[
I've Cc'ed the gnhlug-org list on this, since others may have other
opinions and/or ideas than those expressed here :)
]
In a message dated: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 22:18:51 EDT
Ben Boulanger said:
>Hey Paul,
> Well, you said ask and here I am asking! Ed Lawson and I are
>going to meet on Thursday to discuss things we need to do. So, I thought
>it might be a good idea to get some thoughts down. My question to you is:
>Do you see anything blatantly amiss from this list? What, if anything
>that you recall being a hurdle to jump or something you forgot?
>
>Here's my list:
Wow! That's quite an organized list, far more so than anything Bruce
and I started with.
My feelings on the LUG as a whole are derived from what maddog left
behind; which is essentially nothing. Jerry Kubeck came in and did a
lot of the organization which now exists, for which I greatly
appreciate. The one thing Jerry did which I most appreciate, is the
concept of regional chapters, which did not exist before he came along.
Bruce and I are both pretty laid back people, and as such, tend not
to organize anything overly much. I think the list of things which
need to be concentrated can be boiled down to 3 things:
- a place to hold meetings (with a fall back location)
- a regularly scheduled time to hold meetings that is stuck to
regardless of whether a "leader" is present or a speaker
is scheduled.
- a place to eat, drink, and be merry before and/or after the
formal meeting.
The third is pretty optional.
Neither Bruce nor I really delegate much to anyone, because we don't
feel there's lot to do. I guess it boils down to this:
- We do this because we feel no one else is likely to.
- We don't have a lot of time to do much, so we do the minimum
possible to simply hold the group together.
- If people want more, they're welcome to step up and take
charge.
As far as your documentation concerns, I think it's a great idea, and
encourage you to use what's available on the GNHLUG website to
centralize that documentation. The Twiki thing Bruce has set up
seems to be very good for that sort of thing.
Also, as far as "lining up presenters", don't forget the vast amount
of talent and experience available to you within the LUG.
I believe there is a list of potential "speakers" available on our
website. Contact some of them and line them up for a talk.
Okay, never mind. There is no such list, but there used to be.
We should definitely have something like that on our web site, so
I'll see if I can get that done soon :)
At any rate, asking from within the group for volunteers to present
is a good idea. And, if someone presents one month at one chapter,
there's no reason they couldn't present the same thing some other
month. I've given several presentations for MELBA and one for
CentraLug. Others who have presented:
- Rob Lembree Home automation, X11
- Bruce Dawson Twiki, X10 home automation
- Ben Scott Security
- Mark Komarinski Security
- Paul Iadonisi RPM
- Me LyX, GnuCash, exmh, security
- Karl Runge SSH tunneling/VPN
- Rich Payne PHP
There are several more, I know Charlie Farinella has done
presentations in the past, as have several others, I just don't
remember who they are.
Identifying local businesses is a great approach as well, as you
pointed out, but is something neither Bruce nor I have really pursued
much, since that requires more of a time commitment than we want to
invest. If you have the time and are willing to make that
commitment, great!
My biggest stumbling block has been getting others to become
involved. I feel that too many of our group come to meetings for
nothing more than the social aspect. Which is fine, but can become
frustrating when you know there are very intelligent people in the
group who could teach people a lot, but are unwilling to take part in
any way other than occasionally showing up for meetings.
I think that's it. If you need anything, please just ask.
--
Seeya,
Paul
--
It may look like I'm just sitting here doing nothing,
but I'm really actively waiting for all my problems to go away.
If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right!
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