 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group CPU (Club President's Update) Charles Wright charles@melbpc.org.au |
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0ur last monthly meeting at the World Congress Centre was a graphic indication of the achievements we've made in this, our 10th anniversary year.
We drew a crowd of at least 1100 people, signed on another 40 new members, and delighted the two presenting companies - Borland, who'd kindly paid the daunting $3000 for the hire of the venue, and who has historically been our greatest benefactor from the software industry, and Hewlett-Packard, our biggest supporter in donations and discounts of hardware. Of course we also delighted those members who either won a free Hewlett-Packard 100LX palmtop, or an extraordinary number of watches.
By the time you read this, our enthusiastic volunteers will have plucked from the crowds at PC93 more new members, and spread the message among computer would-be's, novices and experts, that this group represents the best investment anyone can make in this information society.
With those new additions, our membership will have reached a record: perhaps 7500, perhaps even more.
Over the past couple of weeks we will probably have held a two-day planning session to discuss the issues arising from the consultant's report we commissioned to examine our operations and, establish financial and administrative procedures. 'What led in turn to a half-day workshop in late June, where we appointed various sub-committees to examine each area of activities, either present or proposed.
I hope I'm not being presumptuous in suggesting that the next committee will want to follow through on that foundation - the first business plan we've had. It will allow us to take on new initiatives and find ways to preserve and increase our revenue flow, and improve and cement the administrative structure that binds it all together. Many important decisions have to be made, and there's a pressing need to consolidate all the initiatives we took this last year.
If we do proceed, that planning and implementation is going to take up quite a bit of time over the next few months, but I'm confident that it will result in the delivery of a vision that the most active supporters of Melb PC have shared with me over the past few years, of a powerful resource that will directly benefit our members, and indirectly, the community at large.
What pleases me most about all this is the extent to which more and more club members are participating at every level. There's a new sense of personal "ownership" of the group, political divisions seem to have been resolved, or if not resolved, at least suspended, and communications between the members and their committee have never been better.
I want to place on record my own and the committee's profound appreciation for the energy and enthusiasm, the ideas and tireless support that this growing band of volunteers has given the group. I don't want to single out anyone, and there are far too many of them to name individually. You've been an inspiration to us, and the pioneers of a growing movement to contribute ...to move from a passive role to an active one.
Perhaps the greatest thing you've offered is a spirit of friendliness and courtesy that is vital to a group like ours, which includes highly intelligent, opinionated individuals. You're proved that a larger group doesn't have to be less friendly. Indeed my own observation is that our group is actually more approachable and welcoming than it ever was.
We're going to need this collective good will and energy even more next year, in what I believe will be the most important period of Melb PC's history.
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Although it's important for us to acknowledge and celebrate what we've all achieved, it's equally necessary to avoid becoming complacent, and to realise that there are areas that need to be improved, that growth is inevitable in any healthy organisation, and that much more needs to be done. Tenth Anniversary Logo Winner
Congratulations to Dario Pamich, who is the winner of our Tenth Anniverary Logo Design Competition. His design was selected from the large number of interesting ideas received. |
Reprinted from the September 1993 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
