Happy spring, everyone.
We’ve all had a very long and tiring winter, but it’s finally starting to warm up. Now that everyone has defrosted and can walk around outside again, we’ve got some exciting updates for you!
PLIBMTTBHGATY
We’re most excited for our next upcoming event: we are hosting another PLIBMTTBHGATY. This is a good way to get the juices flowing for the year and to kick off the season with some blooming minds and exciting project work.
This event will be held at The Forge, in Downtown Des Moines on Saturday, April 14th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Pillar is sponsoring the event and providing drinks and some snacks.
The event will be a fun chance for you to get to work learning something new that you’ve been meaning to. The event will feature a KTAWTS (Know Things and Willing to Share) Panel. Group members and attendees who are feeling keen are welcome to volunteer to be one of the speakers on the panel . These mini, conversational presentations would be 5-10 minutes, at most.
We encourage developers of all skill levels to volunteer. Even if you’ve just started learning something, what you have to say will prove valuable to someone. Plus, teaching others is one of the most robust techniques for reinforcing your knowledge.
That aside, you can also just come in to hang out with us! Register for the event on Eventbrite, here. (FYI, admission this time around is free!)
Refocusing for 2018
Considering the lull in energy that the winter months and holiday season creates, we’ve decided that we will be refocusing our efforts this year. There have been several ideas for group projects and events in the past, but we felt we would could accomplish more by narrowing our attention.
Events
We’re hoping to host a unique event every quarter or every season. For Spring, of course, the event is our hit from this past fall: PLIBMTTBHGATY (Programming Languages I’ve Been Meaning To Try But Haven’t Gotten Around To Yet).
During the May General Meeting (which happens to fall on Cinco de Mayo, this year!), we will spend some time throwing around ideas for our next event.
We will, from now on, be alternating between PLIBMTTBHGATY and other types of events. Some ideas that’ve have already come up include: Discussion panels, workshops, speakers, etc.
Digital Event Scheduling and Advertising
One issue where we’ve reached a split decision is whether we want to continue using MeetUp. Since we’re a smaller organization, we want to make sure that we’re using our limited financial resources in the best possible way. Hosting a MeetUp costs $15/month, so it’s place where we could possibly save money right now.
If we were to shift away from using MeetUp, we would be using a combination of Google Calendar, Facebook, Twitter and Eventbrite for scheduling and broadcasting information about Study Groups, Meetings and Events. We’ve been experimenting with using those more lately. In conjunction with certain slack apps, it’s been a fairly cohesive engine.
Feel free to sound off in the comments below with your own thoughts on whether we should continue using MeetUp for the group.
In the meantime, check out the Event Page for a quick rundown on our Meeting and Study Group schedule.
Projects
We’ve got a few project ideas that we’ve been kicking around for the past several months, but with the new year, we’re wanting to refocus in this area as well.
So, we’re placing other projects on the back burner while we focus on re-invigorating the group through already active digital platforms. As for project, we’re primarily focused on building a custom theme for this site, LadyDev.org.
We want to use Roots.io’s Sage theme as a base to work from. A lot of the work on the site has slowed down until PLIBMTTBHGATY is over. Don’t worry, though, because we’ll be picking it back up in full force afterwards, at our next Workshop Meeting, April 21st from 10:00 AM to Noon:
New Officers!
Our founder, Jesse, was offered and took a cool job opportunity. We were all super excited for her, but the job required her to relocate outside the country. Although she still supports us through slack and social media, we opted to go ahead and elect official officers. Here are the results of that vote, which took place earlier in the year.
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President: Danielle Bequeaith
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Vice President Tori Machen
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Secretary: Megan Leininger
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Treasurer: Bailey Steinfadt
There were two more positions that were proposed but not filled:
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Word-Spreader: Someone in charge of social media and community presence
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Joy-Keeper: Someone who ensures everyone is having a good time
The elected officers have split up these duties among ourselves. However, we would be open to anyone who would like to step up and take on some of those responsibilities.
Keep in Touch and Up to Date with LadyDev
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