[17203] in APO-L
The DCAAO is now officially defunct
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeremy Gagliardi)
Fri Aug 29 10:00:20 1997
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 09:57:49 -0400
Reply-To: Jeremy.Gagliardi@cpmx.saic.com
From: Jeremy Gagliardi <Jeremy.Gagliardi@cpmx.saic.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
This message is going out to (A) All relevant APO e-mail listservers,
(B) everyone on the former DCAAO e-news list, and (C) everyone on
Section 84 Staff. If you got this message because your address is
listed in the "BCC" (Blind CC) field, please let me know if you do not
wish to keep receiving these mailings (unless you are on Section 84
Staff, in which case you will get them anyway). If your name is listed
there, you are either on the e-news list or a member of Section 84
Staff.
First, the bad news :-(
This message is to inform all of you that the DC Area Alumni
Organization (DCAAO) is officially defunct. Yes, you read correctly,
one day after the DCAAO's 2 year anniversary, the organization will no
longer operate and the name DCAAO is now free to whoever wants to use
it. An official phone call will be sent to the national office shortly
explaining that this organization is defunct and to stop all mailings.
Second, the good news :-)
If you are on the former DCAAO e-news list, you will continue to receive
correspondance from yours truly (or maybe someone else in the future)
about DC Area news and information. It will now be called the "DC Area
Alumni E-news List"; Catchy name, huh? The web page will also be
resurrected under a new name and will continue to hold info useful to
area alumni.
After much correspondance (via e-mail) on this subject, it has been
determined that...
(1) Alumni in the DC Area find it too incovenient to physically
participate in meetings or projects on a regular basis, and thus an
organization devoted to gaining such members is a farce.
(2) As an organization, we had no real expenses, except for annual dues
to our national office. Thus, collecting dues served no purpose.
(3) The web site and the e-news list have proven very useful, and I have
had numerous requests to keep them operating, and I will.
(4) Our organization's bylaws proved to be very burdensome and were
eliminated more than a year ago. Thus, an organization running on
bylaws has proven to be a farce as well.
(5) Keeping things very simple for alumni proved to be the rule, not the
exception. Our organization devoted itself to the KISS (Keep It Simple
Stupid) principle. That worked for the most part, but the organization
itself was not successful.
(6) Projects can be organized by chapters in the section and by
sectional staff for which alumni can attend, and thus an organization
devoted to organizing such projects is also a farce.
(7) Alumni feel attachments to their respective former chapters, and
thus a geographical alumni organization lacks the common bond necessary
to keep a cohesive group. We have found that chapter-based alumni
organizations function much better, because everybody already knows one
another and certain few feel obligated to keep things going and to have
social gatherings to keep the group together.
In conclusion, operating an alumni organization for the purposes of
gaining membership, collecting funds, running meetings, and organizing
projects has proven to be a failure, simply because that is not what
alumni in the area want. What alumni do want is to be kept informed and
to receive regular mailings on what's happening. They do not want to be
bilked for money, and they do not want to have to come to regular
meetings. When an alum does decide to physically participate in an
event in the area, that event can (and should) be a chapter or a
sectional event. Seperate alumni events are not necessary. If there is
to be a seperate alumni group, it can easily be one associated with a
chapter.
I hope we all have learned from our experiences attempting to run a
geographical alumni organization in the Washington DC area, and I hope
that other organizations do not repeat our mistakes.
Since our organization is now defunct, I will no longer act in any
official capacity in that organization's name. Our web site will be
re-organized as soon as it is possible for me to do so.
It is not certain whether I can operate under the umbrella of Sectional
Staff, but as soon as I find out, I'll let you all know.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Gagliardi
"In Leadership, Friendship, and Service"
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