[ale] Atlanta Linux Showcase planning

[Stephen G Lewis]

This Thursday evening (Feb 27) the first group organizational
meeting was held to plan for a Linux show on the weekend
after Comdex.  The Atlanta Linux Showcase will be held Saturday,
June 7 and Sunday June 8 at the Atlanta Inforum.  Eight members
of the ale-expo mailing list showed up to discuss what has 
been done and what needs to be done.  

The search for a location has been completed, and space 
at the Inforum in downtown Atlanta will be leased for this
occasion.  The show will consist of an exhibition area where
vendors can purchase tables to set up displays.  Admission to
the exhibit area will be free.  To date, we have received
commitments from five large Linux vendors to purchase
exhibition space.

In addition to the free exhibition area, a series of
conferences will be held in an adjacent room.  Two of the
vendors that have committed to sponsoring presentations.
There will be a small registration fee charged (not yet
set, but less than $20) that will permit admission to any
or all of the talks held over the two days.

Needless to say, this is the largest project that members
of ALE (the Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts) have undertaken.  To
help make the task more manageable six different working
groups have been formed.  

If you have signed up on the ale-expo mailing list, here
is your opportunity to help.  If you haven't joined the
ale-expo list and would like to help, we welcome your help
as well.  For those that don't know about it, the ale-expo 
list is where planning discussions and information concerning
the upcoming show is distributed.  If you are interested in
helping with this project, then you might want to go ahead
and join the list by sending email to majordomo at cc.gatech.edu
with 'subscribe ale-expo' (without the quotes) in the BODY of
the message.  Keep in mind, that the ale-expo list is also
considered to be a list of people willing to help.  If you join
this list, expect to be asked to volunteer.  If you're only
interested in information about the show, we will be creating
a web site with information.  When the site is created, I'll
post another message to the ale list with the details.

If you can help any of the groups listed below, please contact
one of the group members.  While everyone realizes that people
have jobs, exams, and other things that take time, we need
people who can seriously commit to offering time for this project.
If you only have time to sign up for a specific limited task,
then please do so, but don't sign up for any thing that you won't
have time for and can't complete.

The next planning meeting will be held in a classroom after
the next regular meeting of ALE at Georgia Tech.  We plan
on meeting there monthly, and meeting monthly two weeks after
that meeting at another location.

Vendor Relations.
Steve DuChene <sduchene at mindspring.com>
David Hamm <dhamm at itserve.com>
Greg Hankins <gregh at cc.gatech.edu>
This group will serve as the main point of contact for vendors
attending the show, answering their questions and addressing
any needs the vendors might have.  They will design the layout
of the tables and collect the registration fees.  We will be
charging vendors $400 for their first table and $200 for any
additional tables.  They will also search for any local 
vendors that might want to be at the show.

Conference Relations.
Chris Farris <chrisf at cc.gatech.edu>
Marc Torres <marct at mindspring.com>
This group will serve a similar function for the people who
will be giving talks for the conference portion of the show.
They will the point of contact for our speakers.  They will
handle pre-registration of conference attendees, create the
conference schedule, search for local speakers, and
obtain any Audio-Visual equipment we need.

Publicity.
Steve Lewis <sglewis at mindspring.com>
Andy Newton <lfs at eskimo.com>
Todd SanMillan <bain at crl.com>
This group obviously handles publicity.  The first task for
this group is to contact some publications, like Linux Journal,
and find out the deadlines for getting information published
about the show.  They will also create a web page, signs,
flyers, and T-shirts for the volunteers.  Anybody with
experience in Web design would be a welcome addition to
this group.

Logistics.
Greg Hankins <gregh at cc.gatech.edu>
Andy Newton <lfs at eskimo.com>
Marc Torres <marct at mindspring.com>
David Hamm <dhamm at itserve.com>
Todd SanMillan <bain at crl.com>
This group will initially work with the Inforum to settle
any logistical issues that need addressing.  They will help
obtain the A/V equipment needed for the conference, and they
will coordinate the efforts of the volunteer support staff
at the show.  This group will not have a lot of work to do
initially, but will get busier as the show approaches.

Financial.
Chris Farris <chrisf at cc.gatech.edu>
David Hamm <dhamm at itserve.com>
This is a small group charged with setting up a bank account
to collect registration money and to pay for things as we 
need them.  They will see if we need to set up some kind of
legal entity, such as a limited partnership, to set up a
bank account.  They will also be obtaining the liability 
insurance that we need to lease space at the Inforum.

Oversight.
Steve DuChene <sduchene at mindspring.com>
Todd SanMillan <bain at crl.com>
This group is charged with overseeing the efforts of all the
other groups.  They will give friendly reminders to group
members of their commitments, and organize meetings of the
planning groups.