Hi all, We reached a rather large milestone today with just over 1000 WSG members signed up.
It is amazing how much this group has grown in 18 months. We held our first meeting on 6 March 2003 in a pub in Sydney. There were eight people at that meeting and almost all of them are still actively involved in meetings, on the list or as core members. Since then we have held 14 meetings in Sydney, 4 meetings in Melbourne (I think) and 3 meetings in Brisbane. Our list has also been highly active, with over 8,000 messages posted so far. Another achievement has been the WSG's involvement in Web Essentials 04 - which kicks off next Thursday. We are hoping this event will really help to spread the web standards message out to the broader development community - which is one of the WSG's main missions. So, it's time for a "thank you" or two... 1. I'd like to start by thanking the core group, who have helped take the pressure off Peter and I, as well as helping make overall decisions about our future directions. In particular, I'd like to thank the original eight members, who have stuck with us and helped us out through thick and thin. 2. I'd like to thank the city organisers - Andrew and David (Melbourne), Lea and Gary (Brisbane) - who have taken on the burden of running ongoing meetings in their cities. This is no easy task as it takes a lot of time and effort. Stay tuned for more cities starting up in the next few months! 3. I'd like to thank all WSG members for making the group what it is today - active, thriving and supportive. A special thanks to those who take the time to answer questions, helping others on-list. 4. Finally, on a personal note, I'd like to thank Peter Firminger (listdad). He built the website system, he manages the list (which is a relentless task) and he funds all WSG travel. As well as this, he caters the Sydney meetings, which is no easy task when you are organising events for over 40 people every six weeks. From the very first meeting, it was Peter who saw the group as an international organisation rather than a local network. So, thanks to you all, and here's to the next 1,000 members! Russ (listmum) ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ Proud presenters of Web Essentials 04 http://we04.com/ Web standards, accessibility, inspiration, knowledge To be held in Sydney, September 30 and October 1, 2004 See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
