Minutes of the First Informal Meeting
of the
Guam Chapter of the
International Webmasters Association
Tuesday, November 9, 1999
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
CyberUp Cafe
The meeting was called to order by Lorie Yu, President and
Founder of the organization.
Those present included:
Lorie Yu
Jean Ellis
Ernest Caparas
Ed Camacho
Ken Stewart
Patrick Kelly
Ben Laguana
Henri Oftana
Toni Brooks
Shelly Gibson
Lorie started the meeting by introducing herself and explaining why she decided
to initiate the organization of the Chapter. Desiring networking and
a source for mind-sharing with other individuals, she applied as Founder of the
Guam Chapter of the IWA and was approved.
Lorie then asked everyone to introduce themselves and then continued on to explain why she chose to be affiliated with the International Webmasters Association. Lorie also explained the IWA's Goals and Objectives and read the IWA Code of Ethics.
Lorie explained that membership was required at an International Level and Chapter Level. To become a member, individuals must visit the IWA website at www.iwanet.org , register and pay a $50.00 annual membership fee. No dues will be collected throughout the year either by International or Chapter. Lorie explained that the IWA is an entirely non-profit organization and cannot except dues or donations from either members, business, or the community.
Lorie emphasized that in order to qualify as a member of the Board, prospective members must register and pay the $50.00 membership fee. Board elections will be held during the next meeting. Committees were also discussed and Lorie advised that she would appoint Committee Chairs within the next month.
Future topics for meetings was discussed such as Panel Discussions and Key-Note Speakers. The topic of Awards presented at the Chapter Level was discussed to recognize local talent in different categories. Additionally, the presence of the Chapter will increase awareness during Trade Shows, and Conferences on-island.
The Hyatt and Westin are in negotiations with Lorie regarding meeting places, menu and costs. Lorie and Jean will evaluate the proposals and make a decision based on those proposals.
Lorie requested that those in attendance begin recruiting others members that may contribute to the organization. Such individuals could include but is not limited to:
Web site designers, graphics artists, webmasters, programmers, intranet/extranet specialists, system administrators, marketing specialists, educators, entrepreneurs, editors, writers, multimedia designers, software engineers, and others participating in the development and management of Web technology.
Lorie opened the floor for discussion and Jean Ellis and Ken Stewart led a discussion on the effect of eCommerce on the Guam economy. It was agreed that this would be an excellent topic to be given by a future speaker during a regular meeting.
Toni Brooks offered ideas on how the members of the Guam Chapter might provide web services to non-profit organizations or once a year offer the service to a business in need.
Lorie discussed the need for members to continue educating themselves by taking courses on-island or on-line so that they can stay abreast of the latest development and authoring tools. The group discussed the idea of working with UOG and GCC to ensure such classes are offered to the general public.
Patrick Kelly explained the "web spinners" list already available at the Kuentos Web Site. This list provides information on local web designers on-island for the community. The web spinners list can be found at http://whack.guam.net and IWA members are welcome to add their information.
Lorie opened the floor for any further questions and concluded the meeting. The next meeting will be announced on the website and via email.