TLUG's value to community ???

[John Moniz]

G. Matthew Rice wrote:

>mgjk-cpI+UMyWUv9BDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org writes:
>  
>
>>>What is GTALUG's value to community?  What service do we provide?  What
>>>do "our community" get from us?
>>>      
>>>
>>TLUG is a users group of hobbysts and professionals.  People show up
>>because they like what the other people showing up are doing.
>>
>>The community is the service.
>>Right?
>>    
>>
>
>Wrong.  
>
>William, I believe, is referring to the incorped GTALUG Inc. that has been
>going around and collecting membership fees from people at TLUG and NewTLUG
>and Linux World but have yet to say publicly what the money is for, who is
>running GTALUG (the biz), why they think that they represent TLUG and NewTLUG
>(and now westlug [or phlug??? are they the same]) plus a bunch of other
>questions.
>
>In fact, I think that IBM has asked them to stop the membership drive at the
>IBM meeting location for NewTLUG until such information comes forth.
>
>Hope this clarifies the question.  It probably raises many more, though ;)
>
>Regards,
>  
>
One question that it raises is about money, but TLUG money. When I 
joined back in 1999 or 2000, I paid a membership fee and received a TLUG 
membership card. That was at a computerfest when TLUG also sold a pile 
of Caldera CDs for $5 each (anyone remember that one?). I believe a few 
thousand dollars were raised that year, some people would know the 
correct amount. I thought the membership was reasonable and would have 
made a similar annual contribution had it been requested.

Some of that money may have been used up in the effort to incorporate 
TLUG (don't know if it was), but the cost of incorporation was suppose 
to have been much less than the amount collected.

The questions it raises are: how was the money spent (if any), who is 
looking after the account now, and how much $$ is left over?

I have always been curious about that. It's important to have trust in 
what happened in the past before one can support some future endeavours 
involving the collection of money.

John.
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