by Tom Piper
January 24, 1984, was the start of something big as the one-time award-winning “1984” SuperBowl commercial announced the release of the Apple Macintosh . . . thus began the changing of our world by the guys know as Jobs and Wozniak. As a five-year veteran Apple ][ user, I couldn’t resist the allure of this magical new box, which became mine in February after seeing it in person in Kansas City. Soon after, I moved from Iowa to Jefferson City, and by the end of the year had joined with other early-adopters to form our self-help group.
As we launch our efforts for this year, the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group Board of
Directors has many things that it will be considering for our activities. Our membership has dropped below 50 people for the first time in many years, and we chuckle about the “graying” of our membership because the average age seems to be older (I just celebrated the 21st anniversary of my 39th birthday myself). So, I will be proposing a major membership drive this year to make more Mac owners aware of our excellent user group opportunity and services. As you have probably also realized, many Mac users (particularly new switchers) aren’t even aware that we exist, and how would they easily find out. As a result of Julie’s ad one weekend after Christmas, we gained five new members, and she plans to run our monthly meeting in the News Tribune Calendar of Events as a regular feature. Our self-help efforts have benefited many in the almost 25 years since we started.
Interest has also been expressed in having another photo contest for the end of the summer, and bringing back our training courses for certain programs. At the last meeting, a variety of topics were suggested by members that will posted to our monthly meetings throughout the year. Our annual August picnic has always been well-attended, and everyone has suffered through the heat proclaiming that we either need to take the event indoors, or move to a cooler month, both of which we will consider.
Those who attended our last meeting probably also saw that we have a new Genie’s Bar on
the side of our seating area. This is a take-off on Apple’s “Genius Bar” where people get assistance to solve their computer issues. At our meetings, we’ve also seen our Mac Gurus provide advice to members informally, and now we have a distinguished location for them (not during presentations). We have also returned to the big screen for digital viewing, and will be experimenting with various seating arrangements for optimal interaction.
We will continue to welcome more participation in our presentations and leadership by our members. New faces and new approaches keeps our meetings fresh and fun (and keeps our old guard from burning out). We remain a friendly, industrious and interesting self-help group reliant upon the enthusiasm and creativity of our membership.
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