For the last several years, the officers, board of directors, and dedicated staff have been working together to grow the international mix of Vivit membership. Success has occurred by building a bridge over to Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as well as South America and Australia. In our physical and virtual communities, we have Chapter and SIG leaders evenly mixed from Europe and the United States.

In this election, members have proudly spoken about whose voices they want to hear in the strategic board conversations. I am proud to announce for the first time in Vivit Worldwide history, that three board members out of the nine are from outside the United States.

Officially, the election closed on Monday, May 14^th at 5:00 pm with a quorum of 10%. The winners of the election are as follows:

Laura Walker
Director of Business Development
Stratacom
Fargo, North Dakota, USA

 
Richard Bishop
Performance Consultant
Intechnica LLP
Manchester, United Kingdom

Christopher J. Scharer
Sr. SQA Test Automation Lead Consultant/Director
TEK Systems (Nationwide Insurance)
West Des Moines, Iowa USA

Martijn Stuiver
COO - Manager Operations and Corporate HR
Westbury
Loosdrecht, The Netherlands

Click here to view the entire Board of Directors and international mix.

As we celebrate, we also will be saying "I’ll be seeing you” to board members that built Vivit.

James C. (Chris) Kerr
Technical Architect for Event Management Tools
Boeing
Seattle, WA USA

Chris Kerr is a talented architect that has served on the board for four terms (translates to 12 years). Chris has contributed his vast knowledge of HP Software and his reasonable, rational manner to strategic board decisions. A frequent Conference Track Chair and Customer of Excellence Award Judge, Chris is a seasoned software veteran, who will continue to add expertise and depth to the community.

Michael Collins
Director, Advisors
xMatters
Overland Park, Kansas USA

Michael Collins, the current Vivit President, travels the world solving customers’ software problems. Always quick with a story or a joke, Michael is one of the most likable people and most highly skilled engineers. Michael and Jason Kennedy from Vancouver, Canada have been "the pied pipers of the bridge”, connecting Vivit leadership - EMEA and North America – into a collaborative virtual community. The board is fortunate to have Michael as the President Emeritus, acting as an advisor for the next year.

Lastly, I want to mention the courageous individuals that were nominated by their peers, and saw the nomination and election through as an opportunity - Eric Gee, Steven Williams, and Paul Peissner. Each of them should be proud for being recognized by their peers, the board and the community for their expertise and commitment.

Many of the Vivit volunteers have played multiple roles over the course of time in a flowing lifecycle, from birth to adolescence, to adulthood, to retirement. Each of our contributions in each phase has merit and is desperately needed by the organization. I encourage everyone to continue to find your place in our community. All of us are talented and unique individuals that are highly skilled in our day jobs. We are willing to volunteer and use our limited discretionary time to benefit each other through Vivit. As a professional, Vivit offers us the opportunity to be challenged, gain mastery, have purpose, leave a legacy, and ultimately to make the world a little bit better. Congrats. I’ll be seeing you, and thank you.