Friday was our annual Software Association of Oregon scramble golf tournament out at the Preserve in Hillsboro, Oregon and while it wasn't exactly balmy the rain did hold off for the most part...then poured right as we rolled into the tent for lunch. Seeing several faces I haven't in years as well as meeting some new ones it reinforced my firm belief in our region's solid software heritage. There are hundreds and hundreds of software companies of all shaopes in sizes in our fair state...and the past several years has seena lot of new companies formed and new investment dollars pouring in.
Consistent with this, the SAO itself has been reinvigorated. Greg Drew, CEO of Webtrends sits as our new board chair and the SAO's John Tortorici leads the team on a variety of new initiatives to step up the SAO's impact our industry and influence policy decisions important to our constituents.
THe SAO web site on advocacy:
In March of 2006, as a part of the Grow initiative, SAO’s Board of Directors resolved to create an Advocacy Committee with the intent to monitor and influence public policy efforts that affect our member organizations ability to prosper in an increasing global economy. This committee primarily advocates for tax and economic development policies that further SAO’s ongoing efforts to advance and grow the software and technology industry in Oregon.
By leading discussions with federal, state and local officials about the important contributions of software powered companies throughout the state, the SAO influences policy making that has an impact on the software industry and assists, advises, and communicates opportunities to the SAO Board of Directors and the SAO membership regarding key pieces of legislation or regulatory matters. The SAO works collaboratively with and is a resource for government agencies, leading business organizations, educational institutions, and other groups to be a strong voice for the Oregon software industry for years to come.
SAO is the voice of the software industry statewide to:
- Provide leadership on issues important to the growth of the software industry and to engage in issues that have a positive impact on SAO Members;
- Remain non-partisan in the selection of issues, endorsement of candidates, and execution of strategies;
- Focus on selected issues with the greatest impact on the software industry;
- Drive toward creating a business climate that promotes innovation and public policies that encourage software development and the expansion of Oregon's knowledge-based economy.
Advocacy Committee Members:
Craig Barnes, Attensa - Chair
Erin Brennock, Synopsys
John Cimral, ProSight
Jack Isselmann, Vista Strategies
Pamela Jones, JONES Partners
Phil Keisling, ProDX
David Kopf, Symantec
Harvey Mathews, AOI
Lewis McMurran, WSA
James Robertson, Radisys
Jim Wall, Symantec
Erick Watson, Microsoft
Jim Wasko, IBM
Jonathan Williams, Intel
John Tortorici, SAO
Molly Moore, SAOFor more information, please contact Molly Moore, Vice President at [email protected] or (503) 228-5401.
We're doing some heavy lifting here in Oregon, and we're agressively building an association that actually can make a difference. It is my hope that we cannot only help enterpreneurs and business leaders to "start, move, or grow" their business in Oregon but to actually effect public policy especially in the areas where Oregon's tax policies are essentially "anti-business" (and that is my personal view and not necessarily representative of the views of the advocacy committee.)
