I received an email the other day from VMUG Leadership and I’m pretty excited!
Hi Brian,
Thank you for your interest in becoming a leader for the Seattle VMUG community! The next step for your on-boarding is to complete VMUG Leader Training, which will focus on all the tools, resources and best practices to be an active volunteer.
My application was accepted and I’ll (hopefully soon) be able to help our local community as a VMUG Leader volunteer. This has been something I’ve thought about for quite awhile. I’ve been fortunate enough to personally know several of the former local Seattle leaders and many of the other leaders from across the country. Hanging out with the leaders from other states at VMworld has shown me how valuable the community can be.
If you haven’t yet joined your local community, and you work in the VMware product sphere, you’re definitely missing out. I’ve found great value in having a peer group who speaks the same language as me and has been through similar challenges. The amount of specific product knowledge available through these user groups is invaluable. Along with the community, VMUG offers their VMUG Advantage subscription. The education, product licenses and discounts from membership are well worth the $200 annually.
Leadership though means a different path then just consuming the outstanding benefits as a user. I can’t speak to what it’s like from the inside quite yet, but I hope you follow along with this series and are encouraged to contribute back to your community. Part 2 of this will be about the on-boarding process and what that looks like.