My name is Philip Kizer, I am a system administrator. I am also a
LOPSA Charter member.
Up through the time LOPSA was announcing itself publicly I was a
system administrator at a large university in a smaller town. At
such a large and diverse institution it seemed natural that system
administrator communities existed and I enjoyed being part of and
helping the various communities that we had local to us. A year and
a half since then I am in a much larger city, but a smaller company
and I now have a better understanding of some of the complaints I
have heard regarding difficulties in finding peer groups. There are
currently many good online resources for system administrators, via
LOPSA and other organizations. Those resources need to be in
addition to face-to-face events, in-person meetings and social
gatherings. Those events, meetings and gatherings need to meet more
frequently than the larger conferences and the Sysadmin Days.
The focus of LOPSA on local communities is one that I value,
particularly now more so than when I had the natural communities
available to me. One of my personal items that I will task myself
with regardless of other LOPSA issues will be to try and help form
some kind of local chapter in my area.
Some of the reasons I think I can be of value are some of my
involvements with other organizations. I have assisted with
conference planning, mentorship, certification programs and
organizational planning. In addition to those community building
activities, I whole-heartedly support LOPSA working to improve the
visibility and practices as a whole for system-administrators and
those that are not.
I look forward to being part of LOPSA, whether it is as part of the
board or as a contributing volunteer and I hope all that vote plan to
be similarly involved as well.
Thank you for your consideration,
Philip Kizer
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