Welcome to new members, planning

[Syd Bauman]

27 Jan should be fine for conference call for me, too.

While the idea of a trip to Gent is *very* intriguing, and I hate to
be thought of as a bean-counter, I feel compelled to remind the group
that the TEI-C is currently very underfunded. Until we get more
members[1] we should really consider cost when choosing a meeting
place.

The members of the Council will, as of 2004-01-01, be (I think):
   [Syd Bauman]
   Alejandro Bia
   David Birnbaum
   [Lou Burnard]
   Mathew Driscoll
   David Durand
   Julia Flanders
   Sebastian Rahtz
   Laurent Romany
   Susan Schreibman
   Natasha Smith
   Edward Vanhoutte
   Perry Willett
   Christian Wittern
That's 7 from North America, 5 from Europe, and the Chair from so far
away it doesn't matter. All of the North Americans are from the east
coast of the USA (although Indianans might not like to hear that :-)
and, if my European geography is up to the task, all of the Europeans
are reasonably close to Belgium (closer, e.g., than Natasha is to
me). Given, then, that we're probably talking 7 cross-the-pond fares
plus 4 relatively inexpensive intra-European fares vs. 5 cross-the-
pond fares plus up to 7 possibly more expensive intra-USA fares (not
to mention it is probably easier & cheaper for CW to get to Europe
than east coast USA), I'm inclined to say that the costs are likely
to be close enough that Gent is a go.

So, at least for the moment, I'm in favor of Gent.

<p>Notes
-----
[1] And remember, membership recruitment is everyone's business! If
    you have any leads or know of potential member institutions, send
    mail to info at tei-c.org (or have someone from the institution send
    the mail).