Last year, I challenged the IBM i community to raise funds for the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship. Thanks to your contributions and some generous matching grantors, we raised $2,860.
I think we can exceed that excellent figure.
This time, we have even more matching grantors on board, each one contributing a dollar for dollar match. For example, midrange.com and Jim Oberholtzer of Agile Technology Architects will match up to $300, while Larry Bolhuis of Franken i, Pete Helgren of Value Added Software, and Pete Massiello of iTech Solutions will each match up to $500.
So if we can raise $500 ... we'll have a total of $2600.
Ratcheting up the generosity, John Earl of Townsend Security will match all contributions above $500 (up to $500).
This would make the total $3600.
Al Barsa was a pillar of the IBM i community. A passionate advocate for the platform, he was a prolific COMMON presenter, a past president of the Long Island Systems User group, and a very active member of various midrange.com mailing lists.
Al passed away just after the 2008 Spring COMMON Conference ended. In response to a dramatic public response, the COMMON Education Foundation created, and now manages, the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship. From the COMMON Education Foundation website: "This scholarship will honor an individual who exemplifies Al’s commitment and dedication to the IBM i community, is a mentor to others, and is an advocate for the IBM i community"
To contribute, download the contribution form from the COMMON Education Foundation website and send it in as described in the form (
http://urlq.us/abs-contribute). Just make a note on the form indicating that your contribution is for the Al Barsa Challenge.
The challenge will run from November 14th through December 16th.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me privately.
David Gibbs
(who serves on the CEF Board in addition to running midrange.com)
Thanks to Ryan Rhodes for his help with this announcement (I'm better at computer languages than human <grin/>).
midrange.com
