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Host Karl caught up with MJ Shoer, the Chief Community Officer at CompTIA. MJ is responsible for leading a team of passionate leaders who deliver programs and benefits to CompTIA's global community of members. 

MJ is a 25+ year MSP veteran, having owned his MSP for nearly 20 years before merging into a friendly regional competitor subsequently acquired by a national MSP. MJ was a longtime CompTIA member before joining the team.

About CompTIA

CompTIA is a non-Profit IT Trade Association. You've certainly heard of CompTIA certifications (A+, Network+, etc.). 

At https://connect.comptia.org, you'll find the CompTIA communities, technology interest groups, industry advisory councils, and public sector councils make CompTIA strong. Join today and start collaborating on technology and business-building initiatives, network with peers, open doors to new partnerships, and contribute ideas to shape the future of our industry. There is a place for everyone to connect at CompTIA.

Full disclosure: Karl sits on the Executive Council of CompTIA's Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Community - the largest and fastest growing community. More info at https://connect.comptia.org/join-now/register?c=ADVTECTLTDIV. 

CompTIA Communities and Councils Forum is March 14-16 in Chicago. See https://connect.comptia.org/events/view/comptia-communities-councils-forum-(ccf)-2022?sfredirect=/ccf 

Links: 
https://Connect.CompTIA.org 
https://www.CompTIAISAO.org 
https://facebook.com/mshoer 
https://linkedin.com/in/mshoer 
https://twitter.com/mshoer 

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Sponsor Memo: Linode
 
Linode – a top Infrastructure as a Service provider as voted by G2 and Trust Radius, 
has resources specifically for delivering digital experiences in the cloud with better ease and 
affordability while not being locked into long-term agreements and commitments. 

Their guide, “The Golden Ratio of Price to Performance in Cloud Computing“ details how alternative cloud providers and open source tools can lower costs and ease moving to multicloud envoirments.  

This resource and more at https://linode.com/mspradio. 
 
:-)

     One of the lead teaching pastors from Greentree Christian Church, Chris Foster, brings the word on 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 to discuss knowing God's will and the importance of overcoming sexual sin and battling gossip within the church community. 

Join us for our Spring Semester Sermon Series, Suffering Servants where we explore the topic of suffering through an expostional and biblical lens. We cover an array of questions and biblical aspects about suffering from the why of it, to how to counsel through it, and also to cover the ultimate Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ. 

Our new Spring 2021 Semester Series is called Suffering Servants. In this sermon series, we cover and array of questions and aspects of suffering as present throughout Scripture. Why does suffering exist, how do we handle it, how can we continue to trust God in the midst of it, and most importantly, who is the ultimate suffering servant, Jesus Christ? Join us this semester and listen along! 

Our new Spring 2021 Semester Sermon Series is now being released each week! Suffering is a common experience many people go through and in this series, we hope to explore different aspects of suffering. Where does it come from, why does God allow it, and what do we hope to learn from the suffering of Christ Himself? 

It is well documented that there will be a great transfer of wealth as the baby boomer generation ages and passes away. There exists an amazing opportunity for non-profit organizations to keep in close touch with their donor base, and keep their eyes and ears open for planned gift opportunities. Although planned gifts rarely happen immediately (hence, planned gifts...), they can be transformative for an organization.

Do you work for a nonprofit? Do you sit on the board of a nonprofit? If so, this episode provides very important information for your organization.

Juan Ros, financial advisor with Forum Financial Management, offers our listeners a unique perspective. Juan offers a unique perspective as he possesses great experience in the nonprofit world as a planned giving officer. He also has a wealth of knowledge as he now advises clients on planning strategies that could also involve gifts to nonprofits.

This episodes focuses on real estate gifts. Where a monthly gift can be as little as $5 a month, and is incredibly valuable to an organization, and a major gift can be a donation of $500 or $1,000, a planned gift can easily be in the $100,000s and even over $1 million.

Organizations that think they are too small to accept a real estate gift can learn a great deal from this episode. It could be as simple as creating a gift acceptance policy (if one isn't already in place) and speaking with someone from a community foundation, such as Ventura County Community Foundation or California Community Foundation.

I hope you find  great value from this show, and if you do, please share it with your donor base and others in the nonprofit world.

You can reach Juan at 805-494-3416.

So you want a pet cheetah?

When you see a baby cheetah your heart melts. They have dark golden eyes that are curious with goofy spikey mohawk hair that is meant to mimic honey badgers in the wild. Not to mention, the hundreds of tiny little spots from the top of the head to the tip of their long tail. Their faces have that distinctive black tear line and when they look at you, you can see an intelligence, grace and thoughtfulness. 

When I ask my fellow feline lovers if they could have an exotic cat as a pet, what would it be?The answer is almost always a pet cheetah. It is something I have even said too, but would never ever do or support anyone who does. There is something magical and mystical about them. BUT, these beautiful creatures belong in the wild. They do not belong on the passenger seat of a wealthy persons sports car with a collar and leash or in a high rise apartment.

Having a cheetah as a pet isn’t new, but it presently getting out of control. I spoke briefly with Dr. Laurie Marker when she was on her 2019 Spring fundraising tour for the Cheetah Conservation Fund about what is happening with cheetahs being traded as pets and how this is effecting their numbers in the wild. 

As most of you know, I met Dr. Laurie Marker, the founding director of The Cheetah Conservation Fund a few years ago. I was so inspired to learn about the work CCF is doing and what Dr. Marker has accomplished that I traveled to Namibia to become a working guest for a few weeks. It is a fantastic experience and I recommend it to everyone. I wrote a small piece about my experience at CCF for Wild Hope Magazine and that will be published shortly so stay tuned. 

PLEASE NOTE:  If you are in the Bay Area you can meet Dr. Laurie Marker in person at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz California on October 8th. Laurie will be speaking about cheetah conservation in Namibia and how some of the methods can be applied to our area to protect the cougar and other predators. There will also be a film screening of Born to Explore’s : Namibia, Land of the Cheetah produced by Richard Weise.

I am excited to be speaking again with Dr. Marker although I find the topic of illegal pet trade disturbing. But as always Dr. Marker will inspire us to have hope and come together to stop these actions and bring awareness to the world.

*intro and closing by Dale Willman and acoustic breeze music by www.bensound.com

 

Suzi Eszterhas, our next podcast guest, told me she is no longer a workaholic, but as our conversation progressed, I had to wonder if she was telling me the truth! Suzi has created an internationally recognized name for herself in wildlife conservation photography, particularly baby animals and their families. She leads three group photo tour adventures per year, started a non-profit for young women photographers called Girls Who Click and is an author of several children’s books. In addition to all of that, she co-authors books with conservationists, she speaks at fundraising engagements and writes several magazine articles per year.

Beautiful Photographs Suzi shared with us:

*Intro and Closing by Dale Wilman and music by www.bensound.com