<div>All in all looks good, very comprehensive. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>1) Usage of "missive"? "Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to this urgent communication". </div>
<div>2) Second the notion of having an Executive Summary. </div>
<div>3) Maybe not now, but clarification of the "Membership" model and what are the rights and privileges of it, being a presenter, and/or an active contributor to the JUG. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><br> </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 8:37 AM, Jason Lee <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jason@steeplesoft.com">jason@steeplesoft.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Sound good, all. Thanks. I'll try to incorporate what I can. Pending anything from Ryan coming in soon, I'll send this out.
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<div></div>
<div class="h5"><br><br>On May 28, 2009, at 10:29 AM, Brett L. Schuchert wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">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:<br>
<br>Summary:<br>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:<br>
- Read further for a more detailed background and other possible options<br> - Consider coming or writing to the steering committee.<br><br>--- Your letter follows ---<br><br>Or something like that.<br><br>This:<br>
Makes it quick and gives a clear direction<br> Provides background if people care<br> Alludes to alternatives, which can be found below<br> Puts people into action by making a possibly unpopular decision<br>
<br>Brett<br>On May 28, 2009, at 9:34 AM 5/28/09, Jason Lee wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">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!<br>
<br><br>=====<br><br>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.<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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:<br>
<br>1) We no longer provide lunch, and expect each attendee to bring his lunch.<br>2) We continue to provide lunch, but require that each attendee pay a flat fee for lunch, say, $5.<br>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.<br>
4) Someone in the group donates the food. Or, alternately, the entrepreneurial might find a nice business opportunity here.<br>5) Continue business as usual and then suspend operations should funding dry up.<br><br>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.<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>Thanks for taking the time to read this giant missive. Your feedback is greatly welcome.<br><br>Jason Lee, SCJP<br>Senior Java Developer, Sun Microsystems<br>Mojarra and Mojarra Scales Dev Team<br><a href="https://mojarra.dev.java.net/" target="_blank">https://mojarra.dev.java.net</a><br>
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Senior Java Developer, Sun Microsystems<br>Mojarra and Mojarra Scales Dev Team<br><a href="https://mojarra.dev.java.net/" target="_blank">https://mojarra.dev.java.net</a><br><a href="https://scales.dev.java.net/" target="_blank">https://scales.dev.java.net</a><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br>