This edition of NOOZ is sent to
the President, Vice President, Director, Secretary, Treasurer, APCUG
Representative, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster, Membership and Program Chairs of
each APCUG-member User Group.
We urge you to share the
information in NOOZ by including it in your newsletter, posting it on your Web
site, or e-mailing it to members of your group.
In this edition of NOOZ:
1. Thank you for renewing your APCUG membership
2. What Works
3. Peachpit Press User Group Program
4. Southwest User Group Conference
1. APCUG
Membership Benefits Information
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make the most of your membership in APCUG. Our members tell us that groups who take advantage of APCUG’s numerous benefits maintain their membership in APCUG longer and share with non-members how APCUG helps their user group to be more successful. One of the keys to receiving information from APCUG is to have your list of officers in the database up-to-date. Forgot your log-in & password? Please send an e-mail to cdb@apcug.net. Does your group only have one contact person in the database? The more officers you have listed makes it easier to disseminate the information, and one person doesn’t need to forward the information to someone else.
I hope you are taking advantage of all of the benefits of membership in APCUG. Please visit www.apcug.net to check out the many benefits / services that you receive for your $50 yearly membership fee. To make the most of your membership in APCUG:
Read the NOOZ sent to selected officers by your group’s Regional Advisor, forward it to all Board members and/or members or include it in your newsletter or post it on your website.
Read the four issues of APCUG’s news magazine, Reports, which selected officers receive quarterly, then share it with your members and even non-member user groups.
Review the many articles sent to your Editor by the Editorial PUSH committee that may be used in your newsletter.
Consider APCUG hosting your web site for FREE.
Use the APCUG WebBoard to conduct on-line meetings or as a source for your group’s technical guru to answer your member’s questions during an on-line chat session.
Attend the APCUG Annual Conference. You will have the opportunity to meet user group leaders from around the world, meet the participating vendors, and attend roundtables on how to improve your user group and much more. Attend Regional Conferences to reap the same benefits as above.
Utilize the sample Articles of Incorporation to formalize your user group and/or Bylaws for content when you are in the process of revising your group’s bylaws.
Review the Help For Your User Group articles. They are mostly from roundtables / workshops that have been given at annual or regional conferences and feature information for program chairs, fundraising ideas, job descriptions, and much more.
Review the Presentations-in-a-Box list for alternatives to having a vendor presentation.
Review the product discounts available to APCUG member groups and forward them to your members, include them in your newsletter or on a Members-Only page on your website. Discount information is sent via e-mail to selected officers.
Utilize the User Group Directory to find other user groups in your area to begin a dialog about sharing newsletters, starting a regularly scheduled meeting for officers to exchange information, setting up tours for vendors to present to several groups in a row, etc. Tours are vital in this day of company mergers – this gives the vendor more bang for their buck when trying to keep their company’s user group program alive.
Be included in the list of User Groups that receive special discount offers, review software or raffle items only for members of APCUG.
Recognize that APCUG is here to help your group, as needed. All of the Board members and Advisors are current or former UG officers and help is only an e-mail away.
We are honored to have your user group as a member of APCUG. If you or your members have ideas for additional services that APCUG can offer member groups, please send an e-mail to Judy Taylour, Chair, Member Services Committee (jtaylour@apcug.net).
2. What
Works….
Meeting Idea from the New Orleans Personal Computer Club
Night of the Gray Gamers
Get ready for a fun night at the NOPC Club. If you are like me, a little
gray on top (at least for the hair that’s left) the only computer games
you know are solitaire and free cell. Well, get ready to learn a lot more.
We are going to discuss the current trends in video games across consoles
and PC's. We will cover the most popular types of games including First
Person Shooters (FPS), Real-time Strategies (RTS) and Massive Multiplayer
Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG).
This presentation will include images, video and a hands-on look at some
of today's most popular games as well as a question and answer session.
Mark your calendars, create an entry in your Palm Treo 700wx, practice
your quick draw, update Outlook and join us on Wednesday, May 2, 2007. The
monthly meeting of the NOPC club starts at 6:30pm on the first Wednesday
of every month. For more information please visit our club’s
web site at http://www.nopc.org.
Colorado River Computer Club, Arizona
One of their members introduced their unique custom Sudoku puzzle in a newsletter article and presented a program on Sudoku at their March meeting. Sudoku is a logic-based number placement puzzle where the objective is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes contains the digits from 1 to 9 – what a great gray-matter activity. He made the puzzle available online on their website immediately after the meeting and later received a number of entries by e-mail from members. The first to respond with the correct solution received a $20.00 reward as an acknowledgement of his consumate skill. http://www.crccaz.com/index.htm
Broward Personal Computer Association, Florida
Have you asked the user groups close to you if they have members who are willing to make presentations to other groups? (Of course, they will want someone from your group to make a presentation at their group J) The BPCA’s May meeting will be a presentation by the Deerfield Beach Computer Club’s Director of SIGs. Her topic is American Greetings Create-A-Card Gold 7.
Note: There are several UG members in the Los Angeles area who make presentations to other groups. They are delighted to make a presentation at the Big Bear Computer Club – they get to spend the night at a member’s B&B.
3. Peachpit Press UG Program
Does your group belong to the Peachpit UG Program? If not, you are missing out on a deep discount on their books, as well as the ability to receive 1 free book per month. One of their next promotions is noted below. I know that several groups in California took advantage of the previous Photoshop Meeting-in-a-Box – popcorn and all.
COMING SOON: THE PEACHPIT EXPERIENCE!
Over the last few months many of you have been emailing me inquiring about the availability of the next Meeting-in-a-Box, well it's coming soon with a groovy new name and twice the punch! The Peachpit Experience brings you over two hours, on two DVDs, of your favorite Mac and Photoshop authors. Can you dig it?
So get your members and the popcorn and the red vines ready for this double feature — live action from the Peachpit booth at both Photoshop World Las Vegas and Macworld Conference & Expo San Francisco! Join Graham Nash (yes of Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young fame) and R. Mac Holbert as they discuss the Art and the Process of fine-art digital printmaking; Scott Kelby will take you through the digital workflow with Photoshop; Sandee Cohen will give you the tips and tricks for using the programs in the Creative Suite together; youÕll understand Photoshop Channels better with Bert Monroy; and much, much, more from other top authors!
In the next edition of this e-newsletter we'll tell you how to request a copy of The Peachpit Experience for your next user group meeting. So stay tuned!
http://www.peachpit.com/user_groups/index.asp?rl=1
4. Save $25 by registering for the Southwest User Group Conference by June 22!
The early bird registration fee of $50 ends on June 22. And what a bargain for that fifty dollars: All vendor-sponsored meals, conference t-shirt and Welcome Bag full of goodies, informative vendor presentations, up-close-and-personal time with vendors at the Saturday night Vendor Faire, user group themed workshops, personal productivity workshops, networking with officers and members from over 60 user groups who have the same problems we all do with our groups (you will probably go home with several solutions), wireless connectivity for those who bring their laptops or the Internet Cafe where you can check your e-mail, a beautiful location in San Diego at the Town and Country Resort & Conference Center (www.towncountry.com) and much more. You will find more information and a registration form at www.swugconf.org. If you plan to attend the conference, don't forget to enter the 2nd annual digital photo contest -- entries are due by June 1 -- details can be found on the website.
Have a great time,
Melvin
L. Weekley
APCUG Advisor, Region 9
Your group is a member of APCUG; you have received this e-mail to inform you of updates, changes, or special news and information. Our policy is to send e-mail messages only to announce such information, and we will continue to honor this policy. If you no longer want to receive these e-mails, please reply to the sender. Thank you for being a member of APCUG.