The Mad Hackers Technology & Innovation Fair on October 17th was a great success for DACS. A special thanks to Cathy Quaranta for organizing and executing this event. It took a lot of hard work on her part putting it all together. We had an impressive set of posters that caught the eyes of potential members, creating a lot of interest and resulting in about 20 new leads.
I attended the APCUG annual convention and technical conference in Las Vegas at the end of last month (visit apcug2.org) and had the opportunity to compare experiences with other user group leaders. I returned with some fresh ideas for DACS and shared some of these already at a special Board meeting when I returned. One of these suggestions, which virtually every other user group does, is to restrict the monthly newsletter distribution to just members via email as a benefit of membership. DACS will adopt this practice, starting in November. Everyone who pays for the printed edition will still receive it, but our archived newsletters available on the website will not contain the three most recent editions.
The highlight of the APCUG annual convention for me was when DACS MADE A CLEAN SWEEP OF FIRST PLACE AWARDS for both our WEBSITE and our NEWSLETTER. This is a major accomplishment and recognition of the hard work and creativity of our two webmasters – Annette Van Ommeren and Richard Corzo and our Newsletter editors Allan Ostergren and Richard Teasdale.
Our Resource Center is going through a facelift. Thanks to Cathy Quaranta, Linda Bourie, and some WestConn students who volunteered their time to help clean and repaint the walls to brighten things up. We are about half way done and still need your help to make it happen.
Linda Bourie is our new WCSU Marketing Intern. She has been assisting Cathy Quaranta and Tom Zarecki with Social Media and Public Relations, with the objective of creating more public awareness of DACS.
25th anniversary – We need your help! It still amazes me how many people never heard of us. I want to recognize Jim Scheef for creating our new Twitter account @dacsorg. Thanks Jim. We need to create a much broader awareness of DACS as we move forward to year 26. Talk about your ideas with Cathy Quaranta at the check-in table at our next general meeting or let us know by email. We have a proud and impressive history of serving members and the greater Danbury area.
Our annual meeting is on December 1st. We will be electing our slate of directors. If you are interested in being on the Board, please let me know.
There are still many activities on the back-burner just waiting for you to take ownership. We urgently need you to add value and help shape the future of DACS. Here are just a few areas where we must have your help:
- DACS Board member.
- Program committee chairperson: Help arrange for new speakers, meeting previewers and reviewers. You will get to meet very interesting people in the process. Lisa Leifels will help you get started. Just tell me or Lisa that you may be willing to help, see Cathy Quaranta at the check-in table, or email us directly at programs@org.
- SIG/Workshop coordinator to coordinate workshop formation, venues, schedules, and expedite meeting reviews.
- Membership committee: Maintain the CiviCRM membership platform and ensure membership data is kept current. Explore and Implement ways to increase membership.
- Newsletter & Website Editorial staff, authors for meeting reviews, general interest and technical articles, book and product reviews and other articles.
Be proactive! This is your group so please take an active role in it.
From mobile to desktop, we inform, enlighten, and educate.
– Dick Gingras, President