It all began with a crew from the now-defunct Eugene Software Council and two State Representatives from LaneCounty, Grattan Kerans and Larry Campbell.

In September 1985, Nancy Willard, a Eugene intellectual property attorney, entered and won a tongue-in-cheek beauty and talent competition for the Eugene Celebration S.L.U.G. Queen (that is, Society for the Legitimization of the Ubiquitous Gastropod). It was in August 1986, while on official S.L.U.G. Queen duties at the LaneCounty fair, that she bumped into Kerans at his campaign booth.

Kerans quickly managed to get beyond the costume (slime green dress, slug necklace and slime train) and took time to listen to what Willard had to say. As incoming chair of the Eugene Software Council, she used the opportunity to voice the concerns of the local software industry including the need for attention from the state, assistance in educating the business and university communities about the industry’s unique needs and a lack of access to venture capital.

Kerans took this to heart and soon after his re-election contacted the Eugene Software Council with a draft of proposed legislation to establish the Software Industry Development Council, a group to be appointed by the governor to act as advisors to the Oregon Economic Development Department. In a show of support, Campbell contacted the group to let them know that even though he and Kerans were miles apart on most legislative issues (Kerans being a liberal Democrat and Campbell a conservative Republican) they worked together to get this legislation passed.

In October 1987, a staff person from Governor Neil Goldschmidt's office began the slow process of setting up the first Software Industry Development Council. By spring of 1988 nine people had been chosen to serve. The council members were: Dan Whitaker, Software Support Services, chair; Ken Maddox, ASCI, vice chair; Jean Armstrong, Regis McKenna; Doug Cochran, FabTrol; Les Fahey, KPMG; John Gorman, Timberline Software; Paul Mace, Paul Mace Software; Pete Mackie, Seaquest Software and Willard.

At about the same time as the Software Industry Development Council was getting off the ground, the governor put into motion the Oregon Shines economic development planning structure using new revenue from the creation of the Oregon Lottery. The Oregon Shines project was launched with a focus on statewide issues such as education, health and industry. While the software industry was not initially included as part of the strategic planning process, the OEDD extended an offer to participate once they learned more about the explosive growth of the industry. The council immediately accepted the opportunity.

Due to their late invitation, the software group began the planning process somewhat later than other industries. With the deadline for submitting reports to the Oregon Shines plan quickly approaching, the council worked fast to complete their report.

The report was developed around the biggest issues facing the Oregon software industry at the time—business and financial support, relationships with higher education, managing an entrepreneurial organization and lack of accurate data about the industry. With a focus on these issues, the final report included a list of steps to help the industry to grow, including the establishment of a statewide software industry association.

In December 1988, the council was invited to discuss their report with Governor Goldschmidt. He agreed to help the council establish the association if they would take responsibility for the outlined activities. In order to help form the organization, the governor asked the group to submit a proposed budget. They requested $100,000 to get the ball rolling—the governor agreed to contribute $75,000 if the group would raise the other $25,000.

In June 1989, with its first $5,000 check from the State, the Software Association of Oregon was launched. The nine council members became the first SAO board with Whitaker as executive director and Maddox as board president.

That summer, the board announced the formation of the SAO, established an office in Portland (the heart of the growing industry) and began seeking sponsors. Within a short period of time, sponsorships began rolling in from companies such as FabTrol, KPMG, Mentor Graphics and Timberline. The AEA, some of whose members were reluctant to endorse the SAO because of a concern over conflict of membership, contributed to the group in early 1990.

originally written by Megan Livermore, Digimarc Corporation