By Mary Sheridan, Member at Large, Tampa PC users Group
mcpease@mindspring.com

Despite the threat of Wilma heading for the west coast of Florida, the FACUG fall conference was a huge success. We only had half of the people that registered for the conference in attendance. This was not a problem. The conference was well-organized, and the food was very good.

This is the second event that I have attended at the Shrine Temple in Sarasota. It’s a very nice place and less than an hour’s drive from home.

Because of my required attendance at the board meeting, I was not able to sit in on all of the sessions that were offered. There were round tables on how to get grant money, how to get programs, how to grow membership and many more. I heard many people discussing that eBay has become a “hot” topic for meeting presentations. I’m working on trying to get an eBay pro to give us a presentation at one of our future meetings.

Dave Gerber (past vice-president of the FACUG) has an online web site,

http://www.bitsandbytesradio.com. I tuned in on Sunday and it was quite interesting. His guest was the creator of an anti-spam program. He has a variety of guests and takes call-ins. You could even win software. Check it out.

At our November meeting, I will call for nominations from the floor and present the candidates for the December election. I encourage anyone who wants to help make our user group better and more interesting to consider being an officer. The tentative slate is president, John Witmer; vice-president, Kevan Sheridan; secretary, Doug Mullis; treasurer, Mike Hodges; and member at large, Mary Sheridan. If you have a nomination and are unable to attend the meeting, please email me at mcpease@mindspring.com.

The December meeting is Smart Computing and our annual Christmas Party. Everyone who has a special dish that they like either to make or buy, please bring it to the party. The club will provide something from Publix, probably finger sandwiches, and plates, forks and cups. Be creative and prepare to have a great time.

Happy Computing! u