After Year of Growth, Association of User Groups Reorganizes
 
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
LAS VEGAS (Microbytes Daily News Service) --- The 4th annual User
Group Summit of the Association of PC Users Groups (APCUG) began
here last week after a year of growth and the formation of an
incorporated non-profit organization; the meeting ended amid mild
controversy over the selection of officers and concern over the
future of the organization.
 
Jerry Schneider, executive director of APCUG until the group
reorganized last week, noted that the association has grown from
46 member groups a year ago to 117 member groups today, including
users groups from not only the US and Canada but also from Japan,
Australia, and the Soviet Union.
 
Schneider also announced a new structure to APCUG that includes
not only officers and a board of directors but also a 15-member
user group advisory board.
 
The officers and board members will not represent any specific
users group, but will hold their allegiance to APCUG, according
to Schneider. Their objective is to bring computer companies
together with the multitude of users groups around the world. The
User Group Advisory Board will be made up of members of users
groups elected by delegates from member users groups. The
advisory group will help the directors set APCUG policy and
provide direction.
 
Some delegates to the User Group Summit expressed concern about
the lack of a vote by them for the directors and the direction
APCUG seemed to be heading. Despite some lively discussion, the
consensus of the group was to give the new officers a year to
show what they can accomplish.
 
Named as the first official officers of the organization were:
President: Roland J. Cole, a former officer of the Pacific
Northwest IBM Users group who recently moved to Ann Arbor from
Seattle where he was active as an officer in the Pacific
Northwest IBM PC Users Group; Secretary: Jerry Schneider, who was
executive director until incorporation; Treasurer: Larry Shaw of
Seattle and a founding member of the Pacific Northwest group.
 
Schneider also announced that the new board has set annual dues
for member groups at $25 starting with 1990. Previous dues
collected from non-charter member groups will be refunded as part
of the reorganization.
 
                              --- David Reed
 
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