Queensland Ingres
User Group Inc.
 1997 Annual Report
(for year ended 31 October 1997)

 Annual General Meeting held Friday 5 December 1997

1997 has again proved a successful year for the Queensland Ingres User Group. The QIUG remains Australia's largest Ingres User Group with approximately 170 paid up members.

1997 Management Committee Initiatives

1997 has seen a number of initiatives implemented by the Management Committee to improve and evolve the service to you our members. These initiatives include a total re-write of the QIUG web site Features of this web site include:
  • Full details of Management Committee members
  • Our constitution in full
  • Diary of Events including an ability to RSVP on-line
  • Membership information including an ability to apply for membership
  • Links to other web sites of interest
The Management Committee also appointed a membership registrar, Mr Peter Morton, early in 1997 with the mission of improving the quality of our membership and mailing database. New membership forms were also been developed in an effort to raise the overall quality of service to our members. The Management Committee recognises that the membership register is a vital resource for the user group and as such we are committed to improving the processes surrounding its administration and maintenance. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter for the considerable time and effort he has expended in this role.

Membership

Membership for 1997 included 15 corporate memberships (each entitled to 10 voting rights) plus 19 individual members. Fees for 1997 remain unchanged from the previous year at $200 for corporate and $20 for individual. Our overall membership is marginally up on last years figures.

Meetings

1997 saw four meetings excluding the annual general meeting. Average attendance at these meetings was forty with the overall quality of presentations continuing to rate very highly. Presentations during 1997 included the following:
  • "New Features of OpenIngres 2.0" - Allen Taylor, Computer Associates.
  • "CA-Ingres in a 24x7 Environment" - Justin Carr, Queensland Police Service
  • "A2W – ABF to OpenROAD Conversion Tool" - Rameet Singh, Eden Technology
  • "Stored Procedure Secrets" - Noel Thompson, Thentec Pty. Limited
  • "Migrating Non-ABF Systems to OpenIngres" - Ross Hall, DTIR
In addition to these presentations, representatives from CA regularly kept us informed as to the latest developments within the world of Computer Associates. We met Mauricio Mesa who had been appointed state manager for CA here in Queensland. We also heard about the formation of the Information Management Group (IMG) within CA to bring focus back to Ingres and related products.

Changes to CA's Support of the User Group

The significant re-organisation within Computer Associates including the formation of the IMG brought with it a change in the relationship between CA and the Ingres user groups around the country. In an attempt to promote our independence, CA decided they would no longer sponsor our meeting venues and refreshments. To compensate however, CA provided the group with a $1,500 donation towards infrastructure costs.

As a result the user group has now shifted its usual meeting venue to the Queensland Health building in Charlotte Street. This has proved an excellent venue and on behalf of the members of the Queensland Ingres User Group I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Queensland Health and its social club for their generosity in making the venue available to us.

CA-EXPO 97

This year the presidents of the state based Ingres user groups participated in the organising of Ingres World at CA-EXPO 97. The event was well attended, and in my experience was one of the best-organised Ingres conferences I have attended. Credit for this success however must be attributed to the inexhaustible efforts of Trevor Mann and the rest of the EXPO team at CA.

Financial Results

1997 saw a strong financial result for the QIUG.

Profit and Loss Statement for period 01-Nov-1996 to 31-Oct-1997.
INCOME Membership Subscriptions 3,680.00
CA Funding 1,500.00
TOTAL INCOME $5,180.00
EXPENSES Member Funding 486.00
Printing, Stationery & Postage 387.26
National Committee Expenses 112.20
Post Office Box Rental 82.05
Prizes and Trophies 660.96
Meeting Expenses 1,670.00
Bank Fees 19.80
Accounting Fees 100.00
Insurances 206.15
Consumer Affairs 61.00
TOTAL EXPENSES $3,785.42
NET INCOME $1,394.58

Our balance sheet as at 31 October shows members accumulated funds at $3,381.46.

In closing I would like to thank the members of the management committee for their efforts during 1997 and to you our members I wish you all a merry Christmas and prosperous 1998 and look forward to your continued support of the Queensland Ingres User Group.

Malcolm Thatcher
President - QIUG