Walnut Creek, California
COMPUTER CLUB of ROSSMOOR
2006
MARCH
Membership: 1011. Because so many residents and guests use the Club's two public computers at the Gateway Computer Center, the Club is installing a wireless "hotspot" at Gateway. Laptop owners may be able to sit outside of the Center and access the Internet. Comcast is the broadband connection, it is fast and the "hot spot" is FREE! This is one more service made possible by the joint efforts of Club Volunteers working cooperatively with Rossmoor's Golden Rain Foundation and the Acalanes Adult Education Center. A new projector has been setup in the classroom with a remote control. Paramount Technology in Concord, has been repairing some resident's computers and has proven to be very satisfactory. Tim Ly the owner, will provide us with flyers detailing his services and prices. Classes wll be closed for Spring break the week of April 1st. WiFi continues to be a hot item under discussion by the Club and GRF. The Kilobytes will be mailed the end of March. Julie Macksey is the editor and she does a great job.
JANUARY
Chuck and Bob Kneeland make housecalls and report that that requests for wireless service and help are increasing. The Club is aware of this and the board is working to make this available to members and residents. In the meantime, DVC offers classes and some Internet provides can help out. Jan Barnes is our new substitute teacher, Jeannie Taylor is teaching Internet and Workshops. Charlie and Mary Berger, teachers of the mouse class, put together a hand-out for students, which is very helpful and very much appreciated. Board meetings will be on Wednesday instead of Thursdays.
FEBRUARY
Membership 945. Sue Smith is preparing the Spring Class schedule and gave the board a preview. There will not be a Beginners Workshop in July as past attendance has been low. Charles Berger will not be able to do the mouse class in March and will be replaced by Mary Berger. Leonard to talk to Acalances about a class that would combine computers, cameras and video. Jim Bradley was complimented on his articles in the Rossmoor News. Don Ingenito reported on the growing interest in having WiFi in Rossmoor. A request for this has been presented to the GRF Board. The board approved up to $2,500 for the purchase of a projector for room A with 2 backup bulbs. The board also approved the purchase of a laptop computer to replace the Win.98 computer at the Computer Center for $1,500.
April & May
Membership: 1151.
The Club has a lot of different things going on at the same time. Many are done quietyly and out of public view. Just "keeping things going" takes a lot of effort, time, and work by many volunteers. Most Rossmoor residents, Club members and non-members, appreciate the help. A few want more than we are able to do. Now there are a few Rossmoor residents who complain that this Club has "designated club space" in the Gateway building -- space that they would like to have for their own clubs. The Computer Club does not have "designated space" in Rossmoor. Instead, the Computer Center at Gateway is a service center for all Rossmoor residents and guests. A place where they can get free computer help and advice five days a week. It is also where residents can get copies of their personal documents, for just five cents each. It is where they can use thir laptops, anywhere in or around the building, to get on the Internet for free with our new WiFi connection, which is paid for by the Computer Club, at no cost to Rossmoor. In addition two public computers are available and are in use most of the time.
Rossmoor benefits from these Club activities. When realtors show prospective Rossmoor buyers through Gateway, thei first stop is usually the Computer Center. Outside Rossmoor, in space provided by the Acalanes Adult Education Center, we have our Club Office, our equipment and supplies and two classrooms. That is where the Club does much of its work. That is where local seniors can learn to use computers.
While it might be more convenient for the Club to have everything together in one location, we are aware of the limited space within Rossmoor. Yet by working closely with the Acalances Adult Education Center, we are able to help more people in Rossmoor and in the surrounding communities. Everyone benefits from this partnership between the Acalanes Adult Education Center and the Computer Club.
August - September- October
Membership 1352
The picnic was a huge success. Letters of appreciation for prizes were sent to Damon & Drapers, Tice Valley Beauty Salon and Sparkling Cleaners. The Board members critqued the caterer and will consider other caterers in the future. Classes will resume on September 11th. Muriel Wyro would like a replacement for her position as Secretary. Marie Klos would like someone to take over the scheduling of the Volunteers at the Computer Center and also would like to train someone on the website as a backup. Jim Bradley would like to have a replacement as club correspondent. These positions have been held for many years and other members should take over these positions.
Due to increased costs the Board voted to cancel the Holiday dinner and show this year.
Sue Smith has done an outstanding job in assigning teachers and scheduling classes. There are seventeen seminars and three Word Processing classes in addition to some advanced classes. Mary and Charlie Berger ,the Mouse class instructors, requested to have all the computers in the classroom operation with the same program to avoid any confusion for the students.
We have very good teachers, the latest computers, and now we will be using a computer book to make learning better and easier. The book, "Welcome to the World of Computers," is designed for seniors. It is clear, non-technical and easy to follow. This book will be a valuable aid to studenst in the beginning and basic classes. It can be purchased at the Adult Education office for $20. A sample copy is kept in the classroom office.
The Board approved Pat Sinnott to be a Board Member. Pat is also assisting Len Krauss with his many office duties.
Donation of $520 have been collected from our housecall team. Jim Bradley made a motion that we set up a CD fund to purchase future anticipated equipment with an amount not to exceed $50,000.00. Motion carried. The October 13th Volunteer lunch was enjoyed by all. GeorgieEllen Smith played the organ and joined us for lunch. Hamilton caterers did a wonderful job of serving a delicious sit down lunch.
Gifts and certificates were distributed to all volunteers (75), and prizes were raffled off.
June & July
Chuck Howard and Bob Kneeland reported that house calls have increased. Chuck has added Don Gotthold and Debra Kass to their team. Debra helps with word processing problems. The fall class schedule is ready for printing. Sue Smith has the huge job of coordinating classes with Acalanes and the teachers. It was decided that pre-registration should be implemented to avoid overcrowding in the classroom. This will benefit teachers as well as students.. The board approved the purchase of a new computer to replace the old 98 PC at the Club office. The Club picnic will take place at Hillside on Thursday, August 10th. The Board approved the purchase of a computer for the new Walnut Creek library. The quarterly meeting was held in the Fireside room on July 13, 2006. The speaker was the franchise owner of Cartridge World in Walnut Creek. He discussed the benefits of refilled cartridges and besides refilling cartridges his company will also troublshoot printer problems. Muriel Wyro and Len will chair the picnic. Len has purchased a 19" flat screen monitor as the grand prize. Three volunteers will be assembling table decorations. Bob Caracristi and Don Ingenito were recommended to be on the Wi-Fi GRF committee in negotiations with Comcast for a new contract. The Access software program has been installed for the database records in the Club's office. Jo Jones and Muriel Wyro are setting up the membership database. Marie Klos will chair the volunteer luncheon on October 13th at Del Valle.
November and December
Membership: 1352. Persons unknown have misused the Computer Center copying machine. Multiple copies have been made causing an increase in ink cartridge replacement. The machine is now padlocked when the office is closed and an identifying logo will be printed on every copy made on the machine. Supervisor Gayle Uilkema, at the November General Meeting, spoke about the life-saving importance of the little red EvacPac when we have a major fire, earthquake or other catastrophe.
