• Name: Lori Lorusso
• Location: Wilmington, NC
• Age check box: 35-44
• # of years involved with ODTUG: ~6 years
• Company: Your Conference Connection (YCC)
• Twitter: @LoriLorusso

This post is a special one. Although I’ve formally ended the ODTUG member series, I decided to write a one-off article in tribute to Lori Lorusso. In August, Lori said goodbye to ODTUG as our Marketing guru to take on additional responsibilities within YCC. Although Lori will still be behind the scenes at YCC in an Social Media & Internet Marketing Director role, I know our community will miss her dearly. But before we remember the fantastic things that Lori has done for our user group community, let’s take a moment to reflect on her personal life.

Five Interesting Things about Lori

1. Lori was labeled a “social butterfly” in 4th grade and she hasn’t been able to shake that description since!
2. Lori is a “half-back” – born in NY, moved to Massachusetts, moved to Florida, and then settled in North Carolina (therefore, she’s moved “halfway back” to the North)
3. She got her first tattoo in Venice, Italy when she was 16 years old. Her Mom signed off on the paperwork (you had to be a minimum of 18 years old to get a tattoo).
4. Lori slung pizza for a year back when she was a teenager.
5. Lori “refuses to grow up” and recently dyed her hair purple.

Lori and her beautiful family live in Wilmington, NC. Her husband Ryan is also in Marketing as the Chief Marketing Officer at Digital Garden Media. Her super cute 1-year old daughter, Lola, is still a bit too young to find her path in life.

Lori’s ODTUG Career

Lori started working for YCC in 2010 as a contractor, but they formally hired her in January 2011. Fun fact: she also worked for a school nutrition software company at that time so she split her time between us Oracle geeks and the “lunch ladies”.

Many of you know Lori because of her role as our popular social media enthusiast, as well as the main coordinator for special ODTUG events. At Kscope, you often saw her running the social media lounge, setting up Kscope interview videos, and promoting all things ODTUG on social media and in person.

Although she’s been behind the scenes for what seems like forever, the truth is that Kscope11 was her very first Kscope.

Lori’s ODTUG responsibilities included:

• being an “all around” ODTUG employee from running the social media
• to managing the webinar program to representing at other Oracle conferences
• to updating the website and email campaigns
• to making it happen with ODTUG’s live streams and crazy apex google hangout.

She described her role as “just a team player that might not understand anything anyone is talking about but always happy to put a human touch in a techy world”.

(Lori helping out at the Kscope14 community event!)

But one of the reasons why she was so popular with the ODTUG community is due to her warm and open personality. Always passionate about ODTUG, she was often right there with the rest of YCC, getting dressed up in costume and cheering on and supporting community members.

(Dressing up as rock stars Jem and the Holograms at Kscope14!)

As I’ve been on the ODTUG Marketing Committee for nearly 3 years now, I’ve been privileged to work closely with Lori. She’s been an amazing team member. She demonstrates her passion by working on every idea with gusto and trying to make it as creative as possible and better.

(A formal member of the Kscope16 Dance Crew. Whipping and nae nae’ing it up! She also stayed late after our January 2016 ODTUG Board meeting to practice with us!) 

Over time, Lori has brainstormed some great ideas, many of which got put into production.

(Lori’s infamous human-sized Chicago-style hot dog photo opportunity at Kscope16!)

One of Lori’s most important claims to fame is ODTUG’s social media lounge, which was her brainchild and baby. It started with her first Kscope back in 2011.

(The ODTUG social media lounge throughout the years, from Kscope11 to Kscope16!)

Finally, Lori was known for getting into the spirit of things. She was ecstatic to dress in theme at every Kscope and party with the best of us ODTUG’ers.

(Lori and the YCC team getting their cowgirl on at Kscope12!)

(Taking advantage of the Mardi Gras photo booth at Kscope13!)

Lori, you’ve been a champ for ODTUG and I will miss working with you! Thank you for everything that you’ve done over the years and I know I speak for all of ODTUG when I say that we wish you well on your future endeavors!

(The ODTUG Board sent Lori a thank you gift in gratitude for her many years of wonderful service.)