Recent News

As 2019 was ending and 2020 was starting, who could possibly have foreseen the devastation that COVID-19 would take on our personal lives, the lives of our families, our communities, our jobs, the work environment, and the global economy? Everyone’s life and livelihood have been affected, and we are struggling to plan out as far as next week; what we can plan as 2020 rolls into the next year – well that’s way beyond what I can process at this time. At best, I can only assume we’re all living in the moment.

The entire Board of Directors for the 7x24 Exchange Carolinas Chapter sends thoughts, prayers, and condolences to those who are struggling or have experienced loss, and we want to support you in whatever way we can to keep us productive, engaged, and connected. It is a cruel irony that now, when we need each other the most, we are not able to connect in person.

As we continue to shelter-in-place, and as previously posted on this website, we have had no recourse but to postpone the Golf Tournament and the 2020 Summer Meeting in Asheville. In addition, all planning for the Tech Summit in Charlotte, originally scheduled for October and organized jointly with SERBCA, has been paused.

In an effort to keep the Chapter members and the local Data Center community engaged, the Board is currently working on options that can bring value to our membership. We are currently in the planning phase for a virtual meeting that will, hopefully, continue our efforts to bring informative content and networking opportunities to this robust community of data center end users, designers, and vendors. We will make every effort to move rapidly on this event, and we are confident that this may be a valuable offering that this Chapter can deliver on a regular basis in the long term. For the first virtual meeting, speed is of the essence – we will not distract or complicate our efforts by addressing fees to participate, nor are we asking for sponsorships. We invite all our members and interested guests to participate. Please stay tuned and check this website – we will let you know of this event and all other upcoming events as soon as we can. To that end, if there is a subject of pressing interest and importance, please let us know. We will do our best to fill that need in the presentations being scheduled.

One other announcement: we have two openings available on the Chapter’s Board of Directors, and we are accepting nominations. If you are interested in participating on the Board or wish to nominate someone, or if you have any questions whatsoever, please send me an e-mail. I should be able to answer your questions or send the inquiry to the appropriate people.

Let’s continue to stay in touch; most importantly, stay healthy so that we can connect face-to-face next time we meet.

Vali Sorell, PE
President, 7x24 Exchange Carolinas Chapter
hesorell@microsoft.com

Jeff Farlow, Executive Director Emeritus

Dear 7x24 Carolinas Membership,

Last night we held our annual Board of Directors meeting at Grandover Resort in Greensboro.  During this meeting we welcomed 2 new Board members and recognized another for fulfilling his term.

Our new board members are Robert O'Steen from Google and Vali Sorell, PE from Sorell Engineering, Inc.  

Robert works as a management member at Google’s Data Center in the Charleston, SC area.  He is a seasoned Data Center professional with an impressive Operations and Management background and we are certain that he will be a valuable addition to our Chapter leadership.

Vali was recently well known for his work at Syska but has hung out his own shingle and has a growing and innovative engineering practice, Sorell Engineering, Inc. out of the Charlotte, NC area.  Vali’s passion for improvement in infrastructure, engineering and operations will add incredible depth to our Chapter.

We thanked outgoing board member John Link for his service.  John has always been attentive to the workings of the Carolinas Board and provided extra-ordinary leadership and contribution during his tenure.  He will be well missed but has promised to stay active in our Chapter and contribute as a past Board member.

We had working discussions with regard to the committees and provided some good focus on our work in 2017.  It is going to be an exciting year for our Chapter.

Lastly, as many of you know, I retired from Envirotrol, LLC after 27 years as President and have begun my second act.  The success of our Chapter has been due to the hard and relentless work and effort of the Chapter Board, its executive committee, committee chairs, and you, the general membership.

The work of the Executive Director is considerable and the investment in time, labor and representation have exceeded my ability to properly do service to the position on behalf of our Chapter.  Therefore I have submitted my resignation as Executive Director effective 1/12/17 and nominated Robin Aron as the new Executive Director of our chapter.  With a unanimous vote from the Board, she now is to be known as Madame Executive Director Robin Aron.

Robin is an amazing human and has worked well above and beyond the call of duty in her advisory role.  She is well known and respected, not only in our Chapter, but through the national organization.  I personally admire her dedication and commitment to our Chapter and am certain that this transition will be a successful one.

Per our by-laws, I will remain on the board as Executive Director Emeritus to advise and support both the board and the membership in the work of our chapter.

In one of her first actions as the newly nominated Executive Director, Robin and the Board unanimously voted Leah Farlow to fill Robin’s former role as Chapter Advisor.  Leah is a great process-oriented thinker, confident problem solver, and tireless worker.  She is generally the first person to set up our meeting space and usually the last to leave.  Her interpersonal skills have made for an incredible attendee experience.

Congratulations to both Robin and Leah for their advances in our Chapter Leadership, to our new Board members Robert and Vali, and lastly to our Chapter.  I believe that as one of the premiere regional Chapters of 7x24 Exchange, we will continue to grow our service both to our Chapter and to the industry.

Jeff Farlow

Executive Director Emeritus

7x24 Exchange Carolinas Chapter

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Mission Critical Content Review/Item Development Workshop
Hosted by CompTIA & Examplify

July 11-15, 2016
in Downers Grove, IL

CompTIA and its subsidiary Examplify are in the process of recruiting Subject Matter Experts in Mission Critical Operations to help develop exam content. SMEs are requested to help review content for the MCO Curriculum developed by Cleveland Community College.

SMEs are invited to attend this workshop located at CompTIA's Headquarters in Downers Grove, IL (suburb of Chicago).  Candidates local to the Chicago area are preferred, but any candidate will be considered.

Use your expertise to help create the curriculum for the future of Mission Critical Operations!

click here to learn more

Women in Mission Critical Operations

7x24 Exchange Carolinas Chapter is proud to announce a new committee in our chapter, Women in Mission Critical Facilities.  This committee is designated for specific outreach to women in our industry for strengthened engagement and participation as members, presenters and attendees of the chapter and events.  A primary focus is place on functioning as a subcommittee supporting the efforts within the education committee, to market and recruit women into the NCMCO Curriculum and the industry as a whole by attending job fairs, speaking engagements and promotional efforts.

Sheila Molino, acting Chairman of the committee says, "There are many career paths in Mission Critical Operations and each provides the opportunity to be highly impactful in the business while being part of a strong team. Whether students focus on information technology or operations technology, jobs in this industry require people who are able to think independently, solve problems logically and stay focused in situations where continuous operation is jeopardized."

There will be a luncheon held at the Summer Meeting in Charleston, SC in August.  This will be an opportunity to get to know each other, share ideas, and learn from our peers.  If you or someone you know are interested in learning more about this committee, please email info@7x24carolinas.org.

The courses cover content within the TIA-942 & ANSI/BICSI 002 data center standards.

 

Oct. 13^th – 16^th, Raleigh NC
DCN225 Data Center Network Design is a 4 day course that addresses the technology design requirements within the data center computer room, with a focus on the network architecture and topology, the low voltage network cabling systems and power distribution from the UPS to the IT equipment.

 

Nov. 17^th – 20^th, Charlotte NC
DCA150 Advancements in Data Center Design & Operations is a 4 day course that addresses the data center facility and technology design requirements - covering power, cooling, network, building and site considerations when designing a data center.

 

Both courses are approved for BICSI CECs, and documentation is provided to attendees who need credits for PE, State construction trade licensing or project management continuing education requirements.

 

These courses provide an excellent insight into the coordination that is required between facilities & IT, and integrated operational guidelines that will benefit data center managers & designers. The lab exercises provide practical applications for the participants to evaluate space, power, cooling & network topology, redundancy & capacity planning.

 

More information on these courses, including a partial list of past participants, course summary, schedule of course locations and the ability to register online is available on our web site at http://www.isaaktech.com/trainingservices.html.

     Jeff Farlow, Executive Director - 7x24 Carolinas

Adapted Mission Critical Operator Curriculum

The CVCC Foundation, Inc., recently received a donation from the Carolinas Chapter of 7x24 Exchange International to establish a scholarship at Catawba Valley Community College. The scholarship will be awarded to a student enrolled in the college’s School of Business, Industry & Technology.

“We wanted to support the colleges that have programs in technology, and CVCC has one of the best.” - Thomas Jacobik, President of 7x24 Exchange Carolinas Chapter.

Thomas Jacobik, President of the Carolinas Chapter of 7x24 Exchange and operations manager for Apple’s new data center, presented the check to CVCC President Garrett D. Hinshaw on behalf of the group.
 
The Carolinas Chapter also funded scholarships at Wilson Community College in Wilson and Trident Community College in Charleston, S.C.