RTP Cisco User Group

The RTP Cisco User Group will be hosting Scott Morris, proverbial Chuck Norris of the Internet, at the Department of Computer Science Thursday, October 28th at 5:30 PM.

Scott has 4 CCIE certifications, a CCDE, JNCIE, and a CISSP among a laundry list of other certifications referenced here: http://smorris.uber-geek.net/.

Scott is the only one in the world with his credentials who does not work for Cisco Systems. He has an unparalleled view of how the Internet works, and a unique perspective on the state of the industry, work/life balance, professional career progression, among other things.

The room reserved seats a little over 60 people so keep that in mind!

The flyer for the event is attached!

Hope to see you there!

Department of Computer Science, UNC Chapel Hill
201 South Columbia Street
UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3175 USA
Phone: (919) 962-1700

Minutes of RTP CUG 8/16/10 meeting

Presiding:  Thomas Jones

Secretary: Robert Dejournett

Also attending:  RC Teal, Bob Cirillo

The August meeting of RTP CUG was held at Nantucket Grill Southpoint

at 7pm.  Agenda items:

1)       Not for profit organization status was discussed.  Thomas thought this would be a good avenue to compete for governmental funding.

Robert is investigating and will report back.

Robert reports that NPO status is ill-advised due to lengthy procedures and additional overhead required to become an NPO.

2)      Expanding the organization – The general opinion was that the CUG could definitely provide study groups, but certs would not be the exclusive goal of the group. Therefore the indication was to expand the group by word of mouth recruiting highly experienced people in the field, i.e. a country club approach.

a.      Robert mentioned that another group exists for Cisco IP telephony users.  There is a local chapter. http://www.ciptug.org/chapters/individual_chapters.php?id=31 Robert emailed and asked for contact info.

Robert spoke with Josh, the CIPTUG local chapter president.  Thomas, Robert and Josh are going to get together in a few weeks to discuss synergization.

b.      Thomas mentioned the cisco collaborative network as a good source to recruit interested persons.

3)      Meeting agendas – we’d like to be more educational, ie lunch and learn, “crowdsourcing” for professional related issues, seminars, etc.  Potential seminar subjects can be technical subject overviews, case studies, career/life planning, etc. Thomas also mentioned tours as a potential educational group opportunity.

a.      For #5, we’d need a good meeting spot.  This is an active issue for right now.   Suggest everyone try to find a meeting space for seminars.

4)      Organizational mission:  Thomas’s thoughts were that our value to organizations like Cisco or their contractors would be that we are a one-stop shop/buffet for networking experts.  As far as value to the members, it would be the social networking and educational opportunities.  Thomas added that the CUG wants to cultivate talent.

Meeting adjourned at 9pm.

Meeting notes, RTP CUG May 20^, 2010

Purpose:  Organizational meeting to determine how/where to grow the organization, brainstorm for new ideas

In attendance:

RC Teal

Niles Pyelshak

Bob Cirillo

Robert Dejournett, Presiding

1)      Meeting started (7pm) with informal discussion of everyone’s purpose for the CUG, and their backgrounds.  At least three in attendance (Bob, Rob, Niles) were aiming for certifications, and overall there was a desire to network professionally regarding the Cisco-related aspects of their jobs.

2)      Improving the infrastructure of the organization; the motion was put on the table to have either a forum or an external cisco.com mailing list.  The former was voted for, given that it had the ability to have non club members join our conversations, and to move said conversations off email.

Resolved:   Bob Cirillo and Robert Dejournett will implement a forum capacity in our existing rtpcug.com web site.

3)      It was noted (Niles) that the website should have a cisco appropriate masthead

4) Next there was a small powerpoint presentation by Rob showing the various CUG models, using Dallas and Silicon Valley as examples.   In particular the committee liked the Dallas model, and it was remarked that if Dallas had such a successful CUG community then the same elements should be in place for RTP.   The Dallas model showed a rich community of speaker-driven monthly meetings, a forum site of the website, and a strong study group community.  Rob will reach out to Dallas CUG and discuss ways to grow RTP CUG.

5)      Regarding labs, it was generally agreed with input from RC, Bob, and Niles that the idea was a good one, and if Cisco could support the infrastructure that would be ideal.   Rob said he would contact Dan Segovia who has some experience in this area. It was agreed around the table that most of us had access to a plethora of obsolete networking equipment, and this equipment can be utilized in a more effective training manner.  Further, organizations like Cisco and the entity formerly known as Nortel  routinely threw away functional networking equipment, and it would be ideal to be able to obtain such networking equipment for study purposes.

6)      Regarding outreach, Rob said he would contact the university to grow student membership.  IT professional membership is equally prized, and RC gave some good contacts at UNC.  Rob revealed that the AITP organization may be able to help, but it’s unclear what RTP CUG wants that AITP can provide, at this stage.

7)      As the meeting closed, it was commented that RTP CUG needs a mission statement/charter, and this will be drafted In the interim between meetings.

8)      The next meeting was resolved to be in 30-60 days.

9)      The next meeting location was discussed, it would be nice to have access to a large organization.  Rob indicated he can try to talk to Cisco and see if they could accommodate us.   Other options, however, would be ideal.

10)   Meeting closed at 9pm.

Check them out!

They are having a conference May 25th-26th, in Wash. DC.  I think this would be an excellent opportunity to check out this field or network with local practioners.

• FCC broadband initiative sounds great for networking people! #

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Been adding some links to the blogroll, check them out.  Also if you have ideas of networking related sites, leave a comment and we’ll add it.

Welcome!  Check this space for upcoming events and activities.

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This website is intended to support the RTP CUG.

Mirroring the Charlotte Cisco User Groups stated purposes, we have some fundamental objectives:

- Remain informed about the latest in technological innovations in the field of networking by way of keynote speaker presentations – think TED Talks.

- Establish and maintain professional networks, social networks, as well as mentor/mentee relationships.

- Encourage and facilitate certification guidance, and achievement.

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