The last time this group met was back in September of 2000!

That was roughly six months ago, and a lot has happened to many of us in that span of time. Our president for the past year or so, David Ferrero has had another child, and due to other life circumstances, is looking to transition out of the responsibilities of heading the Java SIG. We hope that he will remain an active member and continue to provide help to the group as he is able.

As with so many things in life, as one door closes, another opens. Steve LeVander of The Allied Group was interested in becoming involved with COOUG, but was not sure in what capacity he would be most interested, until he heard that David was stepping aside and then he saw how he could best serve COOUG. Steve is now our transitioning President/Chairperson for the Java SIG. You will get to know him at the next meeting, so please take a few moments to welcome him and make him feel at home.

We have lots of other plans for the Java SIG this year. It looks like David has been in contact with Informix, and Art has been working with Rational on presentation topics. Speaking of Art, if memory serves, he still owes us a presentation on XML as well. Also, our long time member and supporter Ken Kousen (who you may remember from his Java Certification presentation last year) has also generously offered to do some topics this year on XML.

We will try to keep you more up to date on the happenings around the Java SIG. If you are willing and able to help organize and manage the group, by all means please volunteer, we welcome your support. See you at the next meeting.