CTUG Regular Executive Board Meeting

April 30, 2004 - Meeting Minutes

Attendees:

Javid Quadri
Dick Bird
Marlon Henry
Randall Becker
Pio Gomes
Philippe Olivieri
John Lee
Alvin Wong

Regrets:

Marc Lafontaine

Meeting Duration:

12:30PM - 2:30PM

Meeting Location:

Canyon Creek
156 Front St. W.
Toronto, Ontario
M5J-2L6
Tel. (416) 596-2240

Old Business:

1. Previous meeting minutes approval
   • April 2nd Minutes: Approved by Randall, Seconded by Marlon
   • April 12th Minutes: Approved by Dick, Seconded by Pio
2. Montreal Technical Session - ITUG Review Update
   • Status: Date is confirmed for May 19th. Session content is finalized and is being prepared for posting on the web site. First email has been drafted and is to be sent out once the web site is up to date.
   • Action Item: Marc to distribute the tentative conference agenda, in French, to the board for preparation for the launch of promotion of the Technical Session. Status: Done
   • Action Item: Randall to update web site with Montreal technical session details, and include online credit card payment offering in French. Status: Content is being prepared and will be posted shortly after the conclusion of the meeting.
   • Action Item: John and Philippe to prepare for launch of email promotions in French once web site is up to date Status: Marc Lafontaine has constructed the first email to be sent out.
3. Spring Conference Report (Reported by Javid):
   • Numbers:
     • 159 people in total participated in the conference, including board members, presenters, vendors and attendees.
     • This is the highest number of people to attend a RUG meeting worldwide!!! Dick, Randall and Javid indicated that this should be promoted with HP and with ITUG. Javid said that he would discuss the success of the conference at the next ITUG board meeting, to occur on May 4th. Marlon wished to be included in this call.
     • Other numbers reported: 93 people were covered by a credit card payment before the conference. This indicates that there is little reluctance for the online credit card payments. There were 6 groups, 6 pairs and 2 trios. There were 51 individuals. There were 41 people from vendors.
   • Feedback from members, vendors, presenters.
     • Overwhelmingly Positive feedback from all people.
     • Scott's presentation was very well received.
     • Survey Results:
       • 61 attendees surveys and 11 vendor surveys were returned. This should be higher.
       • overall rating of conference: 7.7 for attendees; 7.8 for vendors
   • Things that were done well.
     • Turnout was AWESOME!
     • Registration was faster, and no one missed the start of the conference, even with the increased numbers. This was primarily due to the online prepayment.
     • Venue was the right size for our needs.
     • For the most part, we kept to the schedule.
     • We adapted well to small hiccups, such as lunch buffet table in the exhibit hall.
     • Vendors were happy with the turnout, organization, the amount of space and the flow of attendees.
     • Vendor tracks were (mostly) well attended.
   • Things to improve on for next year.
     • Registration - there was a little confusion as those who prepaid were mixed with those who had to pay. Badges should be prepared in advance, assembled and sorted. We may need more tables for the registration process.
     • Signs should be clear to redirect unwanted traffic (such as a job fair). Coordinate with the facility to help direct people to where they wish to go.
     • Signs to direct people around the conference should be large, clear and plentiful.
     • Security: There were a few people who crashed the conference. We may need door monitors -> ask for volunteers to monitor the doors (At front and at back), possibly give a discount for those who are willing to guard the door for an hour (two half hour shifts); We should make it clear that all attendees will make their badges available on demand. Talk to the venue to see if they can offer low(no) cost suggestions.
     • A Microphone should be placed in the Exhibit Hall, or the mike in the general session room should be heard in the exhibit hall, as this will help in directing people to the next session. (The vendor tracks didn't start right away, as people were interacting in the exhibit hall.)
     • Separate vendor surveys from member surveys. Not enough vendor surveys were printed. Should print about 3 per vendor, plus 10 for HP.
     • Online prepayment registration should provide a mechanism for attendees to indicate who is in their group, or who they are paying for, such as a comment section. Randall said that this would be difficult, but that possibly what could be done is to direct the thank you for registering page to a form that can be used to indicate who will be attending.
       • Action Item: Randall to explore options for allowing registrants to indicate who is attending the event.
     • Vendors should be informed to arrive at around 7:15am for setup, as some people register early, and then are looking for something to do before the conference starts.
   • Pictures taken at the conference were reviewed for posting on the website.

New Business:

1. Web Site Update - Randall
   • Randall reported that the web site has undergone a major reconstruction. It is now frameless, with a French version and an English version. Randall was looking for help on translations for the French side of the web site. In addition, he was looking for feedback as to the content and format. A question was raised as to whether the top of the French side should be the translated version of 'Canadian Tandem Users Group' and the consensus was that it should be.
2. Financial Report - Alvin
   • Alvin reported that the past year was very successful year financially. The accounts were in good shape. The accountant would come up with the financial statements, once the fiscal year (ending on April 30th) was concluded. Randall suggested that financial planning be a priority for the upcoming year. Alvin provided a breakdown of the financial statements for the Spring Conference and for the past year. Alvin reported that expenses for Scott Healey were still outstanding.
3. June Technical Session
   • Javid reported that the next technical session was in the planning stages. The tentative agenda had been disseminated to the board, and the speakers contacted so far had committed. A highlight of this session is that Pauline Nist may open the technical session, but this was to be confirmed.
   • The topic of the session was Systems Management. Speakers confirmed are Grant Lowe from the Royal Bank of Canada, Khody Khodayari, PM System Management, Hewlett-Packard, and Jim Moore, Director, Health Network Service Facilities Management for MOH Ontario.
   • The date was confirmed as June 24th, 2004.
   • Location: Javid indicated that Montana's had been contacted and had verified availability for the date. No firm booking had been made.
     • Action Item: Marlon to finalize the venue selection.
4. Javid reported that his term as President was ending. He thanked for the board for the great contributions that were made over the past year. It was a very successful year, with a long list of accomplishments and successes. Javid was pleased to announce the new board assignments for the upcoming year:
   • President: Marlon Henry
   • Past President: Javid Quadri
   • Director of Finance: John Lee
   • Director of Communications: Randall Becker
   • Director of Symposia: Philippe Olivieri
   • Director of Membership: Pio Gomes
   • Director (Montreal): Marc Lafontaine
   • Director of Special Interest Groups: Vacant
   • HP Liaison: Dick Bird
   • Discussion: A question was raised as to whether it made sense to have Mark Wilson be the Director of Special Interest Groups, as he runs (with Jack McCauley) the Security SIG. Marlon agreed to approach Mark on this topic.
     • Action Item: Marlon to contact Mark Wilson regarding the Director of Special Interest Groups vacancy.
5. Adjournment
   • Adjourned at 2:30 PM. Moved by Dick, seconded by John.
   • Next Meeting: To Be Determined

Minutes Taken by: Javid Quadri