Gateway JUG Announcements - The Last

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Jack Frosch

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Dec 24, 2012, 12:43:54 PM12/24/12

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To Friends and Supporters of the Gateway JUG:

After 14 years, I have decided to end the Gateway Java User Group. Our December 2012 meeting was our last. Our motto has always been, "Growing Java developers one class at a time." And we did help so many Java developers to grow!

(Note: The Gateway Groovy Users Group is also now shelved as Dave Klein, its founder has project commitments that preclude his continuing it.)

It's impossible for me to fully convey my appreciation to Laura Boeckstiegel ("Laura B"), the Gateway JUG Vice President and logistics coordinator for the past 10 years (at least). I never could have run this thing without her help. She's truly a wonderful person who I will always consider a friend.

I'd also like to thank all of those who presented at our meetings and those who contributed in meeting planning and execution. Past officers, Elisabeth, and others helped the group immensely.

So many thanks are due to those companies who sponsored our meetings. Without you, we would not have been able to do what we did.

Finally, I'd also like to thank those of you who spent a little of your hard earned money to attend the many fun and informative classes we shared together. In all the Core Java, Servlet/JSP, Struts, JSF, Spring, Android , Groovy and Grails classes, I can honestly say I learned as much about people as I did the technologies - and that was half the fun! Thank you.

What's Next for Me?

While the Gateway JUG may be ended, my learning, and your learning, is not over.

Before I go on, I'd like you to carefully consider whether you believe in each of the following precepts:

Learning is a lifelong activity and responsibility a professional developer eagerly accepts
A professional developer must be personally committed to a wide range of learning, and not just that which is applicable to one project or one job
A professional developer would never tolerate being an 8-to-5 kind of developer, learning something new only if the company insisted on it, paid for it, and allowed it to be done on company time
There is no such thing as a free lunch. A professional developer expects to be paid for his or her services and expects to pay when receiving services from another. A professional developer wouldn't have it any other way.

If you truly believe in these precepts, then I invite you to find me on LinkedIn and connect. Then, request an invitation to my training group at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4773877. It's through that group that I will be discussing new development trends and technologies, making announcements about different training events I plan on attending or hosting, and inviting members-only to join me in a lifetime of learning.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Jack Frosch

PS. That's right; I said Christmas. The birth of Christ is the reason for the season. So please, have a very merry Christmas!