I wanted to take a moment to remember someone who meant so much to the Plex/2E community -Christopher Claunch.
I recently heard the story from Roger Griffith about how this community got its start, and I think it says so much about who Christopher was.
Back around 2002, Christopher was working at CA and was a huge advocate for Plex. One day, he stopped by Roger’s office and asked him if he wanted to go have a beer and talk. Over that beer, Christopher told Roger he had an idea. He wanted to start a Plex user group, and he asked Roger if he would be willing to be President. Roger said yes.
Then the two of them started making phone calls from Roger’s flip phone. Within an hour, they had an Executive Committee together, and the Northwest Plex Developers (NWPD) User Group was born.
I love thinking about that. No big meeting. No complicated plan. Just a couple of people, a beer, a flip phone, and an idea to bring people together.
Christopher went on to play a big part in making the first Plex/2E Conference in Boise. He had the connections, but more importantly, he had the vision and the passion to grow the community.
Roger described those early years as “a magical time.”
Christopher’s partner, Teresa Sperry, was part of it too. She worked at CA and served on the Executive Committee alongside Christopher.
The news of Christopher’s passing is incredibly sad. My heart goes out to Teresa, his family, Roger, his friends, and everyone who knew him.
Roger said something about Christopher that has stayed with me. He called him “the nicest guy in the whole world.”
More than 20 years after that conversation over a beer, we’re still here. We’re still holding conferences, sharing ideas, helping each other, and bringing the Plex/2E community together. And it all started because people like Christopher believed there was value in bringing people together.
We’ll be remembering Christopher at our conference this year and honoring the part he played in making this community possible.
Thank you, Christopher. What you helped start all those years ago is still going strong, and you will always be a part of its story.