<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Landon,<div><br></div><div>Thanks. I always admired the Apple WWDC conferences where they made videos of all of the sessions and put them online. There is so much going on at these conferences that it is impossible to take it all in unless they are recorded and posted.</div><div><br></div><div>+1 on contributors and organizing committees. We are trying to figure out what the parameters would be with GITA and be in a position to pull the trigger after the board meeting on 8 Dec. We've received some really good advice from the last organizers and suggestions that we keep our initial goals focused and reasonable.</div><div><br></div><div>Mark</div><div><br></div><div><div><div>On Nov 27, 2011, at 3:37 PM, Landon Blake wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div>Mark:<br><br>Thank you for your efforts so far. Organizing a North American Chapter<br>to help with an annual conference was a great idea.<br><br>I also like Daniel's suggestion. When the time is right it might be<br>good to ask for volunteers for a steering committee and then have a<br>vote from members of OSGeo in North America.<br><br>I don't have a desire to help on the steering committee, but I am<br>interested in helping make the conference material available to those<br>like myself that may not be able to attend every year. So I'll offer<br>to hep edit, organize, and distribute video content and talk materials<br>each year, whether I'm able to attend the conference or not. I hope<br>others will see value in this as well. If the conference is held close<br>to California in future years I can also help out with photos and<br>video.<br><br>If someone is going to the Denver conference and is willing to shoot<br>video, I'd even consider sending over some of my camera gear (to the<br>right person). I should also be able to help with conference coverage<br>in the Journal.<br><br>On a side note: I can help a little with a conference web site if we<br>are going to have one. Not sure about this. Maybe we will just be<br>using the wiki.<br><br>I look forward to learning more as our effort evolves. Perhaps it<br>makes some sense to have our benevolent dictatorship appoint some<br>committees to share the workload? I'm thinking you might need a<br>speakers committee, web site/media coverage committee, and content<br>committee?<br><br>Landon<br><br><br><br>On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 5:13 AM, Mark Lucas <<a href="mailto:mlucas17@mac.com">mlucas17@mac.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote type="cite">Daniel,<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Good advice and I think it is something we should follow through with.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"> Given the timeline and current focus on repeating a Denver GITA event we<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">are operating more in a 'benevolent dictator' mode to get some forward<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">motion started. At this point, anyone on the list can jump in, hoist some<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">sails, and grab the tiller for a while (as long as we are heading out of the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">harbor). My bias is that the contributors are the ones that get to vote, so<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">we will have to try and figure out a way to establish a PSC that is<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">meaningful. For now, everyone on the mailing list has a voice - if someone<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">has a better idea of how to organize the first regional conference before<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">summer we'd really like to hear about it.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">I'd suggest that we set a goal to organize a mailing list vote before the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">end of the year for a chapter president. For the time being, as required by<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">the submission rules, I've put my name down as board liaison for the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">chapter. I've also volunteered to take the lead on organizing the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">conference. Nothing would make me happier than see someone come forward and<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">take the lead - I just want to make sure that we get this started.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">By the way, I was in the early conferences in Minneapolis and Ottawa - those<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">were great conferences.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Mark<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">On Nov 25, 2011, at 3:36 PM, Daniel Morissette wrote:<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">On 11-11-25 11:32 AM, Mark Lucas wrote:<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">There has been very constructive discussion on the various lists related<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">to the North America chapter, ideas for an annual regional conference,<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">and what can be done to assist the international event in Beijing this<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">year. I think most of the questions are being addressed adequately and I<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">sense that we are headed for approving the NA chapter at the next board<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">meeting the first part of December. If we have missed anything, or<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">anyone has questions, pleased let us know so we can do our best to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">address any concerns and promote good ideas.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">One suggestion: even if that is not a documented requirement I would suggest<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">that the NA chapter form a steering committee responsible for making all<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">decisions relating to the chapter and a possible conference.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">This steering committee would have open operation rules similar to OSGeo's<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">project PSCs, with an open/balanced membership, etc. A committee with 5 or 7<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">interested parties could be good to get started.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">I suggest this because one of the tough decision that this committee will<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">have to make eventually is the location of the conference each year... a<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">decision that is much easier to make for a well identified steering<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">committee than a single individual trying to gather consensus from an<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">unorganized group.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">I speak from experience, having witnessed the tough decision process to<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">decide on the MapServer Users Meeting location after the first years in<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Minneapolis and Ottawa. If there had been an organized steering committee<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">for this event at the time it would have been easier to plan each of the<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">following year's location (the problem went away when OSGeo was created of<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">course).<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">--<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Daniel Morissette<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="http://www.mapgears.com/">http://www.mapgears.com/</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Provider of Professional MapServer Support since 2000<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">_______________________________________________<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Northamerica mailing list<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="mailto:Northamerica@lists.osgeo.org">Northamerica@lists.osgeo.org</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/northamerica">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/northamerica</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">_______________________________________________<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">Northamerica mailing list<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="mailto:Northamerica@lists.osgeo.org">Northamerica@lists.osgeo.org</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><a href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/northamerica">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/northamerica</a><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>