This begins the first of hopefully a long segment entitled, “UG News,” where I highlight or announce something cool that a DotNetNuke User Group is doing somewhere in the world. Please send me any UG news that you might have, and I will try to include it into a newsletter for you, but I will also highlight it here as well.
This bit of news comes out of the “Windy City” or Chicago as most of the world knows it. Their members had a rather unorthodox trip to the zoo, where they met and became friends with a member of the animal kingdom. Don Gingold tells us more…
On July 10, the Chicago Area DotNetNuke User Group (CADUG) enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour at Lincoln Park Zoo which was arranged by fellow member Edward Wilkerson who is a software programmer at the Zoo. Wilkerson and a zookeeper took CADUG members and their families into the Regenstein African Journey exhibit. Ricko, a young black rhinoceros who moved from Birmingham last year for mating purposes, good-naturedly came out of his outdoor pen and into his stall to meet his fans. He even let people pet him while the zookeeper fed him carrots.
CADUG also had a tour of the DotNetNuke website Edward has built for the Zoo. Because of Avian Flu, West Nile and other diseases that affect both animal and human populations, the Zoo Animal Health Network was created to help identify and prepare for animal health issues. Lincoln Park, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the USDA developed a network to record data and monitor disease trends. The amount of information they collect is staggering and they also use the website to process data and generate reports. If an outbreak occurs, DotNetNuke will be the first to know!
The Chicago Area Users Group meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month in Downers Grove in addition to attending occasional field trips such as this one. The Users Group is open to the casual user of DNN as well as developers of DotNetNuke.
The CADUG has posted some great pictures on their website too!
Would you like to join the CADUG? Find them in our user groups area, right here on the DNN website!
Join the Chicago Area DotNetNuke Users Group
That sounds like a lot of fun! What is your user group up to? Shoot me an e-mail and tell me about it!