Free Y2K Grass Roots Action Plan
From: Halopjw@aol.com
Return-path: <Halopjw@aol.com>
To: JASteiner@aol.com
Subject: Free Y2K Grass Roots Action Plan
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 20:05:24 EST
October 20, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact P. J. Wylie E-mail: Halopjw@aol.com
Harambee! Year 2000 Action Pack supplies needed info for critical last quarter
of 1998
THORN TREE PRODUCTIONS announced today an updated version of its free
Harambee! Year 2000 Action Pack. The Action Pack, which provides information
and a grass roots action program for businesses, governments, and community
action groups, and individuals, has already received praise from several
quarters. "A group in Oregon asked to include the Action Pack in a
community
packet. An author of a new Year 2000 book will be including it as an
Appendix," says P. J. Wylie, the Action Pack's author. "People
use the Action
Pack for information and direction. A small business can find out where
it
stands in the over-all scheme of Year 2000 problems, and what it needs to
do
to become compliant."
The Action Pack lists approximately 90 web sites in the categories of
Background Information, Business and Communications, Government, Utilities
and
Petroleum, Community Action Groups, Schools and Universities, Books, Technical
Links, and International Links. Suggestions are given as to how best to
spread the information. One suggestion: be polite. Ms. Wylie states, "I've
seen a lot of e-mail from frustrated-sounding people who are asking if their
utilities are compliant. I figured giving a hint that courtesy is practical
might persuade a few people to pocket their harsh words before asking
questions."
"'Harambee!,'" she adds, "is the Swahili word for 'Let's
work together!'
Working together harmoniously is the only way we are going to solve the
Year
2000 problem."
Ms. Wylie firmly believes the priority this last quarter of 1998 is to move
small and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) towards compliance by
the
end of this year. "SMEs are entrepreneurial. If they are complaint,
they can
spend 1999 figuring out what will sell in the year 2000 and they will be
there
to provide it. But if they're not in compliance, they'll be chasing their
tails in 1999 -- and we'll be kicking ourselves for not having done more
in
the last quarter of 1998 to get them into compliance."
Ms. Wylie had a personal motivation in writing the plan. "I wrote some
of the
code back in the 60s and 70s that is now a problem. I figured the best use
of
my technical skills now was to find the best web sites and give some hints
on
how people can use the information that is out there."
The Action Pack is located at www.russkelly.com/actionpack. It is provided
by
as a public service by THORN TREE PRODUCTIONS, a Los Angeles-based film
production company.