NaSPA's Mission Statement

The mission of NaSPA, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is to enhance the status and promote the advancement of all network and systems professionals; nurture members' technical and managerial knowledge and skills; improve members' professional careers through the sharing of technical information; promote the profession as a whole; further the understanding of the profession and foster understanding and respect for individuals within it; develop and improve educational standards; and assist in the continuing development of ethical standards for practitioners in the industry.

Membership Code of Ethics

NaSPA has established the following Code of Ethics and requires its observance as a prerequisite and continuation of membership and affiliation with the Association.

As an applicant for membership and as a member of NaSPA, I have in the past and will in the future: 

• Perform all professional activities and duties in accordance with the laws of my country and highest ethical standards;  
• Promote good technical concepts and practices;
• Maintain the confidentiality of all proprietary or otherwise sensitive information encountered in the course of professional activities;
•  Execute professional responsibilities with diligence and honesty;  
• Refrain from any activities which might constitute a conflict of interest or otherwise damage the reputation of employers, the Association, or the profession;  
• Not intentionally injure or impugn the professional reputation or practice of colleagues, clients, employers or fellow members or the association.  
• NaSPA serves Technical Professionals working with a variety of computing technologies, including mainframes and distributed systems.
  
  

History

It was January 20, 1985.  Ronald Reagan was being sworn in on his second term as President of the United States.  It was the coldest inauguration in U.S. Presidential history with a bright blue sky in Washington DC and a wind chill of -20 degrees Fahrenheit.  Due to the cold, the inauguration was moved indoors to the grand foyer of the White House.  At the same time that Reagan was taking oath in Washington, Milwaukee Wisconsin had a low temperature of -16. The peak temperature reached -7 that day.  While watching the inauguration I was thinking about the state of the IT industry in Milwaukee.  I was due to attend the Milwaukee MVS users group meeting at the Boulevard Inn soon and discuss the fact that IBM had reduced the level of support for our mainframe systems and that getting a good systems engineer on site was getting more difficult.   I was looking forward to discussing this with technical support managers from other local companies while at the restaurant bar and was anticipating what to recommend to solve the problem.  After all, drinking and whining go well together but I really didn’t want to whine more than once that winter so I thought a recommended solution would go well with my drink.

The discussion on what to do took most of the year to evolve and finally came to fruition in late 1985, yet a full winter later than when the complaining started.  Ultimately I had many discussions with many local technical support managers, sysprogs, systems engineers and other IT folks with active brain cells. It was the following winter when I spent a night in the business section of the Milwaukee Public Library looking up company names that the name NaSPA was invented.  At the time, NaSPA stood for “National Systems Programmers Association” and in its initial incarnation NaSPA was for IBM (and compatible) mainframe systems running MVS, VM and VSE.  As time went on many services were invented and implemented.  Some of those services were a first in the industry.  NaSPA was one of the first handful of organizations in the United States to run a computer bulletin board system (BBS).  It was named NaSCOM and ultimately grew to 72 dial in phone lines with 56k modems and internet access.  Our first web server grew from that BBS system and was ultimately replaced by a web server, mail server and domain name server.

NaSPA was also among the first organizations to run with Novell and a multi-user relational database.  We would back up the database daily on diskette (100 of them) until PC tape drives were invented (and we could afford them).  They were interesting times at the PC level of automation for a staff that had come out of the mainframe environment.  I remember one time where all of our PC’s (NaSCOM, Novell, etc) were stacked in a very large wooden shelf unit and we came in on a Monday morning and smelled something that we shouldn’t have smelled.  Upon investigation, I found a 10bT hub on top of the wooden shelf unit with the PC’s in it and all four rubber feet were melted into a rubber puddle.  The wood was so hot from an overheated monitor immediately below it that we just turned off the circuit breaker without shutting anything down and hoped everything would cool off before a fire started.  None did, fortunately.

On April 29, 1992, NaSPA held its NaSTEC conference in Los Angeles, California at the Biltmore Hotel.  Unfortunately, while we were there enjoying the benefits of technical training and member camaraderie, the LA riots were happening across the street from the hotel and everyone was locked in the hotel for the duration.  Just in case you don’t remember that particular event, the name Rodney King and “can’t we just all get along” gained 15 minutes of fame that week.

Many good and interesting times have been had over the 20 years of NaSPA’s existence and I could write a novel on the topic that would be very interesting.  Our new President, Radi Shourbaji gave me 300 words and I’m already at 838 so I can’t go on any longer.  However, next time you see me buy me a drink and I’ll tell you lots more!  Like the time we had a NaSTEC in Dallas and I was sleeping on the top floor of the hotel.  Directly above us on the roof was the hot tub.  Then Denver, Colorado chapter President Emit Hurdelbrink thought the hot tub was too hot so he started transferring cool water from the swimming pool to the hot tub in an effort to cool the hot tub down.  Unbeknownst to him (so he says!)  is that water began to flow over the sides of the hot tub through the roof and into the ceiling over my bed, which resulted in the ceiling falling into my bed in the middle of the night.  It was a gooey, steamy, plastery mess!  I got even though and promoted him to board chairman! 

Scott Sherer

Founder

NaSPA Board of Directors

The NaSPA Board of Directors, the governing body of NaSPA, consists of several individuals who are responsible for providing direction and assisting the organization to achieve its goals. The board of directors is made up of individuals who possess a diverse set of skills and technical knowledge. Additionally, each member brings to the board proven leadership  capabilities.

Elections are held annually in late September. The new two year term begins in January. Positions on the NaSPA Board of Directors are voluntary (unpaid). The board of directors meets two to four times per year for a three-day weekend at NaSPA corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and other locations as the board decrees. The board is responsible for strategy input and association direction. The most discussed topic is: “Where is the industry heading and how is it affecting the NaSPA membership?” The first meeting of each year, usually held in February, focuses on the current year’s business and marketing plan. Since there is a full-time staff, board members have limited operational responsibilities. Each board member volunteers eight to ten hours per month. The various technical, managerial, team and administrative skills each member brings to the board are utilized to enhance the growth of this 20-year old organization. NaSPA is a not-for-profit business league organized under the rules of IRC 501-C6.

Once each year, in third quarter, the NaSPA Nominating Committee, chaired by one of the existing board members and consisting of several committee members from the general membership, welcomes applications from interested NaSPA members worldwide. This committee then reviews all applications and interviews each candidate prior to submitting final nominations to the board for election. If you are interested in joining the board of directors or learning more about it, please contact NaSPA President Radi Shourbaji at (414) 908-4945 Ext. 131 or e-mail Radi [at] NaSPA [dot] com.

The current NaSPA Board of Directors and Officers are:

NaSPA Education Foundation

Background: The NaSPA Education Foundation was incorporated in early 2002 to enhance educational opportunities for NaSPA members and the IT community.

Philosophy: The NaSPA Education Foundation is based on a collaborative approach to furthering technical education in the workforce, encouraging professional improvement for both new and experienced technical professionals, and providing general support to the IT community.

Mission: The Education Foundation was incorporated in early 2002 to develop, support, conduct, promote, and enhance educational opportunities and provide a venue for information exchange in the Information Technology industry, including, but not limited to: educators, students and other technical persons.

Objectives:

• Fund the education, training, and advancement of tomorrow’s technical workforce and assist in the retraining and professional development of mid-career professionals.
• Encourage educational institutions and industry to partner with NaSPA in creating tomorrow’s technical workforce.
• Empower leadership in the IT industry.
• Provide ongoing research of current and ever-changing educational challenges in the IT industry and customize our scholarships to meet these challenges.

Levels:

• $50,000 donation – A permanent endowment that gives five $1,000 scholarships or one $5,000 scholarship each year in the name of the company. It includes a photo opportunity presenting a big check to the Foundation, which will appear on the cover of Technical Support Magazine. Includes ad space in Technical Support Magazine and a Thank You benefit dinner. Also includes a seat on the Foundation Board of Directors.
• $20,000 donation – A permanent endowment that gives two $1,000 scholarships each year in the name of the company. It includes a photo opportunity presenting a big check to the Foundation, which will appear on the cover of Technical Support Magazine. The permanency of the endowment is perpetual good PR.
• $10,000 donation – A permanent endowment that gives one $1,000 scholarship each year in the name of the company. It includes a photo opportunity presenting a big check to the Foundation, which will appear on the cover of Technical Support Magazine. The permanency of the endowment is perpetual good PR.
• $5,000 donation – A photo opportunity presenting a big check to the Foundation, which will appear on the cover of Technical Support Magazine. The money funds five $1,000 scholarships.
• $1,000 donation – A one-time scholarship in the name of the company.

 

Click here to Contribute to the Foundation Today!

Click here to apply for a scholarship

NaSPA Hall of Fame

Award winners, Lifetime Members and past Board Members are honored in the NaSPA Hall Of Fame.

NaSPA Contact Directory

NaSPA, Inc.
7044 S. 13th Street Oak Creek, WI 53154 Voice: (414) 908-4945 Fax: (414) 768-8001 Membership: (414) 908-4945 x116 Customer Care: (414) 908-4945 x450