LUV annual general meetings are typically our smallest meetings of the year. It is a bold and few technically-inspired individuals who wish to sit through the necessary administrivia that keep the organisation alive in a formal sense, and the lack of an advertised speaker does suggest the possibility of ad-hoc pot-luck when it comes the short, technical lightning talks. However, I would like to make a special plea for LUV members to attend this agm. The reason being is that, after four years as president of LUV, I am going to step down from this position. This is not because of any internal friction within the organisation, and it most certainly is not because the workload is too onerous, or the responsibilities too demanding. It is none of those things. Being president of LUV has been a privilege, an honour, and an opportunity to contribute in some small and meaningful way to one of the world's largest and oldest Linux user groups, a transformative operating system and application suite that embodies technical excellence and the high ethical principles of transparency through free and open-source licensing. Linux has changed the world and being part of that is really quite a wonderful experience. The reason I am stepping down as president is really quite simple: It's time for someone else to take up the role of chief organiser and leader. It is time for someone else to give the organisation direction and contribute their innovations. Organisations need to regenerate themselves and one method to do those is to ensure that people do not become too attached to the positions that they hold. It is a sign of an organisation's illness if this does not occur in leadership roles (in the more administrative positions, e.g., treasurer, it is certainly less of problem). Where it does not occur the potential for empire-building within the organisation and obsession among the individuals concerned. Thus it is in the interest in preventing stagnation in the organisation and giving people the opportunity to make their contribution, that I am stepping down as president. This does not mean however, that I am leaving LUV. Having served on the committee, or as public officer, since 2006, I would welcome any nomination that recommends me as a committee member. I intend to still be involved in helping LUV organise meetings, contribute to software freedom day, establish chapters in different parts of the state, write policy positions, and so forth. But please, no nominations as president. It is somebody else's turn. -- Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GradCertTerAdEd (Murdoch), GradCertPM, MBA (Tech Mngmnt) (Chifley) mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt