President's Message

May 1998

At its April meeting, the DACS board of directors selected a new slate of officers, including myself as president and Wally David as chairman. Marlene Gaberel, Gene Minasi, Frances Owles, Don Ruffel, and Jeff Setaro were chosen as vice presidents. Continuing on as treasurer and secretary will be Charles Bovaird and Larry Buoy, respectively. I am honored to have been chosen to lead DACS at this time, and humbled by the task of following in the legacy of those who came before. Yet I can find comfort in the support of the dedicated volunteers who serve with me as officers or directors. During my term in office, I will work to achieve the following: Continue to expand our services for beginning computer users through the New-to program and DACS University classes. Bring the facilities of our Resource Center to all members through volunteer staffing, fixed hours of operation and new hardware and software. Reach out to advanced users through increased coverage of technical issues in dacs.doc and by bringing in more programmers and support personnel. Encourage more coverage of different platforms. Achieve new membership growth through institutional and corporate membership programs and Internet associations. Increase DACS' visibility and services to its members through our newsletter and Web site, with a commitment and professionalism that puts us at the forefront of user groups worldwide. Renew DACS' commitment to volunteerism, through continued support of Voice for Joanie, the Danbury Senior Employment Center, Computers 4Kids, Special Olympics, and other volunteer projects that help to bring computer technology to a wider cross section of our community. These are ambitious objectives but ones which largely continue or build upon progress that has already been achieved. Over the coming months, I will focus in this column on individual issues and the measures that will be needed to make them a reality. I hope many of you will come forward to offer your valuable time and efforts to help relieve our tired volunteers and keep DACS at the forefront of user groups. Even if you don't think of yourself as the volunteering sort or can't decide where you might fit in, expect me to live up to my reputation of drawing out from each of you a potential you may not have known existed. After all, in cyberspace, we're all pioneers of a vast new frontier, where no one can know it all, and everyone has a skill that is in demand. Perhaps our greatest achievement and the hallmark of our success has been a commitment to excellence. This commitment is manifested in our award-winning newsletter and Web site, and in the national recognition we have achieved through our volunteerism on behalf of Voice for Joanie and other worthwhile causes. At a time when many user groups are suffering decline, recognition such as this builds membership and gives our member volunteers a pride of achievement and an incentive to strike out in new directions. DACS is people helping people, and when DACS shines, its members, and particularly its volunteers, bask in the radiance. -Allan Ostergren dacsprez@aol.com

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