So we started the year rolling with Big names (Jeff Genender and Matt Konda), and is JUST GONNA GET BETTER, I can’t tell you how excited we are at the CJUG to bring you great presentations, great events, and great networking overall. We have grown so much in the past year, and we are still expecting grow.

By the numbers (We are 735 CJUGers, let’s break the thousands barrier)

We set a goal of getting 810 members by the end of 2013. AND WE GOT PRETTY CLOSE. We are now a vibrant community of 700+ People, and boy, it just makes me feel proud. We are becoming the larger more active Java User Group in the United States, and we are not going to rest until we are the LARGEST U.S. Community :). So by the end of the year, let’s make CJUG have more than 3,000 members. I know we are all there. Get EVERYONE you know to join in and participate. Tell them about our group, tell them how cool it was last year, and tell them that 2014 is going to be even larger, better, and with the release of Java 8, it’s going to be EPIC.

Speaking of EPIC

Java 8 is around the corner, and we are gearing tons of presentations on what it brings. It is the release we all have been salivating about (lambdas, lambdas, lambdas). We will get all kinds of talks, including JavaFX, JavaEE, and everything Java 8 touches. So stay tuned to our new events.

You gotta come and join us this Feb 6 (Gradle and 3-tier pattern) (http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoJUG/events/161367682/)

Ok, so we have not one, but TWO Chicagoland Celebrities coming out this Thursday. Bob Paulin (yeah, the Bob Paulin that helps get things organized, and have that awesome presentation on getting the right technology ‘mix’) is gonna talk about Gradle and Continuous delivery. Not just that, following up after him we have Brett Lindsey talking about developing interfaces for 3-tier architectures. Brett, who, in another life was like a computer science professor and have the ability to explain, entertain and engage on his presentations (He presented on Spring Planting). It’s such a DOUBLE FEATURE, that you should NOT miss. People will pay real hard-earned cash to hear what they want to say, but, they are selfless and want YOU to have all the knowledge, so come-on, show up at Loyola’s and let the knowledge transfer begin!

Ah, new year, new officers, same old dedication to the Organization

So we had officer nominations in the past week, and just for everyone to know, the CJUG have officially appointed:

Bob Paulin as Community Leader ([address removed])

Yay! He will make sure the community becomes just ‘AWESOMER’, and is in charge of making sure we are the Biggest, Baddest, Awesomest Java User Group out there.

Michael Minella as Meeting Director ([address removed])

And event Director, would there be a Conference in the future? mayyyybe.. And you can bet Michael will make sure it’s epic, from our regular meetings to the big events. He already promised to have a even bigger and better meeting roster than last year

Monica Gee as our CFO ([address removed])

Ah, money matters, and there is nothing more certain than Death and Taxes. She is helping us getting all our finances organized. We are growing, and we want to plan bigger things, so we need someone who knows Money :)

Cedric Hurst as our Sponsorship Director ([address removed])

Cedric is helping sure that “Free” for CJUG members stays Free by going out and finding places, spots, dropped pennies, he is making sure that we always have a viable group. Hey! Do you have a space for us to host an event? Would you like to treat us beer and pizza? Are you interested in an bronze,silver, gold level sponsorship? Cedric is your Sponsorship Ninja-Rockstar-Guru (just try to picture that, it’s almost impossible)!

So, drop them a line and say “Hi” and Congrats. Give them a couple of words of encouragement. They are really selfless and are just doing it because we love the language, we love the community, and more specially we really believe Chicago is the best place to be a Developer (specially in Spring, I have to say that these Polar Vortexes were kinda tough :)). But a last, programming is not for the weak of heart