[wplug-board] Self nomination for Chair of WPLUG - Beth Lynn Eicher

[Jeremy Dinsel]

I, without question, second this nomination.

-j

On Wed, 2003-11-19 at 14:26, Beth Lynn wrote:
> Self nomination for Chair of WPLUG
> Submitted by Beth Lynn Eicher
>  
> Please give me an opportunity to further serve the WPLUG community as 
> Chair. If appointed, I will step down as Treasurer two months after I gain 
> office. If there are no objections, notice of my candidacy will be 
> announced on the -plan list as well by linking this post.
>  
> Below I have outlined my entire campaign platform. Thank you for you 
> consideration.
>  
> Campaign Platform Outline
> I Improve the overall quality of WPLUG meetings
> II Recruit more volunteers and board members
> III Listen to and IMPLEMENT good ideas that come out of the woodwork
> IV Investigate other ways that WPLUG can serve the Linux community in PA 
> and beyond
> V Continue the tradition of recruiting one "big ticket" speaker each 
> year.
>  
> I Improve the overall quality of WPLUG meetings
> It seems I've been fighting an uphill battle ever since I've started 
> volunteering for WPLUG over 2 years ago which is trying to prove WPLUG 
> does not suck. Most
> of the criticism is focused on the quality, value, and variety of 
> meetings. Sure, we've come a long way from the chaos that emerged after 
> the Landefeld's departure, yet we are not at the professional level we 
> could be.
>  
> I often think back on the days of PittLug(RIP) and the ideas that they had 
> envisioned would make an awesome lug.
> A Talks without tangents from the peanut gallery.
> B A good variety of talks for beginners, intermediate, and advanced users.
> C More organized installfests with volunteers who were identifying 
> themselves as such to help folks though the challenges.
> D A fraction of the meeting would be set aside for SIGs for smaller group 
> discussion if time and interest permits.
> E Have a real schedule to give a professional flow of the meeting
>  
> PittLug felt that WPLUG was not community that business folks from all 
> over South Western PA would find worthwhile for an educational experience. 
> They were on the verge of doing something but they lacked the momentum to 
> get going. WPLUG can be that LUG that the PittLugers dreamed of, maybe 
> better!
>  
> Here are some ideas I would like to implement to get this rolling
> 1.A host and a co-host(s) are assigned to every WPLUG meeting. This is 
> necessary for crowd control. One of the hosts could take minutes to be 
> posted later on the website. It would give a more professional touch if we 
> just come out and say who's here to volunteer for the day. Both board 
> members and the general membership will be called upon for these rolls.
> 2. We need to have a GUM chair. No if's, and's, or but's about it! As 
> Chair, I would make recruitment attempts until a willing and active person 
> is found to fill this role.
> 3. Name badges will be granted to anyone who asks to be identified as a 
> volunteer.  It will have their name and the area in which they are 
> volunteering that day.
> 4. A schedule will be posted as the meeting is announced via email. The 
> same schedule will be posted on the white board.
> 5. Time will be set aside for small group discussion 1pm-2pm during GUMs. 
> >From time to time someone shows up on the day of the GUM and is really 
> excited about a particular topic. Folks do want to listen, but we should 
> not distract away from the previously scheduled talk. If someone wants to 
> pre-schedule a discussion during this time, that would be fine too.
> 6.Optional name tags for everyone who shows up
>  
> II Recruit more volunteers and board members
>  
> I try to talk to everyone at meetings and folks have approached me in 
> having a real interest in helping and getting more involved in WPLUG.  As 
> Chair, I would delegate tasks and responsibilities to willing and capable 
> people. Anyone interested in board membership would be encouraged to apply 
> and would receive full consideration. As things currently stand, we could 
> use additional board membership to get things done.
>  
> III Listen to and IMPLEMENT good ideas that come out of the woodwork
>  
> There are many ideas that have been heard but have fallen through the 
> cracks, many because no one has volunteered to implement. Here are some to 
> name a few.
> a. A general business card for WPLUG
> b. A WPLUG library of some sort (or donating books to local libraries in 
> the name of WPLUG)
> c. An appearance at the MarketPro computer show, at least on an annual 
> basis.
> d. Name badges of some sort
> .......
>  
> I'm sure I could make this list go on but you get the idea.
> I have noticed as a board member that the board may be disinterested or 
> may not have the  time to implement some of these ideas but that doesn't 
> mean that these ideas should be canned! As Chair I would recruit board 
> members and volunteers who are willing to do the legwork needed here.
>  
> I will continue to listen to everyone with legitimate concerns. Whining 
> from the peanut gallery from folks that do nothing to help things get 
> better will be ignored.
>  
> IV Investigate other ways that WPLUG can serve the Linux community in PA 
> and beyond
>  
> Many questions have come up over the mailing lists regarding if WPLUG is 
> truly serving the Western PA Linux community. WPLUG should offer a helping 
> hand to lugs that want to get started (ie Erie LUG?) Also we should look 
> into where everyone lives that is part of WPLUG. Might it be beneficial to 
> offer meetings outside CMU campus? Outside Allegheny County?  Should we 
> collaborate with other LUGs? Should we look beyond PA to work with other 
> opensource/freesoftware enthusiasts?
>  
> V Recruit one "big ticket" speaker each year
>  
> In 2002 we had someone come in from IBM to talk about Z-series
> In 2003 we had David Blank-Edelman to talk about Perl for Sysadmins
> In 2004 we need to recruit someone. As Chair, I would make a call for 
> suggestions.
> 
> 
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