Celebrating Another Year of iChime

Having just celebrated the 35th anniversary of the origins of the IBM i platform, it’s time to celebrate another milestone: the fourth year of iChime, the online meeting of IBM i friends begun by Charles (Charlie) Guarino in 2020 as a way to stay connected during the pandemic.

Charlie was already recognized as an IBM Champion, award-winning conference speaker, consultant, founder of Central Park Data Systems, and recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Now, he is also a committed community maker who is keeping the good IBM i vibrations going while sharing new technology and career skills with a growing audience.

This season featured monthly virtual meetings with such IBM i experts as Dawn May, Birgitta Hauser, Tim Rowe, and many others, and introduced us to leaders from outside IBM i, such as AI expert Dr. Chirag Shah. The season culminated in an IBM i celebration party on June 21.

Even with the high-profile experts who share their knowledge on iChime, the meetings are never a one-way presentation. It’s a social event as well, as this TechChannel profile of iChime makes clear. Charlie begins each meeting by greeting some of the attendees, and letting them reconnect or meet as friends for the first time. With attendees from around the world, it is an international event.

iChime begins its next season in the fall of 2023.

We highly recommend that our readers register to receive the monthly iChime invitations, which can be done here: https://www.centralparkdata.com/ichime-signup.html. There is no cost and no marketing done outside of iChime.

Congratulations again to Charlie for this achievement. We look forward to enjoying another year of inspiration and connection from iChime.