[aklug] Re: Just a thought....

On Tue, 2 Dec 2008, Nathan T. Templeton wrote:

> Hey Guys,
>
> Nothing against Barslow, But I would like to put myself up for
> president of the group. I may not be the most savy, but I'm there, I'm
> willing to help. I''m ready to do what I have to do..
> I want to know if I've proven myself worthy as of yet..
> Honesty is the better part of valor, So I wait to hear from Art and
> others.. Tell me if I'm ready for what I ask, or foolish..

I personally don't care who leads the group (as long as it's not me). That
said, Nathan, before you try to take over leadership I suggest you first
demonstrate it. Have an event delegated to your management and run it from
start to finish. If you have success and enjoy it, then by all means, throw
your hat in the ring.

There's two realities to consider: the first being that leading this group
is a thankless job with little to no help. You're going to find out that
there's very few you can rely on and you're going to have to do a great deal
of work yourself.

The second reality is that tech groups, because of their solo &
time-intensive nature, is very much a single man's game these days. I'd
love to do more myself, but I hate taking time away from the family. They
put up with my hobbies 24x7 as it is. If someone could prove able
leadership and not have a family life getting in the way, Mike would
probably be happy to step aside.

But, again, prove it. Mike took over because the group had already gone
fallow under the watch of many of the people you think could resurrect the
group. Jack has been done with this group for a long time, it's a mere
shadow of what it was in the late '90s. Mike's been trying to get things
moving again, but there's been little cooperation, some back-biting, and a
lack of volunteers willing to help make things happens (and some of the
volunteers we've had have had poor follow-through).

I fear that at this point AKLUG has devolved to a loose gaggle of
competitive and conflicting personalities. Whether it can be a showcase for
emerging technologies again is beyond me.

Everyone has "plans" and a "vision" of what a user group could be. But the
reality is (and will remain until proven otherwise) that very, very few have
the ability to bring any of that to fruition.

If you can demonstrate that you're one of those few, you'll have my support
100%.

          --Arthur Corliss
            Live Free or Die
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Received on Tue Dec 2 08:46:39 2008