| Nearly 100 user group leaders from around the state of Florida joined to share experiences and exchange ideas at the annual Fall Conference of the Florida Association of Computer User Groups (FACUG), held October 13, 2001 near Lakeland.
Five members of the Gold Coast Mac Board of Directors made the trip. The statewide conference is intended to help user group leaders sharpen the skills needed to manage and grow their user groups. This is the second Fall Conference attended by Gold Coast Mac, as part of FACUG’s efforts to move away from representing mostly Windows-oriented User Groups, and embracing operating systems like Macintosh and Linux.
GCMac director and Past President Rose Lynn led a roundtable discussion on fundraising, sharing GCMac’s success in raising money to allow for continued funding for member programs. Her presentation shared our experience staffing our concession stand at the Orange Bowl, raffles and Hot Disk sales, and other, less traditional methods of adding to user group treasuries. Rose also announced her intention to run for a spot on the Board of Directors of FACUG.
Attending the conference as participants were President Dave Game, Vice President Esver Camacho, and board members Jim Bolinger and Felicia Sternbach. Member Richard Lynn joined us, and made available his recreational bus for the 250 mile trip.
Dubbed the Mac Bus, the luxurious touring bus was decorated with Apple and Gold Coast Mac banners before arriving at the conference site. Parked outside the meeting, it was a constant reminder that the Apple folks had arrived. GCMac members took part in discussions on attracting new members, effective management of user group web sites, and strategies for improving newsletters, among other offerings.
Outside of the structured sessions, the gathering of leaders from the state allowed for networking and sharing of concerns comment to all user groups, regardless of platform.
While the presence of Macintosh groups at the conference was limited, Apple was represented by User Group Advisory Board member Gail Murphy Glore, who traveled from Vermont to take part. Gail outlined the benefits of user group members acting as emissaries to other user groups, and provided suggestions for user groups to share experience and support with smaller groups.
The conference ended with a raffle of software and other prizes donated by software distributors and other supporters, including Gold Coast Mac, which donated items including copies of OSX made available by Fort Lauderdale’s Mac Center. Many of the items won by the GCMac participants in the conference will be used as door prizes and give-aways at future meetings.
October 2001
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