[Board] Workshop Event

[Paul Ramsey]

Dear conference committee, board,

While the process of getting approval for an event named "OSGeo
Teach-in" has been wending its slow way through the board and
committee, Jeff and I have been working on the logistics of the event
and finances.

The passing of time has made the logistics harder and harder, as
venues are unavailable, and time to do proper marketing disappears.
But, more importantly, we have been reviewing the amount of work
required, working capital required, and the potential reward (or
penalty) and decided that the two don't line up.

So, regardless of the final disposition of the policy on third-party
events, there won't be a workshop event of the sort outlined in our
proposal. At least, not one put on by us. On the bright side, that
should free up the board and committee to have a final debate and vote
without worrying about conflicts.

It also hopefully frees up space for a full-fledged North American
event, which I have repeatedly heard is desperately desired, most
recently from numerous folks at GeoWeb. Perhaps under the third party
policy an OSGeoCon can be set up for North America.  The ApacheCon
model is an interesting one, and worthy of a look, for example.

Yours,

Paul & Jeff