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If there are specific topics that you would like to see discussed in a future newsletter, please send your questions or comments to the HUG Secretary, Candy Retamoza, at candy.retamoza@ci.stockton.ca.us.
 Printable version of this issue (.pdf) >>
Larry Nicolette, HUG President
Hello, this is your President speaking, (writing actually) to introduce your Board of Directors for the 2003-2004 HUG year. Those of you that attended the 2003 Annual Conference (shame on the rest of you, it was a great conference) saw the election of Candy Retamoza as Secretary and Dominick Fiorentino as President-Elect. Dominick and Candy were elected over a very qualified field of candidates. Steve Meyers, who did an excellent job in the position I currently hold, returns to the Board as Past-President and Shelley Carmichael, returns as Treasurer. As our Secretary from last year was elected President-Elect, we had two openings for the position of Member-At-Large. This is a Board-appointed position that serves to round out the talents and interests of the Board. We had a large pool of applicants, but we could only pick two. After careful consideration, the Board chose Richard Bass and Robert Girndt as Members-At-Large.
Please join me in welcoming our new Board of Directors for the 2003/2004 HUG year. I look forward to the great accomplishments that can be made with such a talented and dedicated group of volunteers.
Detailed contact information for each board member can be found at our website.
Larry Nicolette, HUG President
Most of the meetings of the HUG Board of Directors occur on conference calls throughout the year. The exception to this is an annual meeting held at the site of the next Annual Conference, usually in August. This year, HUG conducted its annual meeting in Orlando on July 28 and 29, 2003. Our new Board of Directors, representatives from SunGard HTE, our contracted Audio/Visual provider, and our Meeting and Management provider attended this meeting. Our annual meeting enables us to work together intensely to review the previous Annual Conference, plan the current goals and direction of HUG, and work on the following Annual Conference. Some items from the meeting that will be of interest to you as a member of HUG are listed below:
- We signed a contract with the Wyndham Anatole for the 2007 Annual Conference. We made this move as it enabled us to recoup some of the losses we incurred in 2003 as a result of an attrition penalty caused by the sluggish US Economy.
- The Board of Directors has entered into an agreement whereby Jim Windsor will continue to provide some of the services that were outside of his position as HUG Past-President in relationship to the HUG website. This will enable us to keep providing a valuable tool to our users while allowing the current Board of Directors to focus on immediate key issues for HUG.
- We will be requesting a by-law change in order to re-configure the terms of the Secretary and Treasurer. We feel this will aid in the audit process.
- Dues have been set at $150.00 for the 2003/2004 HUG year.
- There was an overwhelming response rate from the survey from the 2003 Annual Conference. As a result of the Survey:
- We were able to incorporate some of the facility concerns into the contract with the Wyndham Anatole for the 2007 Annual Conference.
- We plan to offer more user-lead sessions.
- There will be more labs at the 2004 Annual Conference.
- We will put into place a better registration and monitoring system for the labs at future conferences.
- Voting for ERs will be moved to before the Annual Conference. This will enable more focused discussions of ERs at the Annual Conference.
- The distinction and relationship between the RUGs and HUG was discussed at length. We are going to support the direction that the RUGs be concentrated on end-user training while HUG will focus on product direction and system management.
The above points are just highlights of a few of the topics we discussed and our planned actions and directions. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on information about the doings of HUG. Please keep our activities in mind and give us feedback and consider volunteering time, either on the National or Regional level, in order to help us reach our goals.
Candy Retamoza, HUG Secretary
The results are in! The 15th Annual Hug Conference, "Technology that Rocks" was a huge success!! There were over 1,000 conference attendees representing a large number of HUG organizations.
This was the first year the Conference Survey form was available on-line. An unprecedented 557 attendees, completed the survey form. The Board of Directors, at their meeting in August, reviewed the comments and wanted to share some of them with you:
"I enjoyed hearing about all the new things HTE is working on and partnering with..The shorter sessions allowed for more variety"..
The labs are great, but would like more..Learned more about what I could be doing with HTE..My appreciation goes to all presenters for all their efforts..I will be able to recommend applications we currently do not use..I especially learned a lot in the user-led and enhancement request classes."
Steve Meyers, HUG Past President
Of course, HUG is the national users group and the RUGs are the regional users groups, but are you aware of the differences between the annual HUG conference and the RUG events that occur each year? The HUG board, the RUG boards, and HTE have been hard at work to better define the differences between the HUG and RUG events so they will serve you better than ever. The result is that the primary objective of the regional events is to provide end user training on the current version of software, to the most people, at the lowest possible cost. HTE has really stepped forward to help us improve the regional events by providing more on site staffing, and support for hands on labs. Of course HTE works closely with each RUG to customize their event to best fit the needs of their members. Providing the opportunity for members to network with users from other agencies and to learn from their knowledge remains an important goal of the regional events too.
The primary objectives of the national conference are to focus on the future of the SunGard HTE products. This includes the entire Enhancement Request process, sessions and training on the features of future software releases, and executive sessions where HTE management staff discusses future strategies. Labs, sessions, and user presentations are aimed at a more advanced level. Of course, building face-to-face relationships with HTE staff, and the opportunity to network with other users is a key ingredient in the overall formula. The primary audience for the HUG conference tends to be decision makers, application owners, and more advanced users. Please join us at either or both and leverage your investment in the software you use every day!
Dominick Fiorentino, HUG President Elect
This year at the annual HUG conference in Dallas the HUG Board unveiled a new process of voting on Enhancement Requests. As with any new system the process had some flaws and thanks to you the HUG members providing the Board with feed back we have good direction on improving the process. At the summer Board meeting in Orlando we discussed with SunGard HTE some of the challenges you faced in voting (the 100 point issue, is it fair?), (the issue of the polls closing early in most of the time zones), (problems getting signed into the system), just to name a few. We are working to make the process smoother next year and yes the polls will stay open later next year!
As always you can contact any HUG Board member with questions, comments, or concerns on the Enhancement Request process. We are listening! Dominick Fiorentino, HUG President Elect, at dfiorentino@fwb.org.
Richard Bass, HUG Member at Large
We are looking for dedicated, committed Application Coordinators (AC's) for our new Enhancement Request cycle. If interested in serving or would like to know more about what an AC does, please contact:
Richard Bass, HUG Board Member who will be responsible for AC's. He can be reached at rbass@ashevillenc.gov or 828-259-5845.
Remember, this is your organization and you get out of it what you put in. I enjoyed being an Application Coordinator for four years.. It allowed me interaction with many new friends, as well as it was rewarding when the results of my efforts came at voting time.
I trust you will seriously consider this volunteer role.
Dominick Fiorentino, HUG President Elect
This year at the annual HUG conference in Dallas we had a total of seventeen different topics providing the membership with 34 user-led sessions. This compares very favorably with the seven user-led sessions we had at last year's conference. All were well attended and the presenters did a great job of showing us how the software works in the "real world" for their specific agency. The HUG Board of Directors would like to thank the presenters who volunteered to present at the 2003 Dallas conference.
With an added incentive provided by Sunward HTE the HUG Board is challenging the membership to expand the user led sessions next year to greater heights. You can earn a maintenance credit of $500 for your agency if you present. Ask any of this year's presenters how easy it was and I think you will agree that $500 for two one-hour presentations is some pretty easy money. It can really offset a big chunk of your conference expenses and may afford you the opportunity to go to the conference in these tight budget times.
The HUG Board would like to expand the user led sessions even more so we are soliciting your help. Please consider presenting at a user led session at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort the week of May 24-28, 2004. For more information on how you can be a presenter at a user led session contact Candy Retamoza, HUG Secretary at candy.retamoza@ci.stockton.ca.us or Dominick Fiorentino, HUG President Elect, at dfiorentino@fwb.org. Let's build on the success of the Dallas conference to make the user led sessions at Disney even better.
Robert M. Girndt, HUG Member at Large
The HUG Board of Directors would once again like to thank all of the volunteers who contributed their time and efforts to make the 2003 HUG Conference in Dallas a great success. Volunteers are the heart and soul of our conference and without them it would be very difficult to accomplish everything there is to do.
It's not too early to think about volunteering at the 2004 HUG Conference in Orlando. The HUG Board of Directors are seeking volunteers who are willing to devote a small portion of their time during the conference to ensure the conference is as well-organized and meaningful for everyone. Volunteers are needed in all areas such as registration, application coordinators and Board elections.
If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please go to the HUG web site at www.huginc.org, click on "Annual Conference". Click on the Volunteer Request Form under the 2004 Conference information. After you have completed the form, click on the Submit Volunteer Form.
If you have any questions, please contact Robert Girndt at rgirndt@ci.mocity.tx.us. Or, you may call him at (281) 261-4326.
Sweet Sixteen: License to Drive"
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Orlando, Florida
Monday, May 24 - Friday, May 28, 2004
Conference Hotel/Convention Facilities
This year's conference will be held at Disney's Coronado Spring Resort, located at 1000 West Buena Vista Dr., Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. (Once on Disney property, follow the signs for Coronado Springs/Blizzard Beach).
The Coronado Springs is Disney's newest convention facility, located near the Boardwalk, Blizzard Beach Water Park and the Animal Kingdom. It has a theme depicting urban areas of the Southwest and Mexico and is arranged around a 15-acre lake offering guest rooms arranged in three themed villages: The Ranchos, Cabanas and Casitas. All guest rooms are comparable in each of the three areas with coffee makers, irons, ironing boards, ceiling fans and wall safes as standard features. The resort has almost 2000 rooms, spread out over a large area, so if you would like to be in a certain village, you may request it (this doesn't guarantee that you will be in that area though). Casitas are nearest the convention center; Ranchos and Cabanas are near the large pool and play area. So, check with the reservations agent when you make your reservations.
This year, we will have "pargos"--special golf carts to take individuals around the lake at Coronado Springs to the Convention Center.
Upon arrival, all guests check-in at El Centro. If you do not have a car, you may either walk to your room or be escorted by a bellman. It is recommended, however, that you confirm the location of and distance to your room before making this decision. If you have your own transportation, you will be given directions to the appropriate parking area near your room, or you may request guidance and luggage assistance from Bell Services.
There are five swimming pools, a children's playground, nature walk, bike rentals, white sand beach, full fitness center, full-service business center, and a game arcade to keep individuals of all ages happy.
For restaurants, you can enjoy the festive Pepper Market (featuring a buffet where food is prepared before your eyes) and a small grocery store, where you can purchase food items; the Maya Grill (their gourmet restaurant); a poolside bar and grill; and Francisco's for hors d'oeuvres and cocktails.
All conference business sessions will be held at the Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center. For more information or to reach a hotel guest, call 407/939-1000. For reservations, please call 407/939-1020. Room reservations must be guaranteed with a deposit of one room night plus tax.
Our conference rate is $134 single or double. Hotel cut-off date for these special conference rates is: April 23, 2004
However, to assure room availability, we recommend calling for your reservation as soon as possible.
These special conference rates are available (based upon availability) 3 days before and 3 days after the official conference dates.
Parking:
Parking is complimentary at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort should you choose to drive in or rent a car.
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