Past vice president's report

Rewards of working with CUG
can be enormous

by Sally Haerer

Go forth and prosper! And thanks ... I want this article to be incredibly inspiring such that readers will go forth and inject tons of energy, effort, and creativity into CUG so that the future success of this organization is guaranteed. Why do I want to do this? Here are two reasons: first, CUG is now going through the biggest change of its times and will need everyone's support and assistance; second, I owe it! I owe CUG for many years of personal rewards beyond my highest expectations. I must admit, however, that I find it awfully difficult to come up with a magically inspirational prose that doesn't sound simply mushy! Oh well, mushy never stopped me before, so here goes ... Prior to the Charlotte CUG, I elected to withhold my name from the possibility of further CUG office. I want you all to know that I didn't take this lightly; it was a hard decision and I struggled with it for quite some time. There were certainly many factors that went into this decision to step back for a while, but the main one was simply workload. I have been a participant (either a speaker, a Special Interest Committee chair, a Program Steering Committee member, or vice president) since 1992, and have loved this organization dearly all these years. I have made lifelong friends and have a multitude of business associates from all over the world due to my years of CUG involvement. It's been a great experience. I would like the chance to thank the leadership, the Cray Research liaisons and participants, and the general membership for all the personal support and for all the extraordinary times. OK, so I know that's mushy, but darn if it isn't the truth! This gang offers tremendous opportunities for anyone who will first step up to the table and get involved. In general, it's a close-knit, international group ... sounds like an oxymoron, but in practice, it somehow works--I think through magic. The rewards of working with this organization can be enormous; and the more volunteer effort is offered, the more the personal rewards magnify. If I can only say just the right thing to inspire you to jump on this bandwagon, then this is the article that I'm trying to write.

"In practice, it somehow works--I think through magic."

How can you step up to the table?

There are many different ways--and some take a lot more time and work than others--so you can tailor your efforts to your own situations! Trust me (and I'm not selling used cars here), in the long run it will be personally productive and beneficial for you to participate. It will also definitely help your own organization--but I am concentrating on the personal gains in this article.

Look over the list below and see if there is something you'd like to do; on some of these items there is competition, but don't give up if you believe you have something to contribute.

• Write a paper--be a speaker. Without good ideas shared in papers, our conference would loose its technical edge.

• Be active in a Special Interest Committee (SIC). Contribute to the special meetings, attend the talks; if interested, grow into the position of deputy chair or chair, as the opportunity may eventually arise.

• Talk to a SIC chair and state your willingness to chair a session at a future CUG. Then have good questions and participation in order to make that session be a great one.

• Target a board position in which you might like to offer your contributions. Be willing to do the needed work to get the recognition and earn the vote of the membership when the election finally occurs.

• Consider hosting a meeting at some future date. This is a busy position and a staff of volunteers at your site will also be required, but the rewards for this involvement are high, international site recognition is excellent, and you will be in the spotlight and on the Advisory Council for a while.

• Contribute an article to CUG.log on an issue you feel needs exposure or on an observation you'd like to share from the past CUG meeting. Such positive feedback can help us all and offer a good lead-in to the next conference.

• Initiate a Birds of a Feather session (BOF) at a conference on a topic you feel is of interest to several and deserving of focused discussion.

• Attend as many meetings as possible, ask lots of questions, share your ideas, and enjoy the social settings for further networking with colleagues.

SICs and MIGs: The backbone of conference success

The SICs and MIGs (Mutual Interest Groups) comprise the backbone of a CUG conference success. The chairs of these committees are the ones responsible for the focused and timely depth and breadth of the talks at each meeting.

There is no doubt that the speakers (paper authors) are the true jewels of any conference, without whom technical content would be nil; but the SIC/MIG chairs are the ones responsible for roping it all together into a cohesive program. They generate and maintain interest in their various technical areas; they solicit, rank, and support the chosen papers for each meeting. The Program Steering Committee (lead by the vice president) then gathers this organized material and works with the chairs to build an integrated program appropriately mixed with interesting and timely invited general session talks.

One other important ingredient for the success of each SIC and MIG is the strong Cray Research liaison assigned to each respective committee. The chair works closely with this vendor partner to coordinate critical information to be shared at the conference in order to promote the desired quality and effectiveness of our profession.

What do the CUG SIC/MIG chairs do?

In Charlotte, I offered this draft list of SIC/MIG chair duties. These have generally been the tasks handled by the chairs, but there had never been a formalized itemized list. I offer it here for a couple of reasons. I'd like for everyone to see the huge effort that these volunteers give to the CUG membership; and I'd like to solicit discussion and further improvements to this list. I would be happy to compile comments and bring them to the Advisory Council meeting in San Jose, so send me e-mail (haerer@ncar.ucar.edu)!

• Establish and maintain a clear sense of purpose, direction, and list of issues for your SIC/MIG committee through leadership and frequent membership contacts.

• Establish and maintain a good working relationship with the committee's Cray Research liaison contact. Share and coordinate ideas, issues, and problems affecting both the members of the committee as well as Cray Research.

• Plan and organize the committee's program for each CUG meeting:
  • Solicit, review, and coordinate technical papers

  • Coordinate with your Cray contact regarding papers your committee would like presented

  • Assign appropriate session chairs

  • Organize the committee's business meeting (this could be a good opportunity for your Cray contact to provide an update)

• Submit the committee's program to the Program Steering Committee; coordinate any needed adjustments and timeline requirements.

• Send accept/reject notices to all abstract submitters. Follow up on information and requirements for all accepted paper authors.

• Attend the CUG conference and all appropriate planning meetings.

• Prepare news or committee summary articles for CUG.log.

• Create and maintain a web page for your SIC/MIG. Provide the CUG home page webmaster with appropriate pointer information.

As a past Board of Directors member, I will still be on the Advisory Council for one more round, and I will continue to attend CUG meetings and be as involved as time permits. Thanks to all my very dear friends in CUG! See you in San Jose!

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