SUN CITY COMPUTER CLUB
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
DECEMBER 7, 2006, 9:00 AM
CyberCenter Meeting Room

The Meeting was called to order at 9:00 A.M. by Dick Smith, President.

Present

Peter Roll, Founder
Gael Miller, Past-President
Dick Smith, President
Dick Doane, Vice President
Linda Shanhouse, Treasurer
Linda Walke, Secretary
Dave Hanna, Communications Director
Peggy Uselton, Membership Director
Rex Davenport, Programs Director
Nelda McQuary, Special Interest Groups Director
Grady Manley, Training Director

Absent

Don Snapp, CyberCenter Director

Guests

Bill Buppert
Janice Manley

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Dick Smith on Nov. 10, 2006 to accept by e-vote and publish on the Computer Club web site the revised minutes of the Nov 2 Board Meeting. The motion was seconded and passed by e-vote.

Financial Report

Linda Shanhouse presented the November 2006 Financial Report. A motion was made by Dick Doane and seconded by Rex Davenport to accept the report. The motion passed. The Financial Report will be filed for audit.

Highlights:
DISCUSSION OF DIRECTORS' REPORTS RECEIVED BY E-MAIL

Communications, Dave Hanna

            Transfer of Webmaster Duties

As Peter will report later in this meeting, it has been decided to plan for a new "Second generation" Club Web site to ultimately replace the current Computer Club site. My desire to be replaced as Webmaster as my term of Communications Director expires coupled with the need to have the present Web site continue until the new site is ready require that a replacement Webmaster be found. Based largely on experience with the CA Web Portal team Peter has identified Meredith Mitchell and Art Schmidt as Webmaster candidates and they have agreed to help.

In mid November, I met with Meredith and Art to discuss arrangements for them to assume the responsibility for the existing Computer Club Web site. Both are experienced in Web site maintenance. Art is currently the Webmaster for the Sun City Texas RV Club.

Meredith offered to assume the primary responsibility for the site. He is willing to dedicate the time required to keep the site going. Art offered to assist whenever Meredith needs help. They both expect to participate in the second generation Web site project.

Gene Uselton was invited to attend the meeting to review his role in maintaining SIG Web site pages and Club mailing lists. Even though he was unable to attend, he has indicated that he is willing to continue his work if it is desired. The group agreed that Gene should continue. His access to the membership database and his experience in using MS Access to maintain the Mailing Lists will be valuable.

Since the meeting I have worked with Meredith to show him the process that I have used to maintain the site. He has done all Web sites updating since November 27 with me providing guidance as required. This has gone well and Meredith is now able to handle most tasks on his own. I have retained the responsibility for the 2007 election balloting for now but will keep him informed.

At this time it appears that we will meet the objective of having a new Webmaster for the existing Web site well before the end of December. I will be available to answer questions that may come up for as long as needed.

             Posting Member's Appreciation Notes on the Web site

Recently an email was received from a member expressing appreciation for the excellent Mentor work that Bruce Cottrill had provided. Darrylin Coleman, as Mentor Coordinator, forwarded the email to Bruce and sent copies to all other Mentors. Such letters are received from time to time; however there is no set policy about acknowledgment of Mentor appreciation. Darrylin is drafting a policy that will be presented for the Board's consideration in early 2007.

CyberCenter, Don Snapp (presented by Gael Miller in Don's absence)

The Community Association Board of Directors recently approved new fees for Rental of Facilities and the A/V Equipment Rentals. For exact wording, Refer to the SC Web Portal to view the Policy on the URL below:

http://www.sctxca.org/export/sites/default/community-association/governance-documents/docs/Facility_Reservation_and_Rental_Policy_-Mar._06x.pdf

We are primarily concerned with page 9-Appendix E. The CA rates for a laptop and/or a projector are $100 each with some scenarios for $50 or $75. The fee was raised from $50 for a projector. In the earlier fee schedule, laptops were not available.

Gael Miller and I met this morning with Tina Asklund who handles the A/V equipment for the CA and Cynthia Chapman who schedules the Room Reservations. We wanted to coordinate our understanding of Appendix A through D in relation to Appendix E. Some of the wording is suspect in being interpreted correctly.

Now refer to our Web Page: http://www.sctxcompclub.org/Policy/Equip_Policy.html

We are primarily concerned with the last page of our fee schedules that list the following:

A. Laptop-$25.

B. Projector-$25.

CEO (Certified Equipment Operator) furnished by the Computer Club - $20.00
CEO furnished by the using group - $0.00

Based on the new fee schedule issued by the CA, I recommend that we increase our fee for use of a Laptop to $50 and $50 for use of a projector. Additionally, if we furnish the CEO the fee would be $30. A CEO furnished by the using group would remain $0.00.

A motion was made by Rex Davenport and seconded by Linda Shanhouse that the Computer Club's fee policy be changed to reflect the revisions recommended by Don Snapp. The motion passed.

The Community Association only has one laptop and one projector. They will be scheduled on a first come, first served basis. Increased demand may create a number of requests to the Computer Club to use our equipment, primarily the projector.

As a matter of information, I have been asked by a number of individuals who are members of the Computer Club and belong to other Charter Clubs and Community Service Groups to be trained to use the equipment. I have no problem scheduling the training.

I have advised the individuals however that the equipment use training does not waive the charges for the equipment, only for the CEO training furnished by the using group. Some members assume just because they belong to the Computer Club the equipment charge does not apply.

I will work on a statement of our fees and services to those groups not in the Computer Club and will send it to those that are interested.

Membership, Peggy Uselton

The number of club members as of November 30, 2006              2,273
The number of new members who joined in November, 2006           68
The total number of new members who have joined in 2006           652

We now have 112.8% of 2005's membership.

Some interesting numbers:

Of our 2,273 members, 2,163 (95.2%) have given us an email address.
            690 of our members had Cox email in September.
            385 remain to be changed before the end of the year.
It has been a busy month for the monitors, the Weekly Update Editor, and your Membership Director!

Happy Note: Even though Rex Davenport will be retiring from our Board, he has agreed to continue as the MC for our New Member Receptions. Thank you, Rex.

The January 30 new member reception will begin at 10AM.

Programs, Rex Davenport

The next meeting of the Program Committee will be on December 12, at 4 PM, meeting room. We will welcome Jim Crutcher as the new Program Director elect and continue plans for 2007.

Special Interest Groups, Nelda McQuary

                    EBay - is up and running with Nancy Strayer leading; Al Gaskell assisting They had 20 in attendance in November, and only one other month this year exceeded that number - September with 22 present. They have requested a meeting time earlier in the day. The room schedule will be reviewed to determine a possible time and place.

                    Website Design - is on schedule now with Leader, Jerry Sivin. Their attendance in November was 11, but the December meeting is dismissed because the meeting date is so close to Christmas.

                    Quicken - we are really overwhelmed with the continued number of members E-mailing to be put on the Quicken SIG list. Jim Chapman is worried about Rooms 3 & 4 seating those that indicate they will attend the January 15th first meeting. Since there is no other meeting room option for that date, we hope not to be too crowded.

Total attendance to all SIG's in November was 214 without Digital Camera and Media Conversion reporting. There was no record of attendance to the Mac Koffee Klatch meeting; however MUG reported 41 attending, which is more than double their usual attendance. We think there was a computer glitch on the sign-in screen, and that the total is probably accurate.

Dick and Gael said that SIGs meeting outside the Computer Club Lab can take a computer on a cart to use for attendees' sign-in. This will be in addition to the equipment on a cart that will be used for presentations during the meetings. The two carts will be necessary so that one can be at the front of the room and the other at the back.

Training, Grady Manley

NOVEMBER CLASSES


Classes
No.
Enrolled
Basic Skills
Mac
Geneology
ProShow Gold
Quicken Basic

Total
4
3
1
1
1

10
30
8
1
9
10

58

             New Classes: The new Foundations classes are now on the January/February schedules. My sincere thanks and appreciation to the members of the task force who gave freely of their time and expertise to make this project a success. Members of the committee:
Grady Manley Janice Manley Gary Resnick Barbara Resnick
Bob Schroeder Dick Smith Gael Miller Jan Miller
Jodi Salyers Meredith Mitchell Nancy Strayer Yvonne Davenport


             New Quicken Classes - The first Quicken Basic class received a strongly mixed review. Both of the classroom assistants expressed to me some concern about the content of the first class. Five of the ten students stated in their evaluations that the subject matter was either too advanced or not what they needed or expected. The other 5 had some previous experience with Quicken and gave a more favorable evaluation.
I attended the second session to appraise the situation and discovered that the complaints were justified. I met with the instructor the following Monday to discuss possible changes. Consequently the December and January Basic classes have been cancelled. I am working with a new prospective teacher for an introductory class. Jim Chapman will continue to teach the Advanced Quicken class and direct the Quicken SIG.

             Proposal Regarding Classroom Software - Occasionally a teacher agrees to teach a class, but does not have the same software versions at home that will be used in the classroom. After a discussion of various ways to meet this need, it was agreed that allowing check-out of a laptop loaded with software duplicating what is to be used in the classroom will be tried.

             Appreciation Luncheon - Preliminary plans are being considered for our annual Appreciation Luncheon to be held in April. This year we would like to include both teachers and assistants, which will mean a maximum of about 60 people. I plan to contact Sodexho for some suggested menus. Gael, Dick S. and Dick D. will form a subcommittee to determine how much money can be allocated for this and other Club functions based on the 2007 budget.

OLD BUSINESS

Status of election of board members for 2007 - Dave Hanna reported that to date 37 votes had been cast on-line. The elections and where to vote will be listed on the weekly bulletin and at the next Monday meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

                    Georgetown Housing Authority request for Computer use training - In response to a request to teach basic computer skills to GHA housing residents, Peter Roll and Gael Miller will meet with Laura Massey to define their needs. Peter and Gael will report back to the Board with a proposal of the extent of the Computer Club involvement.

                    ProShow Gold SIG request to move from the Meeting Rooms - The relocation of the ProShow meeting place may make Meeting Rooms A & B available for another Computer Club SIG. At the same time, there may be a noise problem when the Computer Lab is open and if a class is in session. Alternative solutions to the problems and possibilities were discussed. The meeting calendar will be checked. At the same time, possible ways of sound proofing the door to the classroom will be investigated.

                    Computer Club classroom use for training other than SCTXCC classes - Presently the request for the use of the classroom was for email and web portal group email. Rex will meet with the group to determine specifically what their needs are. It is possible that the CA Web portal training will do. Rex will let Grady know what he finds out.

                    Introduction of Windows Vista to the Computer Club equipment and to Club members - As a result of current research and past experience introducing Windows XP, Peter had three messages for Computer Club members that are considering going to Vista. They are:

  • Do not buy a Windows Vista upgrade or a new computer equipped with Vista until it has been out for a few months - unless you have a need to do so for reasons other than just for Vista.
  • Do not go to Vista unless you are knowledgeable, willing and able to get along without help. In the case you do it on your own, please let our Mentors know about your experience and join them in helping other Club members with the transition.
  • If you go to Vista early, you will not be able to get much help from Computer Club Mentors about problems relating to Vista. The Mentors will need a few months to gain experience with it.

It was agreed that the Computer Club will upgrade and install Windows Vista (Home Premium) and Office 2007 on some of the computers in the CyberCenter Lab sometime toward the end of January. These units will be available for general use by Club members to gain hands-on experience with Vista. Monday meeting presentations on Vista will help inform Club members.

                    Second Generation Web Site - There is an agreement that it is time to replace the original Club web site with a 2nd generation version. The decision is based on the facts that (1) the original webmaster is retiring; (2) technology advancements have made available features not possible with the current software; and (3) there are several Club members who have experience with newer technology. Peter reported on a committee made up of Bill Buppert, Meredith Mitchell, Art Schmitt and Phil Lahmann who are all willing to work on this project. This team will meet with Peter and Dave sometime in December to determine the approach to be followed for the project. Peter stressed a need for special consideration to be given to the membership data base. It is critical to the smooth operation of the Club.

                    Wireless access in the Ballroom area and the Activity Center - Peter reported that wireless access points have been installed in the Social Center Ballroom and lobby; in the Activity Center atrium, lobby, meeting rooms 1-2, game rooms, and in the Cyber Center and Art Studio. He prepared a press release that can be posted, put on the weekly bulletin and sent through other communication outlets to Sun City residents.

                    Cox to Suddenlink migration for the CyberCenter - Migration is underway from Cox to Suddenlink. Peter will contact Suddenlink about the procedure of changing the Computer Club's account to Suddenlink as it is a little different from the typical residential account.

OTHER BUSINESS

                    Reorganization of the System Administrators Group - For the past 10 years, Peter has managed the SA group. Since the Club has grown and evolved in size, range of interest and technology, it is time for a restructuring of the SA group. In evaluating the responsibilities typically lumped under SA, Peter sees that too much responsibility has been heaped on too few people. He presented an outline proposal to even out the responsibilities among the Mentor group, the Lab Monitor group, the Training Director, the Hardware and Technology SIG and the Polich Koffee Klatch. These possible changes will be further discussed at the next SA meeting. He foresaw that the reorganization will be realized over two to three months.

                    MS Partner Program - Both Bill Buppert and Peter Roll are participating in the MS Partner Program. It allows them access to new software and information about new releases. Peter encourages more Computer Club members to become involved as Associates. Either Bill or Peter can answer questions about the program.

                    2007 Board Member's Photos - The incoming officers for the 2007 Executive Board should arrive at 8:30 for the next board meeting to have their photos made.

The next Executive Board Meeting will be 9:00 A.M. Thursday, January 4, 2007, at the Sun City CyberCenter Meeting Room.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 A.M.

Linda Walke
Secretary

The minutes were accepted on December 20th, 2006 by E-Vote