Community Focus - September 1998
From the Desk of Darreck Lisle, User Group Coordinator

I would like to take this opportunity to say hello to my fellow Amiga users and personally thank you for making 1998 a very exciting and eventful year. A year ago, I released an open letter expressing my excitement for this upcoming year, and as you have seen, my predictions were right on target!

I have had the privilege of attending several well organized shows. They have been out right fun! All of them have experienced increased attendance! This makes me feel great and makes the show organizers very happy.

Bob Scharp, and his lovely wife once again organized the March Gateway Amiga Show in St Louis. It was a pleasure to work with Bob and everything ran very smoothly. He has given me information on next year's show that should please everyone. Now if Bob can just figure out how to make time to enjoy the show himself and not work so hard. :)

The London show, World of Amiga, followed St. Louis in May. Peter and Nora are friends from way back and it was easy to see by how well things were organized that they truly read each others minds. Of course all my needs were last minute!! Thank you two for everything!! I am looking forward to seeing you next year.

Canadian users were treated to an Amiga show after a four-year dry spell. Thom Miles put on a very classy show, the International Amiga 98, in a beautiful Toronto hotel. It is my understanding that next year's show will be held in the same location. The name of the show says it all. Many countries were represented and a lot of Amiga merchandise was sold. I took advantage of some very good deals for my own Amiga 2000.

Sacramento was my next stop and again I was pleasantly surprised by this group's first show, held in July. By noon on Saturday all 500 show badges had been handed out. Attendance was more than twice what they had predicted. I had the pleasure of meeting some very respectable developers and celebrities. Due to the breakneck pace of negotiations with future partners, Jeff Schindler, General Manager of Amiga,Inc., and Allen Havemose , Head of Technology and Development, were not able to attend. Bill McEwen, Head of Marketing, filled in and opened everyone's eyes to the volatile nature of this industry.

Shortly after, the MOD Party put on by the Atlanta users group, Amiga Atlanta, was a work of art! Three rooms full of Amigas and video equipment were enough to bring a tear of joy to any Amiga user's eye. Donna Wilkinson, a member of the Atlanta Group, out-did herself by creating a wonderful feast, and she needs to be commended for her hard work! She worked her magic. I tried to put a dent in her buffet, but the food just keep coming and coming! Sorry for trying to sneak a plate early--I was caught!

The Columbus Midwest Amiga Exposition in October is my next stop! Dave Pearce and Ron Black are working closely with me and their show is shaping up very nicely! The whole weekend will be exciting and fun filled. The hotel (the Columbus Hyatt) is nicer this time and so far over 30 vendors have confirmed that they will attend. Good work guys!

The grand daddy of all shows is of course Computer 98. It's impossible for most North American users to attend the show in Cologne Germany, but believe me the trip is worth it. Petro Tyschtschenko, Managing Director of Amiga International, personally oversees this professional show and he does it with style. Users from all over Europe flock to attend this 3-day event. Axel Kraemer makes sure everything is up and online for the Amiga booth. He sure has his hands full this year. Petro works long hours to make this show a reality so when you see him, thank him for all of his dedication.

Before I go there are a few people that deserve recognition:

Wayne Hunt, Bill Borsari, Robert Hamilton, and Tony Meese of the User Group Network for their fantastic work in creating online resources for Amiga user groups globally, Gary Peake of Team Amiga for his excellent efforts in Amiga developer public relations, and Allan Crandall of Team Amiga and the Jay Miner Society, for fostering a superb west-coast Amiga presence in the AmiWest 98.

These gentlemen are the some of the most visible out of the Amiga Community but certainly not the only important ones. I could make a 3-page list and still not scratch the surface of all the people making a difference. You know who you are and I salute you! Without you there would be no Community or Amiga.

I quote Jeff Schindler when I say this, "We consider every user, developer, and retailer part of the Amiga Team." I consider everyone family.

Good luck to everyone and I hope to see you at the upcoming Amiga tradeshows.

Darreck Lisle
Amiga, Inc.
Amiga since 1988