Hi Ron :)
   As a President of a RUG let me first say.... I understand the frusttration
and other feelings that any self-respecting RUG Board Member will feel when a
RUG gets to the point of taking that "To Close or Not To Close" vote.

   ORERUG was there about a year ago... and we voted to become a "Web Presence
Only RUG".  This has worked decently enough for this last year...  ORERUG's
Board of Directors decided to run this way until 30 June, 2000; which is the end
of our Fiscal Year.

   Please remember that the RUG is it's members, and if the members choose not
to support the RUG then the RUG must consider this to be the will the members
for shutting down.

   A RUG must be finacially stable and I refused to let ORERUG bankrupt... and
had we attempted to hold another conference we would have.  We lost over
$2,000.00 on our last conference... and it was only because we sold vendor space
that we lost that little!

   Check the 3000-L archives for the thread that Allan C. started about the
"Future of Rugs"  it was oh... about a year and a half ago.. or so... That was
what finally made up my mind... (I started the thread)

    The RUG's are the members and the members are the RUG's so if the members
don't come the RUG's must shut down or at least become quiet.

    ORERUG was once one of the big RUG's  but times they have changed... and the
members didn't come... so we quit holding Conferences... we still help the
members and member sites fill positions and find jobs... but... we are very
quiet otherwise.

I don't believe that the RUG's are dead... but I do believe that some of the
RUG's are no longer supported by their membership enough to survive.

Art Bahrs
President, ORERUG


----------
>From: RON HORNER <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The closing of a RUG
>Date: Thu, 13 May, 1999, 10:56
>

> <venting>
> During our committee meeting this morning, it was decided to close the RUG.
> Now I understand that I'm new in getting involved, and that the other
> committee members have been in it for awhile.  But it just feels so wrong to
> give in and pack it up.  There has got to be a way to get the local HP
> community excited, again.
>
> The straw that broke the camels back was the not so good attendance at our
> vendor day. We got the stats back and they did not look good at all, thus
> the closing.
>
> Now here I sit, at my desk, feeling like I want to rip someone's head off.
> It's like now what to do.  I've worked on the platform for 13 years and love
> it.  All of those who say that box is dead, "their full of it".  Start
> working with my RUG in trying to get the word out; and, now the loss, like
> "what do you mean it's over.  I just got started working with you on this."
> Where did we go wrong?  Were we not aggressive enough?  Did we not know what
> our users want?
>
> All I know is that I'm pissed off, and I want to do something about it.
> </venting>
>
> Ron Horner
> Operations Manager
> Administrative Management Group
> [log in to unmask]
> (847) 870-2175