Russell to Stay on at COMMON as President, Contrary to Rumors

Published: August 14, 2006

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The COMMON System i user group is holding elections for three seats on its board of directors, and if you are a member of the group, COMMON wants you to take a little time to get to know the candidates and cast your votes. COMMON's president, Beverly Russell, also wants to let everyone know she is not stepping down, contrary to reports elsewhere in the OS/400 trade press.

Russell sent us a note last Thursday explaining her continued commitment to COMMON. "It was reported today that I was stepping down from the board," she said. "I am not and I never even thought about it. I am finishing my second term as president, so I cannot run for president again according to our bylaws. But it is definitely my intention to stay on the board and serve out the final two years of my elected term. It was quite a surprise when I read it in the news!"

What is true is that the voting for the three board seats at COMMON closes on Wednesday, August 16. You can see the candidates at this page on the COMMON site, and then cast your votes. These five people-- Jeff Carey, Rajan Narayanan, Randy Dufault, Jim Oberholtzerm and Gary Lagarde--chasing the empty three seats on the board have been pre-screened by a nominating committee, and the user group has set up a discussion forum on the COMMON site for members to talk and about the candidates. The mission statements from the candidates are interesting reading, by the way, and they echo many of the sentiments expressed in the OS/400 community these days.

On a related note, COMMON has put out a call for papers for its Spring 2007 event, which will be in Anaheim, California, from April 29 through May 3. If you want to host a COMMON session or pre-conference workshop, you can sign up to do so online at this page on the COMMON site.