Seven Steps to Join:
1. To Join you must be invited by a member in good standing.
2. Print, sign and email Ethics Commitment and email it to: membership@ravensong.com to the attention of the Membership Committee.
3. Submit a company Bio, Resume of key personnel and a Statement of Capabilities to the Membership Committee.
4. An interview will be scheduled with with the Board of Directors within 5 business days.
5. If admitted; it is as a Probationary Member, this status will not change until you have proven yourself a good community member.
6. One you have been identified as a good community member you may petition the Membership Committee for a full membership.
7. The Membership Committee will approach the Board of Directors on your behalf.

Vaughn Thurman is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and operated three businesses to date. With 18 years of technical experience ranging from flight automation to complex systems integration, Vaughn can offer clients and partners a diverse architectural experience set having built data centers, ISP operations, engineering teams, consulting practices, software solutions and products and more from the ground up, and as the point man on most of the projects he has been involved with.

In his current dual role as President of Swift Systems, Inc., Vaughn manages a team of technical, sales, and administrative staff in excess of 20 dedicated individuals with skill sets including:

• High-End Clustered Storage Systems
• Advanced Linux configurations for ISP and mission critical environments
• Advanced Windows systems Configuration and Administration
• Cisco, BGP, and other high availability network systems

All of this is combined to achieve success by Vaughn empowering success in others. He is known to give free reign, coaching, and opportunity to self starters and to increasingly tighten control over anyone who finds repeat failures tolerable. Vaughn mentors them to increase their standards and to expect more. The key is “learn from your mistakes and fix it” – if it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger.

Vaughn is also the CEO of startup spin-off Swift Software, Inc. (http://www.swiftsoftware.com), a firm centered around the spin-off flagship JobTraQ (http://www.jobtraq.com), a powerful Web 2.0 based business process and task management system.

Vaughn lives in Frederick, Maryland with his wife and 4 children (5th on the way), and loves boating, traveling, and God.

Founded in 1998, and in Incorporated in Maryland in 1999, Swift Systems (http://www.swiftsystems.com) has developed 3 core offerings:

• Local Commercial Internet Services
  • DSL
  • T1
  • T3
• Data Center (NIST 800-53 Certified)
  • Web Hosting (multi-platform, ecommerce, control panel)
  • Virtual Servers (linux and windows)
  • Colocation and failover
• Engineering and Support Services
  • Full Cycle Help Desk through On-Site Support Services
  • Microsoft Partner
  • Citrix Partner
  • Cisco Partner

We have also developed a growing practice around deploying JobTraQ business process management software for service, design, manufacturing, and operations groups.