Yesterday the NY Tech Meetup elected Innonate (Nate Westheimer) to be its new organizer.  There is no doubt that the NY region is lucky to have Nate offer to contribute so much of his time to our collective cause.  As many know he has been an active part of our community both as an entrepreneur and a contributor to both one of the City's most prominent incubation spaces and to our national political process. 

While none of us can affect change in isolation, I am optimistic that Nate's fresh ideas will inspire many in our community to contribute more than they already do.  I suspect that he will not have to look far for any help that he needs - many of us are be ready to support him along the way.

I also wanted to highlight how important it was to see so many people express a willingness to give their time to take a leadership role in this group. The people who came forward are truly very special. 

Many of us play roles in the venture ecosystem that are part of a bigger machine, one that drives toward a better standard of living, a cleaner earth and the creation of more transparent information.  Whether entrepreneur, employee or financier we play a role in creating a better legacy; we move society forward.  Most of us, however, do so with aligned incentives; we get to do well by doing good. 

Many of the people who ran to be the organizer organizer of the NY Tech Meetup transcend that standard; they invest their time without a clear path to personal financial reward.  What is most inspiring is that the people on this list (and many others in our community) are motivated by the pursuit of greater ideals:  the vision of making this little patch of the world a better society where creativity is supported, passions can be pursued and new jobs can be created almost as quickly as new ideas.  These people are the lifeblood or our community and the fact that so many ran for this position reminded me of how many people in our region are willing to give more than they take. 

In sum, I suppose that I have two messages here: 

First, thank you to everyone who offered to help lead.  Stay involved, drive forward, you will continue to make a difference. 

Second, to Nate - go get 'em.