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I've been a LOPSA member since 2013, and my new job in Providence, RI has allowed me to pursue starting a Rhode Island chapter of LOPSA.
Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts are close enough to Boston to make it easy to overlook them but not close enough to make it convenient to attend Boston events. We also have a business hub of our own with many large companies like Citizens Bank, United Healthcare, Meditech, CVS/Pharmacy, Hasbro and others having headquarters in Providence and nearby cities like Warwick, RI and Fall River, MA.
The first LOPSARI meeting will be on Thursday, April 10th starting at 6PM at the Swipely offices in Providence. We'll have free beer and pizza along with plenty of time to arrive and get situated before the talk starts. Our first meeting will simply be a meet-and-greet with a brief talk by me explaining what we need in order to form a full chapter and I'll also explain a little about our venue host, Swipely. You can RSVP through the Eventbrite link above and please bring a friend.
LOPSARI chapter meetings will be on the second Thursday of the month and the public is welcome to attend. (We are graciously mirroring many policies of the LOPSA-ETENN chapter) Anyone is welcome to talk so please email board@lopsaRI.org if you're interested. We can be found on Twitter at @LOPSARIorg and we have an Eventbrite page as well.