[Steering Committee] A Change Proposal

Thu May 28 08:29:52 PDT 2009

I like it. It covers all the points well and gives current thinking.  
I'd like to follow-up on Paul's recommendation and suggest an  
executive summary (that also makes a specific decision, which is open  
for discussion). Here's an example:

Summary:
Due to economic considerations and a desire to not spend more than we  
taken, starting in July we will discontinue providing food. Membership  
will still be free and we will continue to meet at the CoCo. We are  
doing this to be able to continue to offer a wonderful, free  
experience to our group. If you are concerned with these decisions,  
please:
	- Read further for a more detailed background and other possible  
options
	- Consider coming or writing to the steering committee.

--- Your letter follows ---

Or something like that.

This:
	Makes it quick and gives a clear direction
	Provides background if people care
	Alludes to alternatives, which can be found below
	Puts people into action by making a possibly unpopular decision

Brett
On May 28, 2009, at 9:34 AM 5/28/09, Jason Lee wrote:

> OK, fellas.  Proof-reading time.  I'd like to send this out today or  
> tomorrow, so please give me feedback as soon as possible.  Thanks!
>
>
> =====
>
> One of the things we in the JUG leadership have always tried to  
> stress is that this is *our* group.  While there may be a few of us  
> making the decisions, all are welcome to come to the meeting and  
> help us make those decisions, even taking over leadership if so  
> desired.  That being the case, we try to operate the JUG with  
> complete transparently.  To that end, I'd like to take some time to  
> discuss the state of things concerning our group.
>
> As you may recall, late last year, we incorporated the JUG, which,  
> among other things, has allowed us to open and maintain a bank  
> account.  As a result of that move and the resulting, if meager,  
> account balance, we have been able to entertain larger, more long- 
> term arrangements.  One such arrangement, which we're still in the  
> process of finalizing, is a multi-month agreement with the Oklahoma  
> City Coworking Collaborative, or CoCo.  As many of you have seen,  
> Derrick and his team have built a fantastic facility in downtown  
> Oklahoma City that solves a number of issues for us, the most  
> pressing of which has been space.  At several of our last meetings  
> at the University of Phoenix, we were standing room only.  To  
> ameliorate that issue there would have doubled our costs.  The CoCo  
> gives us much more room, at only a modest increase in costs.  The  
> CoCo also provides for the recording and hosting of meeting videos,  
> as well as a more central location, which helps out those on the  
> south side of the city.
>
> For those reasons, we feel such a partnership with the CoCo is a  
> boon to the JUG.  At the same time, we are able to help out Derrick  
> and crew who have been very active and supportive of not only the  
> JUG, but several other user groups in the area.  The catch is that  
> such an agreement requires an upfront payment for the facilities  
> rental, which is a normal and not unreasonable arrangement.  What  
> that means is that the lion's share of our current funds are now  
> committed to this partnership, leaving us with only a small sum  
> left.  Seeing this small amount, the SC discussed Tuesday what we  
> should do to make sure that we can continue to operate.  While it is  
> true that in the past we've gone month to month in our funding,  
> given the volatility in the market and the loss of one of our  
> sponsors, we feel that it would be prudent to take steps to insure  
> that we're not spending money we may not get in the future.
>
> Having said all of that, we came up with a number of options for the  
> membership to discuss, select, etc.  Aside from the facilities  
> rental, we have two other regular expenses, door prizes and food.   
> With food being the larger of the two, our proposals focused on  
> that.  They are:
>
> 1) We no longer provide lunch, and expect each attendee to bring his  
> lunch.
> 2) We continue to provide lunch, but require that each attendee pay  
> a flat fee for lunch, say, $5.
> 3) We move to a paid membership model, wherein members would  
> continue to get a "free" meal at each meeting but non-members would  
> be required to pay for the meal at each meeting.
> 4) Someone in the group donates the food. Or, alternately, the  
> entrepreneurial might find a nice business opportunity here.
> 5) Continue business as usual and then suspend operations should  
> funding dry up.
>
> There are likely other options.  If one comes to mind, please feel  
> free to propose it.  We decided that, given the time frame, nothing  
> will change for the June meeting, but, starting with the July  
> meeting, one of these proposals (or, perhaps, one suggested by the  
> general membership) will be implemented, so if you have a strong  
> feeling one way or another, now is the time to make your voice  
> heard.  The decision on which option to adopt will likely be made at  
> next month's Steering Committee meeting, so if you've been thinking  
> about coming, now is the time.  That's the best way to get involved  
> in the decision-making process for the JUG.
>
> Our hope, of course, is the economy begins to swing back up and that  
> our awesome local sponsors will still be in the position to partner  
> with us.  While there may be signs showing that that will happen in  
> the near term, we felt it best not to do "deficit spending" and  
> implement a strategy to insure the continued operations of the JUG.   
> All of us on the SC feel that we get value from the JUG, hoping, of  
> course, that everyone else feels the same, so it is in the best  
> interest of all involved that the JUG continue to meet.  It is our  
> hope that this proposal will do just that.
>
> Thanks for taking the time to read this giant missive.  Your  
> feedback is greatly welcome.
>
> Jason Lee, SCJP
> Senior Java Developer, Sun Microsystems
> Mojarra and Mojarra Scales Dev Team
> https://mojarra.dev.java.net
> https://scales.dev.java.net
> http://blogs.steeplesoft.com
>
>
>
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