addressed.
> 
> In particular, a while back you stepped down from the OSGeo Board 
> mid-term, while you were in the position of OSGeo president. I don't 
> think a public explanation was provided, but I was aware that there was 
> some passionate discussion happening in public email lists at the time.
> 
> If you are considering sitting on the board again, I think an 
> explanation should be provided.
> 
> Regards, Cameron
> 
> 
> On 9/10/17 8:48 am, nicolas bozon wrote:
>>
>> It is my honor to nominate Jeff McKenna for the OSGeo Board of 
>> Directors election.
>>
>> Most of you knows Jeff's energy and passion for everything OSGeo, and 
>> i would probably be mistaken trying to summarize his countless 
>> contributions over the years, at every level of our Foundation. His 
>> leadership and long involvement in the OSGeo and FOSS4G communities 
>> made him the Winner of the Solz Katz Award in 2016, and i cannot add 
>> more. For those of you who may really not know Jeff yet, the 
>> User:Jeff_McKenna wiki page is a good read before you vote.
>>
>> Jeff already served three times at the board and has a deep 
>> understanding of both the director role and the current OSGeo 
>> strategic plan. Experienced with OSGeo governance and bylaws, Jeff 
>> also knows a lot about projects and people. He is always ready to help 
>> build locally and to represent globally.
>>
>> Jeff is a great communicator and enthusiastic community leader, and i 
>> believe he will be an excellent OSGeo director again. Please let us 
>> all welcome Jeff back at the Board!
>>
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Nicolas Bozon
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Jeff McKenna agreed to be nominated and i decided to send the 
>> nomination directly to the Discuss list with cc to CRO, so it avoids 
>> Jeff to confirm to himself that he accepts the nomination. The Board 
>> Nominations page still need to be updated, could you please Vasile ? 
>> Sorry for shortening the nomination process in this special case.
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Discuss mailing list
>> Discuss at lists.osgeo.org
>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> 
> -- 
> Cameron Shorter
> Open Technologies Consultant
> Geospatial & Software Architect
> Information Demystifier
> 
> M +61 (0) 419 142 254
> http://shorter.net
>