Brevard User's Group - Club History

Birth of a New Club

       In the beginning around 1979 there was a small group of TRS-80 computer users, which met once a month at the Satellite Beach Radio Shack store on A1A. This group was called the "Beach Users Group". The members soon out grew the small room in the store, and moved their monthly meetings to the Satellite Beach Civic Center. The room they rented wasn't much bigger, but it had two chalkboards, and plenty of privacy.
       Every meeting in this small room was filled with detailed instructions on how to program the TRS-80's, either with BASIC or Assembler language. In time, several of the members had written amazing little programs, many were in BASIC, which incorporated embedded Assembly Language (binary) subroutines. The members were talented, well educated, and eager to share their knowledge! The bonds of friendship, which were forged in that small room, will last forever!
       After a short time, a much larger group in the next room disrupted the meetings. The merger of three other computer groups generated much noise; consequently, the introduction of the IBM-PC in July of 1980, marked the end of the road for the Atari Group, Sanyo Group, and the TI Group!
       The other three groups repeatedly badgered the BUG Club's president, Mr. David Hixon. Eventually, Mr. Hixon and the BUG Club joined in the merger. The year was around 1983, and the newly adopted name became "Brevard User's Group". The newly formed club was again filled with enthusiasm and talent, which became an IBM based entity, with Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for each of the original clubs.
       In time, all the members fell in to the technology revolution. No sooner did a new piece of hardware or computer peripherals enter the market; the members rushed out to upgrade their new toys! This is due to the revolutionary new concept of "Open Architecture"; whereas, the computer would get a facelift by plugging in a new card, more memory, or something called a Hard Drive! As all of the earlier computers were either floppy or tape based, the concept of a large capacity, constantly spinning hard disk, made everyone happy!
       Another new feature now available, was the "MODEM". Even though Bell Labs invented it in 1958, the idea of telecommunications caught the interest of many members. Soon everyone was searching for telephone numbers of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), so they could dialup and go online to play games, chat, read news, or just to download files and programs! At first, the MODEM's were only 300 bps, and like all other hardware, everyone jumped at the opportunity to acquire a faster one! The new Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) modems were smaller, cheaper, and available as internal or external units. By 1980, MODEM speeds had reached 2400bps; four years later they were 9600bps.
       As the computer revolution spread across the globe, software for the new IBM computers began to surface, some as commercial products, some as Shareware (Try before you buy), and some as Freeware. This Shareware and Freeware software grew in popularity, as rapidly as Computer Clubs did. Many software authors began mailing their programs on floppy diskettes, to Clubs & Groups across the globe! Soon the BUG Club had an enormous collection of programs stored on 5 1/14" floppy diskettes. By 1982, the PC-SIG became a nation wide collection of Shareware & Freeware software. The BBS's were an excellent place to search for software to suit your needs. The Club's membership rose in to the hundreds, and once a month everyone would drag their computers to the meetings to make and share copies of choice software!
       Many years have passed, hardware speeds are in the gigabytes, monitors use millions of colors, and modems are now digitally connected to an international network of computers, known as the World Wide Web. The average member owns two or more computers, spends an average of 4 hours a day in front of it! Communications with family members around the world is merely child's play, as everyone is now accustom to Instant Messages and emailing at the click of a mouse button. Although the topics and computer related questions have changed, the enthusiasm to be part of the computers generation is still strong!

Welcome to the Brevard User's Group!

Established 1983

Below is a listing of all the members who have held an officers position in the Brevard User's Group from 1983 to date.

Club History
Year:	President:	Vice President:	Secretary:	Treasurer:	1st Member at Large:	2nd Member at Large:
1983
1984	Mike Walker	Jim Baker	Linda McCormick	Dick Taylor	Rod Williams
1985	Mike Walker	Dick Taylor	Linda McCormick	Don Collins	Rod Williams
1986
1987	Lee Jones	Greg St. Cyr	Diane Pearce	Dave Ryan	Paul Davis
1988	Jon Walker	Greg St. Cyr	Diane Pearce	Dave Ryan	Paul Davis
1989	Jim Grooms	Don Tate	Arthur Moyer	Nella Dionne	Randy Van Housen
1990	Jim Grooms	Don Tate	Arthur Moyer	Nella Dionne	Randy Van Housen
1991	Russ Loomis	David Dean	Arthur Moyer	Al Rollins	Bob Morton
1992	Russ Loomis	Davids Dean	Arthur Moyer	Al Rollins	Bob Morton
1993	Donal O'Sullivan	Bonnie Lizer	Bob Schmidt	John Wood	Bill Ranck
1994	Bob Schmidt	Kevan Scoble	Horace Browne	John Costellie	Rex Cummings
1995	Bob Schmidt	Richard DeSaulnier	Horace Browne	Geri DeSaulnier	Rex Cummings
1996	Bob Schmidt	Richard DeSaulnier	Horace Browne	Geri DeSaulnier	Rex Cummings
1997	Richard DeSaulnier	Bill Ranck	Horace Browne	Geri DeSaulnier	Rex Cummings
1998	Bill Ranck	Frank Miller	Darryl Trapp	Mary Alice Grant	Rex Cummings
1999	Bill Ranck	Frank Miller	Darryl Trapp	Mary Alice Grant	Rex Cummings
2000	Bill Ranck	Larry Wood	Darryl Trapp	Ted Glaser	George Rymer
2001	George Rymer	Larry Wood	Darryl Trapp	Ted Glaser	LaVerne Schamberg	Charles Principato
2002	George Rymer	Larry Wood	Mary Alice Grant	Ted Glaser	LaVerne Schamberg	Charles Principato
2003	George Rymer	Eric Arnold	Mary Alice Grant	Ted Glaser	Jim Townsend	Dave Hixon
2004	George Rymer	Jack Nash	Joan Hefter	Peter Lehotsky	Tom Wojnar	Dave Hixon
2005	Larry French	Lester Cassel	Joan Hefter	Peter Lehotsky	Terry slane
2006	Larry French	Lester Cassel	Erich Dalton	Tom Butler	Dan Wadler
2007	Larry French	Lester Cassel	Erich Dalton	Tom Butler	Dan Wadler
(If you know which members held office, please send the information to the webmaster.)

Brevard User's Group - Club History

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