January 2001 seemed like the perfect time to take stock of SCOUG. Steve Schiffman started us off with an introduction to our new meeting facilities at Regal Lanes in Orange. The rooms are amply sized and comfortable, and there's elevator access which is a definite plus.

Rollin White gave us a brief look back at what got us together in the first place - the need for an OS/2 group that was independent of a larger club, able and capable of spending as much time as possible promoting our favorite operating system. That was 1993, and we've done a lot since then. You could say we've taken our charter to heart!

Reviewing our current situation, we covered a lot of territory. Gary Wong summarized all our on-going efforts, like meetings, web site, and newsletter. We learned about preparations for a 2nd Warp Expo West in June from Terry Warren. Watch for more information soon about this upcoming event.

Terry also explained SCOUG's status as a legal entity. Several unforeseen problems cropped up that have led to (rather long) delays in establishing SCOUG as a corporation with nonprofit status. Not unexpected, but still distressing, Melanie Chernoy confirmed that SCOUG's membership is on the decline. The vast majority of members are relatively local, although we have a smattering from hither and yon. 15% of our current members have been with SCOUG practically from the start. What do fewer members mean for SCOUG's bottom line? Steven Levine showed us where we got money and where we spent it last year.

Membership as of Jan each year 1994 68 1995 148 1996 182 1997 156 1998 150 1999 136 2000 120 2001 100

One of the things SCOUG prides itself on is this web site. Rollin's chart of web site traffic shows that we get a lot more people coming to the site during our big events and when articles are promoted through other OS/2 venues. Surprisingly, Rollin reported that our members make much less use of the web site than others do. We seem to make little use of SCOUG's mailing lists as well.

So, what could SCOUG be doing now? With not much meeting time left, Peter Skye stepped up to help us ponder the challenges and consider options for the club's future. The result was fabulous - (at times) heated discussion, interesting suggestions, and a lot of open questions.

A rousing start to 2001! Let's stay motivated!

SCOUG, Warp Expo West, and Warpfest are trademarks of the Southern California OS/2 User Group. OS/2, Workplace Shell, and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.