[Guest Blogger] JDQ Takes Home the "tia"
Graham Jones (Vancouver, President of VANTUG)
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In a recent blog here I wrote about JDQ’s nomination for the 2007 BCTIA Technology Impact Award for Leadership in Social Responsibility. The awards dinner was on June 6th and I had the pleasure of being there to see them take home the “tia” in front of a sellout audience of over nearly 1000. Jon Morris, President of JDQ, accepted the award on behalf of JDQ. What an incredible achievement for a very small company. JDQ started their 3 Spheres program about 2 years ago and through the community projects that they have carried out have succeeded in both promoting the concepts behind 3 Spheres and putting themselves firmly on the “local technology industry map”. From a commercial standpoint they couldn’t possibly have achieved the same measure of positive exposure by traditional “advertising” mechanisms. Their nomination alone has already attracted discussion with a number of larger organizations seeking a partnership in JDQ’s community work.
My personal involvement, of course, has made for a particular satisfaction for me but, most of all, examples like this clearly demonstrate the all around benefits to be obtained by the right kind of community engagement by business. Of particular importance is the fact that whilst money is always needed the application of skills and knowledge readily available in the IT community brings the biggest return.
After the award presentation I asked each of the JDQ Principals (Jon Morris, Derek Shackleford and Franklin Kiermeyer [father of the 3 Spheres program]) how they felt and they all pretty much said the same thing, “obviously it is a thrill to win such an important award but most of all the community projects have added another dimension to our lives, which we will always remember”.
Well done JDQ. No more JD Who?