[TriLUG] Starting a LUG

[H Brett Bolen]

check the lug faq, Err, How-To.

http://www.linux.org/docs/ldp/howto/User-Group-HOWTO.html


b
Magnus Hedemark wrote:

> On Tue, 17 Feb 2004, Errol Casey wrote:
> 
> 
>>Can Trilug members provide any insight; I could share to these folks?
> 
> 
> It's worth pointing out that most of the people who were very involved 
> with starting TriLUG are not much involved with TriLUG anymore.
> 
> *However*, I think that the people that are in TriLUG now are probably 
> better qualified to say what sorts of things work/don't work when growing 
> a LUG as TriLUG has grown into one of the larger more professionally run 
> LUGs in the country.  TriLUG membership and meeting attendance figures a 
> incredibly disproportionate to the size of the local population which it 
> serves.
> 
> 
>>I know a lot of the original founders of Trilug have moved on ... but 
>>there are a lot of folks that were here when it all started, and remember 
>>things, and have did it with other LUGs, etc.
> 
> 
> I wasn't here in the very beginning but Dreyfus certainly had plenty of 
> available seating when I started coming.  I think that TriLUG really 
> started to explode when the members went out of their way to offer a 
> little something for everybody.  Meeting topics started including both 
> hardcore geek tech and the whimsical.  One month might be a talk on kernel 
> hacking, and the next on how to make better use of the Linux distro 
> running on your TiVo.  Installfests have grown increasingly popular, and 
> there seems to be continuing interest in the classes as well.
> 
> The volunteer spirit is very much alive in TriLUG and I think it is 
> important to not underestimate the importance of that.  Giving volunteers 
> a sense of ownership in the LUG will inspire them to go the extra mile to 
> make things just that much better.  In TriLUG this is evident with the 
> member services provided with the hosted machines, with the classes, 
> installfests and more.  I think many take it for granted that all the 
> TriLUG meetings will have wireless Internet connectivity but you know 
> what, that is set up by a volunteer too.
> 
> Being set up as a non profit entity makes it easy to accept cash 
> donations, corporate sponsorship, etc.  It's a little bit of a pain to do 
> this up front, and will cost the founders a little bit of money up front, 
> but over the long haul it makes it easier for local businesses and other 
> benefactors to do things to help your LUG out.
> 


-- 
b²

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-- H Brett Bolen
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