Your organization's board of directors authorized retaining an attorney to review our existing organizational status and to recommend a go forward plan.

This has been accomplished. Dallas Legan and Steve Schiffman meet with attorney John Mercant last week. New Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are being drawn up for SCOUG,INC and will be presented to the organization at the continuation of the Annual Business meeting at the April general meeting. The membership will be asked to approve these new governing documents to convert SCOUG from its current mutual benefit unincorporated status into SCOUG,INC an incorporated organization.

The attorney recommendation is to incorporate as a mutual benefit 501(c)6 organization. This is a business organization type of designation. It is different than the original attempt to incorporate as a an educational charity 501(c)3 organization. Both can apply for non-profit status for taxing purposes. To incorporate, officers and board members need to be identified and be added to the documents that are to be filed with the California Secretary of State. This will be one of the business meeting agenda items to accomplish.

I look forward to discussing this go forward plan with the membership at the April meeting.

In addition to the membership agreeing on the go forward plan as indicated above, we need to conclude elections for officers and directors for SCOUG as it exists now. The election committee has been hard at work soliciting the membership for interest in their running for these positions. Please consider your willingness to step forward and provide a hand at guiding the future path of SCOUG and SCOUG,INC.

We need to have more members step up to the plate and take an active role. If you are one of those that have a better idea, then this is the year for you to commit to be the person that takes the responsibility to see that your idea gets accomplished. Sitting back and blaming someone else does not make it happen. I see a lot of hands of people that make suggestions for somebody else to accomplish. Now is the time for those same hands to go up to make those suggestions and ideas a reality.

If you want SCOUG and SCOUG,INC to succeed, than that person needs to be you.

I expect to see a reinvigorated SCOUG membership at the April meeting.

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.