Case Studies: How We Started Our Community Computer Networks
Chair, Gary Shearman, Victoria Free-Net
aa001@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
Gareth R. Shearman is a founding member of the Victoria Free-Net, Chairman of the Victoria Free-Net Association since its formation in 1992, President of the British Columbia Free-Net Association, and a Board member of Telecommunities Canada.Michael Gillespie, Blue Sky Community Networks, MB
michaelg@freenet.mb.ca
Michael Gillespie has been involved in the broadcast, communications and computer industries for the past 20 years. A strong leader and founder of many community groups in Canada, Mr. Gillespie believes the Blue Sky Free-Net has a role to play as an educational tool in Manitoba. Among his other credits, Mr. Gillespie is the founding director of the Blue Sky Free-Net, a founding director and Secretary of Telecommunities Canada, and is the president of the Gray Research Group.Garth Graham, Ashton, ON
aa127@freenet.carleton.ca
Garth Graham has been active in the telecommunities movement for a number of years, presenting papers and maintaining the Canadian community networks directory for Telecommunities Canada. He lives in Ashton, Ontario.
Financing Your Community Computer Network
Chair, Peter Thompson, Victoria Free-Net
thompson@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
Peter Thompson is a founding member of the Victoria Free-Net and Treasurer of the Victoria Free-Net Association since 1992. He works as a reference librarian at the Greater Victoria Public Library.Karen Botan, Blue Sky Freenet of Manitoba
botan@freenet.mb.ca
Karen Botan is the President of Blue Sky Free-Net. Ms. Botan is also a member of several advisory boards, representing the interests of all Free-Net and Internet users in the province. She is the Self Employment Assistance (SEA) Coordinator for the Federal Business Development Bank (FBDB), Winnipeg Branch. In this capacity, Ms. Botan has helped hundreds of Manitobans create their own businesses. She is also a 2nd year MBA student and a 5th level CGA.Jon Hall, Edmonton Free-Net
jonhall@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Jon Hall has over 20 years of work experience managing not-for-profit groups and associations. Mr. Hall supervised the design, development and implementation phase of the Edmonton Free-Net, Alberta's first Free-Net. Currently he is assisting rural communities in the province develop their own community networks. Mr. Hall is trained in both Business Administration and television production, and has 10 years of experience working with the media. He is a well-respected speaker and makes frequent presentations on such subjects as association management, board development, volunteer recruitment and community networking.
Information Providers and Public Relations
Chair, Richard Baer, Victoria Free-Net
rbaer@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
Richard Baer is a Librarian at Camosun College and has been active on the Internet since 1991. He was part of the Victoria Free-Net organizing committee and is presently on their Board of Directors. In 1994, he set up the Camosun CWIS using Gopher (GN flavour) and is working on assembling information for the college's World Wide Web site this year. He teaches introductory Internet courses.Dr. Syed M. Padsha, Edmonton Free-Net
padsha@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Dr. Syed Padsha, a retired Professor of Physiology with teaching credits in three continents, is a charter member and active participant on organizing committees of the Edmonton FreeNet.Ronald Wyllys, MAIN (Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network)
wyllys@fiat.gslis.utexas.edu
Ronald E. Wyllys has been active in the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network in Texas since its formation in 1993. He is currently the Treasurer of MAIN and was on their initial Board of Directors. He also serves as MAIN's Gophermaster. To earn a living, he works as Professor of Library and Information Science in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests center on advanced information technology, and in particular database-management systems and natural-language processing for information storage and retrieval. He is a co-author with L. F. Carter et al. of National Document Handling Systems for Science and Technology.
Technical Session
Chair, Campbell Good, Victoria Free-Net
cgood@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
Campbell Good has 15 years experience as a UNIX system administrator both in the private and public sector. As an independent consultant, he has worked on numerous UNIX systems ranging from PDP-11's running Bell Lab's UNIX Version 7 to today's multiprocessor servers. Currently serving on the Victoria Free-Net board of directors and as chair of their Technical Committee, Mr. Good has been involved in the Victoria Free-Net since its inception. He is also a principal of Cumberland Computer Group Ltd.Paul Bruch, Victoria Free-Net
pbruch@pinc.com
Paul Bruch is a professional telecommunications consultant whose specialty is Wide Area Networks. Mr. Bruch's background includes extensive UNIX, LAN, WAN and large site administration skills. His company, West-Net Consulting Services Ltd., was a founding member of Pacific Interconnect Enterprises Inc., established to provide knowledge-based services in the network computing field. Over the past four years, Mr. Bruch has worked as a system administrator and analyst at the Education Technology Center of B.C. and many of his network development strategies have been implemented successfully at the Ministry of Education, B.C. Systems Corporation and elsewhere.David Trueman, Chebucto Community Network, NS
david@cs.dal.ca
Quick to take advantage of new technology, David Trueman has made the Chebucto Community Network of Nova Scotia a leader among Canadian community networks. The innovative Chebucto network bases its entire delivery on World Wide Web protocols, and is the first community network in Canada to provide public access terminals via interactive cable television technology. Mr. Trueman is the Systems Manager in Dalhousie University's Computing Science Division.If you would like to make a presentation at one of these panel sessions, please contact David Mattison NO LATER THAN JULY 1, 1995 at mattison@freenet.victoria.bc.ca.