I just talked with David Colby, the accountant Bob Ambrose put us in touch 
with.  He said that we need very little to get the NPO started.  We need:
	
	a name for the umbrella organization
	a list of officers for the new organization
	a mission statement

Some suggestions for a name:

Arizona Open Software Information Exchange (AOSIX)
Open Source Software of Arizona (OSAZ)

Any others to throw into the name pool?

Anyone want to be officers?

Another suggestion:

Mission Statement


____________ is a non-profit group of volunteers from the Arizona software
community dedicated to promoting the awareness, acceptance, and use of 
Open Source software in the state of Arizona.  ____________ sponsors and
participates in events to expand the use of Open Source software.  We
believe that software users, both individuals and organizations, have the
right to own, use, and modify, if necessary, any software that they find
necessary to meet their own individual needs.

__________ receives its direction from a voluntary Board of Directors,
which includes a President, Vice-president, and Treasurer.  None of the
members receive monitary compensation for their efforts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first sentence identifies the purpose of the organization.

The second sentence states the identifies the types of activities that the
organization uses to accomplish the purposes.  It covers any event that the
organization hosts, like the proposed conference and exposition, and
participation in existing events like ITEC.

The third sentence states the open source values that inherently guide the
organiszation.

The second paragraph, while optional, does clarify the minimal structure of
the organization and emphasizes the voluntary nature of it.  It states a
minimum number of Board members, but does not restrict the size of the
Board.
-- 
Jim

Bliss comes from within, ignorance from without