Welcome new members! (2019 Jan)

[LarryBrock]

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to @Rober Rankin, @Veronica Kolstad, and @Shelley_Smith-Woods.  You three are hereby designated the founding members of this fine group!  Please give yourselves a hand and consider taking a moment to introduce yourself.  I'll go first but by no means should my post be considered a template - please be creative!

PS.  I'm looking for at least one co-leader for this group.  If you're interested or have questions, please let me know - Thanks!

~~Larry Brock

[LarryBrock]

Howdy everyone!

I'm Larry Brock -  Atlassian enthusiast, outdoor sports fan, and Community Champion.

Atlassian enthusiast is the truth - I worked with Jira Software, Jira Service Desk, Confluence, and Crowd for several years and had so much fun that I joined Praecipio Consulting in Austin as a Sr. Technical Architect in order to work full time with the Atlassian suite.  I now have the privilege of engaging with organizations across the USA, helping them build and streamline business processes, often employing various Atlassian tools as the catalyst.  I also help customers by installing, upgrading, and migrating various tools between server, DC, and the cloud.  Plus, there's tuning, integrating, troubleshooting, auditing, and adding automation to increase the value of the tools.  I love to share what I know and to learn new things so if you have a question, please don't be afraid to ask - if I don't know the answer, I'll likely join your journey of discovery.

It doesn't take most people very long to find out I love outdoor sports, particularly water sports - all water sports.  I'm a lake-rat at heart and spend every moment I can skiing, wake-boarding, wake-surfing, tubing, paddle-boarding, etc.  I love the ocean too and surf, scuba, and snorkel whenever I get the chance.  On summer weekdays, you can frequently find me on Lake Austin at sunrise with my friends sneaking in a ski session before work.  Yes, we're nuts but the good kind. :-)  If I'm not on the water, you'll find me on a bicycle either cruising down a country road or sloshing through a muddy creek bed - I like to ride anywhere.

In addition to just working with the tools, I spent a couple of years volunteering as an Austin AUG leader, working with the outstanding Atlassian Community Team plus co-leaders Tony, Daniel, and Reese. Though I had to step down due to becoming an Atlassian Solutions Partner employee, I've found a new way to engage as an Atlassian Community Champion.  However, you'll still find me hanging around the AUG scene, speaking, participating on panels, helping set up/tear down, and pitching in wherever I can.

Cheers!

[LarryBrock]

@Rober Rankin, @Veronica Kolstad and @Shelley_Smith-Woods - I'm calling you out!  ;-)  I'll bring some nice Atlassian swag to the first one who responds to this post.  "Let's get this party started!" 

[Veronica Kolstad]

I'm late to the party, but excited to be here! I have worked with Atlassian products for the last five years, first at a financial technology firm in NY (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, and a little bit of Bamboo), and now at an oil & gas company in Houston (JIRA and Confluence). I also used Trello to help plan my wedding!

My free time lately is devoted to fixing up the older house I bought at the end of the year, and getting ready to enter parenthood when our baby arrives in April! Outside of these new hobbies, I enjoy hiking, biking, SCUBA diving, rock climbing, and just being outdoors in general. Unfortunately I don't have @LarryBrock's energy, so outdoor fun is limited to weekends and holidays!

I attended what I believe was the inaugural Houston AUG meetup in early 2018, before life took over and ate up my free time, but I'm excited to get back on the horse and meet everyone!

[LarryBrock]

Congratulations @Veronica Kolstad - you win the "first post!" award.  Thank you for a great post and for letting me know I'm not drifting around in this big empty community space all alone.  ;-)

I'll do my best to have a special piece of swag for you at the AUG meeting next week (and if not, I'll get it to you ASAP)!