Williamsport Area Computer Club Meeting minutes I newsletter - November, 1996
Kathy Kolb, President, called the meeting to order, followed by an introduction of new guests. Last months meeting minutes were accepted as circulated.
Willis Beaver, Treasurer reported $64.00 in our account, having 15 paid members and a $5.00 donation.
Committees: Club Advertising I Awareness I Public Relations I Membership / Home Page: Joe Smertneck reported his dealings with the IRS regarding Non Profit status and tax deductions for those who donate items to the club as well as issues of the club making a profit. Bill Herald of Bloomsburg Area Free-Net stated his club handled the situation by obtaining a Federal EIN# for their non-interest bearing checking account. They do not have to pay taxes unless their revenue is over $1500.00 per year.
Kathy reported that our home site http://www.sunlink.net/wacc was updated to include more new links for the area. Kathy also read some of the feedback from wacc-chat. The wacc-announce mailing list (this list) is nearing 200 email addresses.
We have a list of 30 local AOL users to be contacted about the club. A volunteer is requested to do this. A logo was selected for the club by a unanimous vote. It entails a Computer with a hand reaching out of it holding a globe. To increase club awareness, we discussed issues of distributing newsletters, signs and possibly post cards to computer stores and libraries. Kathy made a motion to start advertising in the Sun Gazette once a month for 3 days under the computer section. Motion carried. Willis Beaver, Treasurer will place the ads. Mike Latcher volunteered to maintain a WACC-Chat FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file for posting on our club's home site. A request was made to maintain a club directory of members addresses and phone numbers. Kathy has prepared a web page to help do this. Willis will keep the Club database.
Computerfest: Dan Yoas and Joe Smertneck reported on a Computerfest they attended over the weekend. All of the items present were new, not used. RV Productions sent notice of another show in the Pittsburgh area.
John Yarosz reported a Computer Auction to be held Thursday, November 13 7:00PM at the Old Lycoming Fire Hall.
Computer Recycling (giving old computers new homes): Jack donated a Cannon Printer, Mike Latcher a 14" SVGA Monitor, and Bill Twadell brought in computer books (Internet for Dummies, DOS for Dummies, MS Office for Dummies, Excel for Dummies) and software. All donated books are available for reading.
Joe Smertneck reported the Club received a thank you note from the Children's Discovery Workshop and a mention in their newsletter for providing them with a working monitor to replace a broken one of theirs. The monitor had been donated to the club (it wasn't working) and repaired by Joe. Good going, Joe!
Help: (offering help to computer users who need it) Andy Hughes asked for volunteers for the JVB Computer Literacy Program for Seniors (Ages 50 and up). The Library has received 4 computers that will be available for this project. This involves one-on-one tutoring for Windows 95, MS Works Word Processing, Spreadsheets and Database and the Internet. Scheduling will be determined between the senior and the tutor. Please contact Andy (323-6055 landa01@csrlink.net ) for more info, to volunteer as a tutor, or to receive tutoring. Carol Fullmer, Alzheimer's Support Group, has received an offer to help her with her computer problems. Carol publishes an Alzheimer's newsletter. Thanks, Wayne!
Local BBS I ISP / Computer Retailer news: 8 people attended the tour at CSR UpLink last Friday. All were impressed by their setup. A PenNet user reported that PenNet users are unable to access the James V. Brown Library web site (www.jvbrown.edu).
Kathy updated us on the PUC decision to back down and grandfather ISP's until October of '97. Current Centrex Extend customers must register to receive grandfather statues. This will give the ISP's time to upgrade their systems so they will not be affected so severely. More info is available from the Small Business Advocate's office, and at http://home.ptd.net/~sjrubin/PA-ISP . Local Representative Brett Feese was especially interested in the PUC's action, and stated his office would take a stand on the issue. Thanks to everyone who wrote the PUC on this!
Programs: This month's program featured Bill Herald of The Bloomsburg Area Free-Net. The Free-Net is a non-profit community service project hosted by volunteers from 40 local organizations to promote communication in rural Pennsylvania. It is also maintained by its parent organization The Bloomsburg Telecommunications Consortium and housed in the Bloomsburg Town Hall. This service is free to all members of the region. Residents can dial 784-BAFN to access local information, Internet email, and the World Wide Web. It can also be reached via the Web at http://www.bafn.org BAFN is currently beta testing a discussion group on their server and will continue to grow, pursuing other upcoming opportunities to reach out further.
Susquehanna Communications has tentatively rescheduled their presentation for our March meeting. We will go to Benjie's for a holiday get together following December's meeting instead of a program. Adjournment: Meeting Adjourned.
Next meeting date: Tuesday, December 10, 1996 - 7 pm, Lycoming College Academic Center, Williamsport.
Williamsport Area Computer Club contact info:- home page: http://www.sunlink.net/wacc Kathy Kolb - 326-7529 (voice) - kkolb@kolbweb.com (email) Local BBS: Lycoming Link 321-6440 IRC channel Tuesday and Sunday evenings on irc.dal.net ( join #WACC ) wacc-chat mailing list- send a message to wacc-chat-request@sunlink.net with the word subscribe in the subject.