NELUG Announcement

F O R E W O R D

This is a lengthy post, but please take the time to read it as it covers a number of changes that will be occurring within NELUG in the immediate future.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

NELUG has certainly grown since it started in 1999. Over the last year or so, we have seen the club begin to strain under the informal organization that has carried us up until now. As we have grown, questions about who has the authority to make decisions, the process of making decisions, accountability of NELUG's assets and financial resources, and even trying to define who is a member have all surfaced. These kinds of questions and needs continue to grow at an increasing rate.

Up until now, two members have basically filled a vast majority of the administrative aspects of the club. While this has worked fairly well, neither member was elected to this position. As a result, what happens if someone else wants to take on certain responsibilities? How do we go about this? What do we do if either member no longer wants to continue handling the responsibilities? How do you hold them accountable for anything? How does the outside world know who to contact? Who controls our finances? The list goes on. In short, NELUG's informality has become a barrier to its own future.

B Y - L A W S

To keep NELUG a fun and enjoyable club, a group of active and founding members got together to discuss the need for change and how we wanted NELUG to evolve. Two important results have been produced from these conversations. The first is the formation of By-Laws. The By-Laws outline how NELUG operates. It no longer is a matter of one or two members deciding something or needing to have the entire membership gain consensus before something can be done. Further more, great care has been taken to keep the By-Laws simple and meaningful without being too restrictive. Contained within the By-Laws is a list of the 19 members who participated in its creation. You will find a link to the By-Laws below.

E X E C U T I V E C O M M I T T E E

The second result to come out of the discussions is the formation of an Executive Committee (EC). The EC consists of five members, each with a five year term. Each term is staggered so that one position of the EC will open up every year. For the purposes of getting started, the 19 active members who helped create the By-Laws voted in five consecutive elections to implement the first EC. Each candidate had to be nominated and seconded by a different member. The following members have been elected into the EC for the following terms:

• 5 year term - Eric Kingsley
• 4 year term - Joe Comeau
• 3 year term - Dave Eaton
• 2 year term - Jamie Berard
• 1 year term - Tom Duggan

The EC is accountable for all of NELUG's assets, member tracking and event decision making among other things. For a full list of the EC's responsibilities, please refer to the By-Laws (a link is provided below). You may contact the EC directly at: ec AT nelug DOT org.

While the EC is responsible for establishing the Policies and Procedures of NELUG, it will not do so to the exclusion of the membership. As needs arise, changes occur and questions come up, the EC will weigh the input and feedback of members in its decision making.

M E M B E R S H I P

In order to address the growing concerns over the definition of a member, we are now enacting membership requirements and dues. The requirements for membership remain simple:

1. Must be 18 years of age or older
2. Must reside within one of the six New England states
3. Must pay dues on time

Dues have been instituted in order to accomplish a number of things. First, it removes any ambiguity over who is a member and who is not. Having dues also smoothes out NELUG's revenue stream to make it easier to plan out and pay for NELUG's operating expenses. Funds collected from dues will be used on a variety of items which include among other things:

• Trailer Expenses
  1. General Maintenance
  2. Registration
  3. Excise Tax
  4. Outfitting
• LEGO Supplies
  1. Track
  2. Baseplates
  3. Trees
  4. Other display related items as necessary
• Site Expenses
  1. Domain Name Registrations
  2. Web Hosting
• Other expenses
  1. additional tables
  2. duct tape
  3. power strips
  4. extension cords
  5. tools
  6. hardware
  7. banner(s)
  8. color business cards
  9. other periodic expenses like long distance phone calls to clients and other club business

Having a predictable revenue stream also opens up new possibilities such as potentially pre-paying for shirt orders, keeping a small amount of merchandise on hand for new members, and setting up a NELUG-sponsored event.

The cost of a membership will be $24 per calendar year. Since we are nearly half way through 2005, dues for this year will be $12 which must be paid by May 31, 2005. There are two preferred methods of payment which is either through PayPal or personal check. You may also pay with cash though it is the member's responsibility to ensure that the record of his/her payment is properly recorded. PayPal payments can be sent to finance AT nelug DOT org.

All members, regardless of tenure or participation level will have the same access rights, privileges and voting rights.

W E B S I T E & M A I L I N G L I S T S

Our site, www.nelug.org, has undergone a dramatic change. Our existing site has been retired and replaced with a much more useable, community-centric site that will serve as the club's backbone. Like our former site, it contains references and links to past events, however, we will now be able to include much more information about each event through the new story feature. Additionally, the site has a member gallery, polling capability, a master calendar and most importantly, a forum section. Only members will have access to the forum section and the forums will replace the existing nelug-list AT nelug DOT org mailing list. While forums are a 'pull' source of information instead of a 'push' like email, it is a superior way to organize topics and conversations. Any member, new or old, can look back to the beginning of any topic unlike jumping into the middle of an email thread.

The EC has already been using a special EC-only section of the forum to discuss a large number of topics. When future members of the EC join, they will no longer have to wonder why certain decisions were made or what issues existed in the past.

You will need to sign up for an account which you can do right from the home page. Instructions can be found here should you need them. You may try out the new site through May 31, 2005. If you decide that you do not want to be a member, simply do not pay your dues and your account will be deactivated. The nelug-list AT nelug DOT org mailing list will be retired on June 30, 2005. Also, the private AT nelug DOT org mailing list that was used to discuss financial and other non-public matters has been retired effective immediately.

Non-members will still be able to see the stories, calendar, and galleries so the public can still be informed just as they are today.

Lastly, you may find a copy of NELUG's By-Laws near the top of the home page under 'By-Laws'.

C L O S I N G

We are very excited about this new direction that NELUG is taking and firmly believe that it will help NELUG remain a fun and enjoyable club. Adding a rudimentary structure and clearly identifying responsibilities enables NELUG's membership to focus far more on our hobby and far less on the administrative burdens of the club. Establishing membership requirements and dues clearly identifies our membership and eliminates the guessing game that we sometimes encounter when dealing with other organizations. Finally, we believe NELUG's membership will draw far more value out the new Web site and make NELUG more accessible to new members. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

The Executive Committee

• Eric Kingsley
• Joe Comeau
• Dave Eaton
• Jamie Berard
• Tom Duggan