Welcome to ⌘+? (Help), aka Help User Group! It starts here!

First off, let me welcome you to the ⌘+? (Help), aka Help, User Group. I'm excited that you took the time to figure out what this weird symbol at the top of the user group list was. Or maybe you saw a post somewhere on LinkedIn or in one of the channels in Mac Admins and thought, "Let me take a peek.", welcome!

Thank you for giving me a piece of your attention while I tell you the backstory of this group and where it came from. My name is Glenn Uhlendorf, and I have been working with Macs in some shape or fashion since about 2010. I've worked behind the Genius Bar, with Apple in education, and now I work in IT management in the enterprise field. Apple has been right there in some shape or form for all of my tech career. My current job at Consortium is Senior Manager of Information Technology, where I oversee our endpoints (using Jamf, of course) and an assortment of systems. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat.

One of the values championed by my current employer is altruism, and trying to find a way to give back. Although I am always anxious to get involved and wanted to help, sometimes I was unsure of what I could do, where I fit in, or how to get started. That's what this group aims to help with. We will meet once a quarter and pool our collective knowledge and resources, and also asks for support in order to get someone the help they need. If no one is aware of any asks then we will find some! This could range from donating refreshed equipment to a person, group of people, or organization in need, to conducting a virtual or in-person workshop about best practices in the world of technology (think phishing, MFA, etc.), or it could mean something more traditional, like a food or clothing drive.

I think the coolest part of this group is that I'm not sure exactly what it means yet-we're going to figure that out together. It will likely constantly evolve. We all have different resources at hand, skills we bring to the table, and needs that organizations around us might have. Together, one way or another, we aim to do our best to figure it out and find a way to help.

PS But Glenn, will we talk  stuff? Yes, we'll talk about some emerging issues however the lion's share of this group's time and energy will be focused on finding opportunities and providing assistance.