From AshevilleLETS

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                        A s h e v i l l e L E T S
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                                                           April 6, 2007


Congrats to all of you: 261 LETS have been traded already; that's an
average of 6 per day. Not bad for a soft launch! There are currently
over 50 members and counting...

The Organizing Group is sending along this newsletter to keep you
updated on events and other important info. Please check out the Web
Updates in particular because the changes may affect you. Happy trading!

== Contents ==

- Events
- Web Updates
- Support Asheville LETS!


== Events ==

Aside from our weekly organizing meetings every Tuesday night at 6pm at
the WC Reid Center on Livingston Ave, we have the following upcoming
events:

4/12  |  8pm
Dance Party and Member Orientation
Dance Dance Revolution Benefit at Bobo Gallery 22 Lexington, Asheville
8pm new member orientation. 9pm DJs Olof, Raf and Bowie spinning fresh
funk, electro and sexy house grooves.
Check out the blurb in Mountain Xpress "Conscious Party",
http://www.mountainx.com/news/consciousparty.php
$5-10 donation

4/15  |  1pm
Seedling Swap and Potluck
1pm at Magnolia Park in Montford, Asheville (corner of Flint & Magnolia)
Bring extra seedlings, cuttings, bulbs, seeds, whatever to toss in the
pot, and go home with a bunch of beautiful new plants. No money or LETS
involved (just potluck food & plants!). There will be a new member
orientation later in the afternoon.

5/1  |  6pm
Member Orientation
Reid Center 133 Livingston, Asheville

6/2  |  2-5pm
Member Orientation
West Asheville Library

6/3  |  TBD
Member Orientation
Downtown Asheville (location & time TBD)

6/9  |  TBD
Public Launch Trading Event
Downtown Asheville (location & time TBD)


== Web Updates ==

If you have been using the Asheville LETS website, you may have noticed
a number of recent changes. We are working hard to resolve bugs and
expand the features offered. Significant updates include:

:: Offer & Want Subcategories - You can now refine your listings to
   help people find exactly what they need (eg. "Boots & Shoes" is a
   subcategory of the "Clothing" category).

:: RSS feeds - Create a "live bookmark" of the directory that will list
   the latest Offers & Wants. Just click the orange icon in the address
   bar while browsing the directory.

:: Member Profiles - Click a member's name to see a full list of their
   current directory listings.

:: System Overview - Check the front page for an up-to-date overview of
   system activity (# of members, # of credits exchanged, and avg. daily
   exchange).

In the run up to the public launch we will be continuing to expand the
site. You can also assist us by sending questions, comments and bug
reports to techsupport_ashevillelets.org.

Note on Contact Info: If you do not make a phone number public, members
with Paper Accounts (who don't have internet access) will not be able to
contact you to trade! So if you want your listings in the printed
directory, please share at least one phone number. You can do this by
going to your Account page, clicking "edit" on the left under "My
Account" and clicking the appropriate "Share" boxes next to your contact
information. The printed directories will not be distributed publicly,
only to Asheville LETS members.

Please note that you may now flag individual listings for print in the
paper directory by checking the "Print in Quarterly Directory" box just
below Pricing when you edit your Offers & Wants. You may have a maximum
of 4 Offers and 4 Wants in the printed directory.


== Support Asheville LETS! ==

If you are interested in supporting Asheville LETS, there are many ways
to do this. As a growing system, we welcome any assistance or expertise
any members can offer. If there are specific tasks you would like to
help with - food for events, fundraising, outreach, flyering for events,
tabling, Spanish translation, mediating, writing the newsletter, etc. -
please contact us at help_ashevillelets.org. We are developing a
volunteer list for those who do not want to become organizers, but who
would be willing to contribute from time to time.

The more organizers Asheville LETS has, the more we can do. We need
organizers to help with targeted outreach and to help us develop
accessibility for the Paper Accounts. We would like this system to be
just as useful for people without internet as it is to those with
internet. That may involve community boards to post recent listings, for
instance. Diversity is the strength of LETS. In order for us to
achieve a balanced system accessible to many communities, we need an
outreach group to strategize. Please consider dropping in on one of our
weekly meetings if you are interested in helping with any aspect of
system development.

We are interested in gaining nonprofit status through an umbrella
organization so that we can accept more donations. If any member can
help with this it would benefit the system.

The system has been financed by several small fundraisers and out of
pocket by organizers so far. Any cash donations would be appreciated for
covering costs like printing, PO Box, voicemail, postage, etc. In
addition to our mailing address, there is now a pay pal button on our
homepage for anyone who wishes to donate.

If you would like to kick in some LETS to support the System Account and
the all-volunteer Organizing Group, you may "gift" LETS to the System.
Just go to "Record A Transaction" on your Account page, click "I am
Sending LETS" to System.

We are also still looking for a filing cabinet.

And if you really want to support us... come to a fundraiser! Bring your
friends! Thanks!