[wplug-members] The 2009 WPLUG Board

[Michael Semcheski]

Hello WPLUG Members,

I am writing to announce that last night the newest WPLUG board met.
The meeting minutes are not yet available, but I'd like to run down
what we discussed and what the roles we selected for ourselves are.

I am the Chair.
Mathieu Dubé took over the role of Vice-Chair.
Vance became the Secretary.
David Kraus kept his position as Treasurer.
Brian Sekleki assumed the Member at Large role.

Immediately, we are working on finishing the job of selecting a
meeting location.  I am going to as many of the prospective locations
as I can after the December 13th meeting.  I will make an executive
decision on the meeting place for the next six months.  I welcome as
much help and input as I can get on this project, but I feel it has
been up in the air long enough that it was necessary to set a deadline
(12/16/2008) for choosing a venue.  We want to start scheduling great
events, and we need to know where they will be so we can confirm the
venues availability.

Over the coming year, we want to attract new members and encourage
participation.  To do this, we are taking two approaches.  We are
looking for ways to spread the word and boost meeting participation.
We are also looking for ways that we can make contributions to the
local community.  This may be taking on projects like getting wireless
access in our meeting location, or putting on seminars for
non-technical audiences that show some of the practical ways that free
software can be used.

We also want to keep improving the structure of the group, both in its
organization and in its online presence.  We are in a better position,
vis-a-vis our server, then we were a little over a year ago.  We are
more secure that the resources we need will not be taken away at whim.
 CMU was a great a host for this organization for a long time, and we
are grateful for what they provided us.  We have matured to the point
that we no longer depend on them.  Its a bit like moving out of your
parents house.  The downside is you have to pay rent, and the kitchen
is not always stocked.  But the upside is you can have people over
when it suits you and you don't have to sneak in late at night.

This organization depends on volunteer effort.  We have committees,
but 90% of the committee members are also the board members.  I hope
that changes.  If you want to help out, send me an email and let me
know what you can do.  If there is something you can do to advance the
WPLUG's purpose that is not on our agenda, I will try to get it onto
the agenda.  We're a small enough group that we can't turn down good
effort from our members.

The bottom line as I see it - get active in WPLUG if you want to have
some fun and get things done.  If you can make a contribution, do not
wait for someone to ask you, but do work as a team.

Thanks,

Mike