Re: Rejuvenating a local SigAda

[dmcconnell@sed.redstone.army.mil (David McConnell)]

In <4odfve$mtg@nnrp1.news.primenet.com>, Joseph Wisniewski <wisniew@primenet.com> writes:

Joe,

I hope the following is even marginally helpful.  The Huntsville SIGAda Chapter
almost slipped into oblivion in 1994.  Through the efforts of a core group of
interested persons, the chapter is alive and well today.

>I have just taken over the Phoenix SigAda. It has been rather inactive for
>a while. I have, what (IMHO) : ) are some good ideas.
>
>1. Has anyone out there gone through this with any measure of success and
>   would care to pass along any helpful hints?

I had not been active in the Huntsville chapter prior to its (near) demise.  Jim
Troy, of TRW in Huntsville, was primarily responsible for reviving the chapter.
I somehow got wind of a meeting notice, and called Jim to let him know I was
going to attend.  At my very first SIGAda meeting, I was elected Vice-Chairman!
This was in November of 1994.

Huntsville has an annual computer show in February every year, and I arranged
for our chapter to get a complimentary booth.  Ada95 was still Ada-9X, and there
was a lot of interest in the community.  The event was a great success.  I forget
the exact numbers, but we signed up about 25 new members.

This event was a tremendous boost to the chapter's recovery.  If there is a similar
event in Phoenix that is well attended by the software community, I would suggest
you try and talk the organizers into a free (or very low cost booth).  You can get
tons of Ada material from the Ada IC to distribute.  The key here is look for low
cost (no cost) opportunities to gain visibility for your chapter.

>2. If any of y'all traveling Ada experts : ), are going to be in Phoenix and
>   care to give a short talk on whatever, let me know.
>

Fortunately, Ada expert status is not a requirement for holding an office in a
SIGAda chapter.  If I'm in Phoenix, I'll do lunch, but any talk I would give on Ada
would be extremely short!

>3. Some ideas that I had to get things moving again are (not in any 
>particular order)
>	a. local Sig webpage

We set up a web page to try and keep our membership informed.  Nothing fancy,
but I think it helps.  We pay $10/month for a local Internet provider.

>	b. list of local and no-so-local Ada opportunities

I tried this for a while, but I started getting lots of email from head hunters.  The
National SIGAda page does a much better job of this than I can.

>	c. disseminate info on
>		Ada training
>		new product releases
>		"happenings in the Ada world"

We just held a GNAT Workshop to tell people about GNAT; where to get it and
how to get up and running.  We had 25 people attend and it went really well.
This doesn't take alot of effort and didn't cost us much.  Our only costs were
for copying handouts, and renting a room at the public library ($25).

>	d. Start (if involvement will keep it up) technical working groups
>		to help solve Ada "design problems" that local members are
>		having
>	e. Start up a local newsgroup for abovementioned technical questions

Don't over commit yourself - you could end up doing a lot of "free" work.  My
philosophy is to try and plan activities that require a minimum of peoples' time and
effort.  I'd advise people to post on CLA for this kind of stuff.

>	f. anything else that I don't already have the time to do : )
>

I think that you hit on a key point - your time, as well as the other members' time
is hard to come by.  I believe that SIGAda does exist to serve the Ada community,
and that service should be our primary function.  Just don't try to do too much
too soon.  Recruit a few good people, plan some fun (easy) activites, and hopefully
your chapter will soon be back on its feet again.

>Thanx
>

Hope some of this helps.

David McConnell
Chairman, Huntsville SIGAda