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How?

How do I learn more?

How do I get on the e-mail list?

Patrick Podenski

podenski@speakeasy.org

How do I send a message to the User Group?

podenski@speakeasy.org

How we operate

We do not charge any membership dues.

The general membership delegates certain administrative functions to the operating committee. The operating committee will be comprised of 5 people from the general membership, and who will serve terms of 12 months. Participation in the operating committee will be by election from the general membership in July of each year. Duties of the operating committee will include, but are not limited to:

• Identifying a permanent location for meetings
• Establishing a Puget Sound Smalltalk and Object-Oriented Database User Group financial account and mailing address
• Securing non-profit organizational status
• Incorporating the organization
• Drafting and presenting revisions to the organization's bylaws, and submitting to the general membership for adoption
• Establishing and coodinating the agendas for monthly meetings
• Publishing minutes from general meetings and from operating committee meetings
• Establishing a Web site and a group eMail list to facilitate communications and to establish a repository for the products of the group (minutes of general session and operating committee meetings, white papers, events calendar, and other items
• Other duties as required by the general membership

The following operating committee positions are proposed for the Puget Sound Smalltalk and Object-Oriented Database Users Group.

1. User Group Director:

The user group director provides leadership and maintains vision.

• Organize and lead the operating committee meetings.
• MC all regular user group meetings.
• Facilitate the varied mechanics of operating the user group from month to month.
• Maintain and champion the vision of the user group.

2. Secretary:

The secretary ensures that all user group policies and activities are effectively documented and distributed amongst the membership.

• Document minutes of the operating committee meetings.
• Administer the rotating assignment of user group meeting minutes takers. Rotate the assignment every 1/4.
• Be the focal for maintaining user group communication mechanisms.

3. Treasurer:

The treasurer maintains the financial aspects of the user group and executes all financial transactions for the group. All transactions executed by the treasurer are subject to review and approval of the operating committee.

• Bill Paying.
• All tax-related paperwork.

4. Guest Speaker Director:

The guest speaker director is responsible for the quality of the speaker presentations at the regular user group meetings.

• Arrange for the guest speakers at the regular meetings.
• Send out speaker/topic abstracts (electronically).
• Introduce the guest speakers.
• Maintain guest speaker backup plan.

5. Webmaster:

The Webmaster is responsible for maintaining the primary information archive for the user group -- the user group web site. Responsibilities include administering the technical aspects of the site and ensuring that the information contained at the site is well presented, up to date, and steadily improved.

• Administer the User Group web site.
• Operating committee meeting minutes.
• international conferences/seminars.
• Local tutorials, vendor events.
• Local consultants directory.
• Local project descriptions/contacts.
• User Group meeting and events schedule, general user group info, membership list, meeting minutes.

Day to day decisions related to administrative and financial affairs of the Puget Sound Smalltalk and Object-Oriented Database User Group are delegated to the operating committee by the general mambership. Actions and decisions are subject to the approval of a simple majority of the general membership at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Although the members of the operating committee are elected to a one year term, any member may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the general membership (don't stand for election unless you intend to do the job).

Speakers & Topics Process

Goal: Make user group regular meeting attendance educational, entertaining, and generally rewarding for the membership.

Process Elements:

1. Maintain topics of interest list. This list is solicited from the membership. Updates to the list are periodically solicited from the membership.

2. Maintain candidate speakers list. Candidates may be identified from within the membership or they may be brought in from outside. Candidate speakers may include persons willing to make a presentation to the group as well as persons willing to lead the group in some engaging activity.

3. Contact candidates and secure speaking commitments from them. Pre-book speakers at least 3 months in advance. Speakers will not be compensated except to reimburse them for all resonable expenses. The user group Speaker Director will identify any such expenses as part of the speaker contact process. These expenses must be approved by the operating committee prior to formal scheduling of the speaker.

4. Provide a capability for dealing with unexpected speaker cancellations. This may include maintaining a list of short-notice speakers. It may also include activities that the attendees could execute in lieu of listening to a speaker.

5. Arrange for all facilities requirements that the speakers may have. This will typically include things like overhead projectors, power strips, projection screens, white boards, etc.

Goal: Provide effective, efficient, and affordable dissemination of information to the user group membership. Ensure that all information is true and correct, and pertinent to the charter of the user group.

Process Elements:

1. Maintain a list of e-mail addresses for all members that have e-mail. These addresses must be accessable from the internet.

2. Establish and maintain a World Wide Web site that provides up-to-date information about the user group and related topics of interest. Create hyperlinks to the site from other commonly accessable sites used by people with similar interests.

3. Provide physical mailing of announcements to members who do not have internet e-mail access. Due to affordability level of effort considerations, the use of physical mail will be minimized as much as possible.

4. Produce a quarterly news letter containing articles and event information of interest to the user group.

5. Produce operating committee meeting notes.

6. Send out meeting reminder announcements 1 week prior to each meeting.

7. Send out next meeting announcements 1 week after each meeting.

Last updated - 1 July 2001
Webmaster - Patrick Podenski

podenski@speakeasy.org