APCUG Reports
January-March 2008

The Computer Operators of Marysville and Port Huron (C.O.M.P.) in Michigan (www.bwcomp.org) does and it’s located just 11 miles away -- the Sandwich Computer Users Group in Sandwich, Illinois. To avoid having the same presenters month after month, C.O.M.P. has approached its sister user group about exchanging presenters to provide new faces and ideas to each membership. Each group will discuss this idea further at their respective Board meetings.

C.O.M.P. celebrated their 25th anniversary this year and their Board of Directors is working to create new by-laws for the Club. The document is being created on Google Docs where all the members can see its development and add comments or suggestions.

The C.O.M.P. Board members try to make membership in the club a great experience in two very different ways. First, they work to provide the members with worthwhile presentations to help keep them abreast of new gadgets and software in the computer industry. They want to make their members’ life with a computer a more satisfying experience. Secondly, the Board has long realized that the membership gathers for social reasons as well as technical growth. Hence, many of their activities are promoted with more emphasis on the friendship than on the technical. Before each Club meeting, many members gather for dinner at the Four Star restaurant. This is a long standing tradition known as the Pig SIG. This get together is a purely social occasion. After each Club meeting they have the Donut SIG, a trip to the Marysville Tim Horton’s. New on the 2007 agenda was the weekend brunch. In June they shared a meal at the Old Country Buffet and in early October they met at the new Golden Corral. These gatherings allow the members a more intimate time with each other and the restaurant setting is far more conducive to conversations than is the formal Club meetings. The C.O.M.P. Board is hatching another idea for both a social gathering and a public service act to promote ourselves to the community. The idea grew out of the success of their first Explorer SIG meeting in September when they had 11 members attend a presentation on how to build a computer. It occurred to them that there is a lot of interest in learning how to manage the hardware and also that the members might have older computers laying around that either need repair or, with a little work, could be made usable for someone else. The plan would be to set a morning on a weekend when members could bring their hardware to one of their homes and then, over a shared meal, build these computers and donate them to the Michigan Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired. They take in older computers and set them up for blind people who utilize them to access the Internet. The Council has software that reads the screen and guides the user while acting as an internet browser. Furthermore, they could publicize the event, presenting their Club as a concerned community group. Some of their members have built many computers and have a stash of working hardware and the skills to replace parts and get these machines running. Members would also learn a lot by doing hands on work while enjoying the socializing with each other. A bring your own meal with coffee and desert provided doubles the pleasure.

SCUG (Sandwich Computer Users Group) FKA the Sandwich Commodore User Group – you might want to check out the 1985 newsletter on their newsletter page (www.scug.org).

The December meeting was SCUG’s annual Christmas Party. SCUG provided meat, drinks and table service; members were asked to bring a dish to pass that fed 8 to 12 people. The party featured a gift exchange and members were asked to purchase a gift with a value of $10 with no white elephants. Santa Claus had something for each membership; dues needed to be up to date to receive the Santa gift. They also had their special raffle to supplement the Christmas Party expenses. The raffle items consisted of donations of time or talents from some of their members. Members could place their $1 raffle tickets into the bag beside any raffle item.The raffle was conducted in September, October, November and at the beginning of the Christmas Party in December. The winners were drawn at the party.

One of their members was just about out of labels and found the best price was by purchasing a large quantity. He offered some of the labels to members in smaller quantities as a Group Buy.

I’ve found only one other group that has recipes on their website. Visit www.scug.org, click on the Recipe tab, and you will find all kinds of recipes! They even have a Treats tab that features the latest treats served at their monthly meetings and SIGS. (The Wild Blueberry Muffins look yummy! And then there’s the Donut Muffins. How about a cookie salad?)

On the technology side, SCUG has had presentations on MS Publisher 2007 (thanks to the Mindshare group for providing the groups with a copy), Windows Media Player 11, backing up photos to a CD, and Open Office. They are looking forward to the Web 2.0 presentation in January.

It looks like these sister computer clubs not only feature technology but social interaction among their members – one sure way to have members get to know each other and just not be people who come together once a month to hear a presentation. Does your group have any social activities? If not, you might want to consider a PIG SIG either before or after the meeting as a way for members to get to know each other in an informal atmosphere. Some clubs (Idaho & Colorado) have a monthly breakfast get-together on a Saturday morning, one group in California has field trips , a group in Louisiana has pizza and social time prior to their monthly meeting – the ideas are almost endless.