Excerpts from the November 28th meeting of the TBUGS (TAMPA BAY
USERS GROUP-SYSOPS) or (TRIBBS BAY USERS GROUP-SYSOPS) depending
on who you ask....

AGENDA HEADING: Old Business - TRIBBSCON 1.

SUBJECT: The TRIBBS National Convention, to be held in summer, 1994.

MEETING ATTENDEES: All TBUGS officers, namely Mike Lott, President, 
Terry O'Toole, Secretary, and David Zimmer, Treasurer.
Charter Members: Dean D'Agostino, Mark Samaniego, Paul Ornoski,
Bob Bier. New or first time members, Craig Mathews, Tim King and 
Ted Michel. Members who could not attend were Miguel Collazo, 
Russ Grant, Tony Evans, and Jamie Kenis. Steve Sears was invited, 
but due to a work conflict, could not attend.

For the benefit of all, the concept of a National Tribbs Convention
was covered again, for the third month, as follows:
Objective: To bring together the worldwide TRIBBS Sysops and third
party programmers for a 3 day convention to have fun, meet each other,
learn from each other, provide a vacation for spouses and children,
and provide a fun and learning atmosphere for all.

Planned highlights of the Convention so far are:
A major computer show, offering deep discounts to the Sysops. This 
would be open to both local and and national vendors, and would be
a "CLOSED" show on the first day only. Space would be allocated
for 3rd party programmers and CD disc sales, shareware, etc.

Seminars: Shareware Authors, programmers, sysops, etc. Mark Goodwin
has been invited to attend, but has not yet firmly committed, as the
dates are still not firmly set. MUCH discussion ensued regarding the
need to have the "Father of TRIBBS" be present.

Award Banquet: We all agreed we like to eat well, and thought this 
was a good idea, but decided we needed to discuss what we were going to
give awards FOR...Best ANSI's, Best board, most messages in a 24 hour
period..(Dean already won)..more discussion on this one later..

Discount tickets to area attractions, like Disney, Busch Gardens, 
Sea World, Cypress Gardens, Epcot Center, Universal Studios..etc..
Plenty to keep the spouses and children busy, along with the on site
recreation. (Further discussion placed emphasis on a SECURE, SAFE 
location, and some suggestions were made as to possible locations.
We agreed to look closely at Saddlebrook Resort, north of Tampa,
since it has all the requirements for shows and seminars, has all 
the nearby amenities, and is a premier Golf and Tennis Resort.)

Discussion was also held about the possibility of selling 
promotional items with an eye to fund raising. The non-profit theme 
was brought up, and also the need for written permission to sell any
materials with trademarks attached, i.e., TRIBBS T-Shirts, or any
other legalities involved. We all agreed that proper licenses be 
sought and obtained before proceeding on these lines. Treasurer
David Zimmer pointed out the need for IRS non-profit forms and  
for immaculate accounting of all funds involved, also the local 
license requirements. It seems a $350 fee is required also.
Further on the fund-raising issue, we agreed to seek funding 
from the Pasco County Tourist Board, which has a budget in excess of
$200,000.00 for the purpose of attracting tourism. This funding
may be used for advertisement of the convention on a national level.

More discussion was held regarding the need for a photographer, and a 
subsequent release of a "National Convention Album" of photos, 
possibly on a cd/rom, and a "Computer Geeks Dance".

This concluded the introductory phase of the meeting, following 
which the proposal was put to a simple vote. The question was:

This is gonna' be a HELL of a lot of work..are we SURE we really
want to do this? Is it a worthwhile project? The vote was 100%
that yes, it was worthwhile, and yes, we want to do it.

Following the vote, the following resolutions were put to a vote
and passed:
1. That Terry O'Toole be elected National Convention Secretary.

2. That Dean D'Agostino be elected National Convention
Communication Director, with all WME and other message traffic
directed to him.

3. That Mark Samaniego be elected to head the Vendor Committee, 
with members to be added as needed.

4. That David Zimmer be elected National Convention Treasurer.

5. That a National & State Committee should exist, with one or more
members from each State in the U.S. on the committee, and the 
committee be open to all Canadian, European, or other foreign
countries. Sysops who wish to be on the committee for their state
be able to meet only minimum requirements. (Registration #, time 
to participate, and a cooperative attitude.)

6. Mike Lott was elected Chairman of the National-State Committee.

7. That the dates and exact locations of the Convention be announced
on January 30th, 1994. ( we are leaning toward June or August, and 
expecting the location to be in Central Florida, but will consider
reasonable alternatives, properly submitted to the National Convention
Communication Director, Dean D'Agostino.)

8. That the National Convention will be a"TRIBBS" specific convention,
meaning that sysops of other "Brands" of BBS software may be allowed to
attend the public shows, but space will not be allocated for their
sales or promotions, as plans are under way to prominently display
the TRIBBS name. (With proper permission and under the eye of Mark
Goodwin.) Some promotion of WME, YankeeNet and other networks will
be done, as will any software compatible with TRIBBS.

9. That a suitable Travel Agency be chosen to co-ordinate travel
arrangements for the National Convention, and to assist in planning
the itinerary and agenda of the convention. It was pointed out
that a TBUGS charter member is a licensed, bonded travel agent,
but due to a possible appearance of a "conflict of interest" and
a profit motive, he respectfully declined to accept the assignment.

Following this the discussion turned to other matters, and the 
National Convention Was tabled until next meeting.
Any Tribbs sysop is invited to attend, or have his comments read
into the record at the TBUGS meeting.

Forward any communications to: Dean D'Agostino/ Net Sysops-WME
                                                Net Sysops-YankeeNet

 We're Working on it, and it's gonna' be a blast!!

                                 Mike Lott
                                 President- TBUGS
                                 Chairman TRIBBSCON 1.
