Darryl Booth

Annual Conference Season

Summer is nearly over and, to me, the coming fall season represents change. The 2008 Decade User Group and Conference is right around the corner. At this all-user event I get to meet new people and renew old friendships. This is where I get to see how the work done inside our office impacts those who use the system outside the office. The enthusiasm is engaging. It recharges my batteries and resets my reality.

This is my twelfth Decade User Group and Conference meeting.

"For the first time ever in North America, Envision for Windows!"

At that first all-user conference at the Piccadilly Shaw in 1997 I had the honor of showing Envision for Windows to our users for the very first time.

In my best radio voice I exclaimed, "For the first time ever in North America, Envision for Windows!" With that, I launched Envision and started the presentation. Folks were ready for a Windows version of Envision.

Even change for the better (replacing Envision for DOS for Envision for Windows) is still change and can still be disruptive.

EnvisionConnect Upgrades

Now, flash ahead more than a decade (no pun intended), we're deep into EnvisionConnect upgrades and it's quite fulfilling to point out features that were prompted by that same user community. You guys are awesome!

I anticipate that this month's conference will be characterized by the same energy and enthusiasm we enjoy each year. I know the Decade staff have been working diligently to prepare meaningful presentations.

So, mark your calendars and be sure to seek me out. I'll be the one presenting the class on Report Builder.

A Little Boast, A Little Brag

Meghan, Donald, and I were invited to speak to the Northern Cal Users Group yesterday. I got home last night and couldn't sleep.

I tried to find the words to convey the excitement that was buzzing around my head. Below is the company e-mail message that I sent the following morning.

Yesterday Meghan, Donald, and I attended the Northern California Envision User Group meeting in Sacramento. The topic was EnvisionConnect migration.

Guys, there is so much enthusiasm about EnvisionConnect. Meghan did a presentation (using Verizon’s wireless service) that blew everybody away and left them wanting more. Performance was very good.

The latest release on Rackspace (delivered last Friday) was solid.

A new client (in the final contract stage), Tuolumne County, kept audibly gasping and going on about the features that they see in EnvisionConnect but have been missing in SWEEPS. They have high a enthusiasm factor.

Nobody blinked an eye at our plans for migration and were hungry to hear every detail about the SBCEH migration. We covered what went right and what challenged us.

Thanks for making this meeting an easy one… we all drove home on a bit of a high (which might explain why Meghan missed the Shaw Ave off-ramp, but that’s another story).

Next month, public water!