Summer is here and many of us look forward to vacation time with family and friends, and I am no exception. This month, I'm off on a trip to Ireland with my husband Alan and our daughter to celebrate a life milestone. As I prepared for this trip, I reflected on the Tribal Leadership themes and recalled the safari we took in Tanzania a few years back. Tanzania is one of Africa's most stable nations and yet, like other less stable African countries, has people from many different tribes, each with their own language.  We talked about this difference each night with the Tanzanian guides, who spoke about the leader called "The Teacher" who made Swahili the standard language and led the Tanzanians to contemporary society in many other ways. I think it exemplifies the power of language to evolve culture.

One of Software Consortium's values is the power of technology to transform business and lives. Therefore, we have expanded our collection of mobile apps for the business user. Even in the remotest part of Tanzania, I was able to get a cell signal, since the country has 98% cell coverage. Only 10% of Tanzanian cities are electrified, but commerce occurs due to the cell phone. On the health front, because we spend so much time in front of monitors we bring some research regarding eyesight protection.

Last issue, I shared how our growth led to establishing a third location of offices in Columbia, Maryland. This month, we are pleased to welcome two new staff people to our team in the Columbia location. David Beall has been hired as our Controller. David brings a wealth of experience in finance and the Federal marketplace. On the operations side, Lindsay Fier joins us as Operations Coordinator. We are delighted to have these two talented professionals join our team!

All the best to you, your teams and families for a wonderful summer,