The History of OMUG

by David Belles, OMUG Historian


2004-2005	2003-2004	1998-1999	1989-1990
2005-2006	2002-2003	1997-1998	1988-1989
2006-2007	2001-2002	1996-1997	1987-1988
2007-2008	2000-2001	1995-1996	1986-1987
2008-2009	1999-2000	1994-1995
		1993-1994
		1992-1993
		1991-1992
		1990-1991

1986-87
President: Brian Geppert
Librarian: Joseph Clements

1987-88
President: Wally Music http://www.geekline.com

1988-89

President Noel Baughman

The Olympia Microcomputer Users Group had its beginnings in 1986. The name of the group at this time was MS-DOS Users Group of Olympia. The group's first leader (referred to as both Chairman and President) was Brian Geppert, a high school student who was too young to have a driver's license so his mother had to drive him to the meetings. Brian started the group by running a free public announcement in The Olympian and ads on various BBSs (electronic bulletin boards accessed by modem).

At first the president/chairman was the only office and his basic duties were to assure a meeting place was reserved and facilitate the meetings. At some point during that first year the position of librarian was created and filled by Joseph Clements. The group offered a 5-1/4 floppy disk, "MUG Member's Disk," to members, it contained a welcoming message and various DOS-utilities, a list of local BBSs and national PC BBSs.

The original membership numbered about eight. DOS was the operating system of the day (as evidenced by the group's name), Windows still loomed on the horizon, and the general meetings were discussions of DOS related subjects.

Originally the meetings were held at the Olympia Library followed by various moves to accommodate changing circumstances and growth. Other meeting places during the first few years included the State General Administration Building and the Washington Association of County Officials Building.

At some point Terry Nickel created and began maintaining an OMUG BBS (a precursor of our home page and email reflector listserv) on his computer for which the group reimbursed him $200 per year.

1989-90

President: Bryan Hatchett
Vice President: Noral Baughman
Treasurer: Fred Booher
Librarian: Terry Nickel
Newsletter Editor: John Gerecht

In 1989 John Gerecht started the first OMUG newsletter. Called the MUG Newsletter it was published on John's Amiga, which was more suitable for such a project than any MS-DOS program then available. Though he was derided by other members for using an Amiga computer for a DOS user's group's newsletter, John was undeterred.

By March 1990, MUG was meeting at the Olympia (Senior) Center on Columbia Street.

In 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0 but even though it began to grow in popularity the majority of the membership refused to discuss the new operating system, believing DOS as the only subject worthy of discussion at the general meetings. One man, however, saw the writing on the wall (or the monitor, as it were) and realized that if OMUG were to grow and thus continue as an organization it must accept the new members Windows would attract. That man was Loren Freeman and to address the growing interest in Windows he started the group's first special interest group, the Windows SIG, which continues in popularity to this day.

1990-91

President: Bryan Hatchett
Vice President: Noral Baughman
Secretary: Juanita Hart
Treasurer: Fred Booher/Jim Remington
Librarian: Terry Nickel
Newsletter Editor: Loren Freeman

In 1990 John Gerecht left MUG to attend college. Loren Freeman took up the reins of newsletter editor and held the position for the next few years.

By 1990 the group was meeting at the then new Olympia Community Center. A list entitled "MUG MEMBERS AND RECENT ATTENDEES," attached to the June 1990 newsletter, contains the names, phone numbers and addresses of 37 people. The minutes from the May meeting indicates the group had a bank balance of $610.48 and the March 1991 newsletter indicates that dues were $12 per year.

A survey, reported in the March 1991 newsletter, showed some interesting statistics of the membership. 50 copies of the survey were distributed and 25 were returned. From those 25 copies, the following statistics were drawn: The average age of those responding was 56, the average length of time those members had been involved with computers was five years (several users went back to pre-PC days). Half were using PC-XT class computers, 35% had 386s, and 4% had 286s. Nearly all had a hard drive but only 65% had a mouse. 80% had a modem (but they hadn't been asked how much they used it) with Telix and Procomm being the models used. 16% (4 members) subscribed to Genie, 8% (2 members) to Prodigy, and 4% (1 member) to Delphi. The most popular programs reported were WordPerfect, PC Tools, Wordstar, Telix, and Xtree.

1991-93

President: Bill Bonde/William S. Emery/Albin Ennsthaler
Vice President: Noral Baughman
Secretary: Juanita Hart
Treasurer: Jim Remington/Bernadine Robertson
Librarian: Allen Brown
Newsletter: Loren Freeman

There seemed to be a rapid turnover in officers during this period. In July Allen Brown replaced Terry Nickel as Librarian and Bernadine Robertson replaced Jim Remmington as Treasurer in October. Bryan Hatchett continued as president through December 1991 at which time three co-presidents took office. By September 1992, Albin Ennsthaler was the sole president and there were no other changes until February 1993 when the newly elected officers took office.

The first mention of a group logo appeared in the March 1991 OMUG News. Terry Nickel asked members to submit ideas for the logo. The first group logo made its debut on the May 1992 newsletter masthead. It featured a mug (cup) with a large "O" and "MUG" written vertically within it. The logo continued in use into 1993.

Another suggestion by Terry Nickel (in the April 1991 OMUG News) was for membership cards. His suggestion was the cards would contain a photo of the member and could be used to get OMUG members only discount at participating computer and software dealers. Terry also suggested a "Who's Who in MUG" book, also with photos of members. While the cards (without photo) eventually became a reality, the "Who's Who" has yet to be realized.

The dues during this period were set at $12 per year, but in the December 1991 issue of OMUG News, Albin Ennsthaler stated, among other things, "I vote for raising the dues ton $18 per year..." This was eventually done, and, in 1998, the dues are a real bargain.

1993-94

President: Jeff Zuckerman
Vice President: Bill Apley
Secretary: Juanita Hart
Treasurer: Chris McCormick
Librarian: Allen Brown
Newsletter: John Gerecht

In 1993 a group of OMUG members, led by then president Jeff Zuckerman, wrote the group's first set of by-laws creating, among other things, the first Executive Board. It was at this time that the meaning of the "M" in OMUG was changed from "MS-DOS" to "Microcomputer."Under Jeff's leadership the group nearly tripled in membership, from about 30 to around 80 members. Jeff was also the first to affiliate OMUG with the Association of PC Users Groups (APCUG), he began the practice of consistently bringing in vendor presentations to the general meetings (and we're talking significant ones such as Broderbund and Intel). Jeff's contributions to the group were indeed significant and can still be seen in the way we do business today.

John Gerecht returned to the group and again became the editor of the newsletter, now named OMUG NEWS (although it was called MS-DOS NEWS in the May and June issues). John was now using the Windows program Page Maker for this endeavor.

1994-95

President: Bill Bonde
Vice President: Jeff Zuckerman
Secretary: Doug Ross
Treasurer: Chris McCormick
Librarian: Allen Brown
Newsletter: John Gerecht

In May 1994 the General Meetings moved from the Olympia Senior Center to Capital Business Machines.

Also in May, Rick DeJarnette merged his group, Chaotic Computer group, into OMUG and almost immediately became involved in the groups operation.

1995-96

President: Rick DeJarnette
Vice President: Thane Bryenton
Secretary: Don New/Lynn Kenyon (split term)
Treasurer: Chris McCormick
Librarian: Philip Latimer
Newsletter: Jeff Zuckerman

In March 1995 Jeff was elected newsletter editor and changed its direction from a dispenser of information to a significant membership vehicle containing member written columns, group news, SIG reports, and more. What Jeff started has remained a template for the newsletter to this day.

By August the group had outgrown its meeting site at Capital Business Machines. With a regular attendance of 40 to 50 members and guests the writing was on the wall. A new venue was found at the Bower Center (the old library building of North Thurston High School) on Sleater-Kinney Road in Lacey.

In October 1995 Jeff Zuckerman and Rick DeJarnette proposed to The Olympian that OMUG be responsible for authoring a computer column for their Lifestyles section. When the paper decided to add a technology section, Tech@Olympian, in February 1997, the column was moved to the new section. OMUG continued submitting material for the column until sometime in 1998

By 1996, Rick saw that the old by-laws were out-of-date and suggested the writing of new ones. The Executive Board requested volunteers for a committee to draft a new set of by-laws that would reflect the organization's rapid growth, prepare us for future expansion, and touch on items that could not have been foreseen when the original by-laws were written in 1994.

Due to dwindling membership in his group, Jason Rivas merged South Sound Paradox Users Group with OMUG in mid 1995 creating a new SIG.

1996-97

President: Rick DeJarnette
Vice President: Jason Rivas/Charles Lander (split term)
Secretary: Lynn Kenyon
Treasurer: Jim Bevan
Librarian: Shirley Bellinghausen
Newsletter: Max Whipps

1996 was a banner year for new endeavors. Rick DeJarnette organized several new events that have become OMUG traditions. We had our first Spring Mega Raffle in April featuring over 130 donated items with a collective value in excess of $6,000 being given away. In June we had a booth at The Evergreen State College's (TESC) annual Super Saturday. In August we sponsored the First Annual OMUG Internet Fair at Capital Mall. Located in the center court in front of The Bon, we were kept busy with questions about our group and computers in general. Local ISPs and other Internet vendors were present to display their services and sign up new subscribers. This event sparked a spurt of growth beyond anyone's expectations.

In December we wrapped up the year by hosting an I-5 rest stop with free coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cookies for weary travelers. For 60 hours straight, OMUG volunteers manned the rest stop in two and four hour shifts. Thanks to the organizing skills of Lynn Kenyon and Don Hertzog this event was a great success for the organization.

In addition, October 1996 marked OMUG's first appearance at the third annual APCUG Regional conference. The conference, titled RainCoast 1996, was held in Portland, Oregon and was attended by PC user groups from Seattle; Tacoma; Vancouver, BC; Bellingham; Victoria; and Portland. Vendors in attendance included Intuit, Adobe, Symantec, AT&T Paradyne, IBM, and America Online. While OMUG was one of the smaller PC users group there we were also the only one that was still growing and not in financial trouble. The five representatives from OMUG learned some valuable lessons from the experiences of these other groups, the most important of which was to keep group commitments simple and not to expend our resources in frivolous and unnecessary endeavors. The group decided to keep RainCoast a must-attend annual event.

In November Rick called for an all day officers retreat at the Capital Mall meeting room to discuss business that had not been addressed at the regular meetings. One of the most significant outcomes of that meeting was the consideration of logo ideas submitted by group members and "fine-tuning" the winning entry.

In 1996 we also added six new SIGs (Genealogy, Spreadsheets, Graphics, Web Development, Hardware and the Propellerhead group), earned our non-profit status with the State of Washington, and started our World Wide Web homepage (hosted first by Wicker.com; then TSS.net; and finally moved to Olympia Networking Services, Olywa.net). Designed and built by OMUG's very own Web SIG and upgraded, first by the Web SIG and later by the Web Master, OMUG has an evolving link to the world we can all be proud of. An email Reflector listserv was set-up to serve as an ongoing group forum for OMUG members and a way to dispense late breaking news without having to wait for the next general meeting or newsletter. This Internet presence was established by Rick DeJarnette; the site was managed for the first year by Rick and Arlo Hoppe and is now under the direction of the Web Master.

To cap off the year, in December OMUG moved from the Bower Center to the L&I Building in Tumwater. The move was necessitated by the group's unprecedented growth in 1996

At the February 1997 general meeting the group voted on the new bylaws that the committee had been working on for several months. They were accepted by 76% of the voting members. The new bylaws reflect our non-profit status and update the 1994 version as mentioned above.

It should be noted that the significant growth and changes in OMUG between April, 1995 and April 1997 was, in large part, due to the leadership of Rick DeJarnette. As president he consistently came up with, or inspired in others, ideas that eventually tripled our membership (from 80 to over 240), created new fund raisers and public relations events, put us on the World Wide Web with a first-class home page and a reflector (so members could stay in contact between meetings and SIGs), strengthened OMUG's ties to APCUG, convinced Microsoft and other new vendors to visit OMUG for the first time, and other achievements mentioned above.

1997-98

President: Jim Bevan
Vice President: Charles Lander
Secretary: Lynn Kenyon/Linda Mae-richardson (split term)
Treasurer: Max Whipps
Librarian: Bill Gortz
Newsletter: Edwin Phillips/Frances Cobb (split term)
Webmaster: Rick "Home Page Boy" DeJarnette
Director at Large: Don Hertzog
Director at Large: Loren Freeman

In 1997 the dream of issuing membership cards for members to present when they shopped at businesses offering discounts to our members was realized. Full members were issued blue cards and associate members white ones. OMUG apparel was another first this year with various colors of hats, golf and T-shirts, and sweatshirts all sporting the OMUG logo and home page address.

In April 1997, OMUG held its second annual Spring Mega Raffle. There were over 204 items worth in excess of $10,000 given away. In June we made our second appearance at TESC's Super Saturday, answering questions and recruiting new members. Our second annual Internet Fair was held on August 16 and 17 at Lacey's South Sound Center mall. OMUG members manned a table in front on the now closed Woolworth's store (at the center of the main concourse) surrounded by ISPs and Internet and computer support vendors. It was a busy two days and OMUG gained several new members in the process.

12 members representing OMUG attended APCUG's RainCoast '97 in Victoria on October 10 - 12. Jim Bevan, Rick DeJarnette and David Belles rode the Victoria Clipper to Victoria on Friday, the 9th, and were met by a representative of Big Blue and Cousins (the hosting user's group) and some OMUGers who had already arrived. Other OMUG members in attendance included Linda Mae-Richardson, John Gerecht, Frances Cobb, Dennis & Michele Elkins, Gene Andrews & his wife, Clyde Strickland, and Charles Lander. Of the 18 groups participating, OMUG proudly placed 2nd in both the Newsletter and Website contests. The event was capped off when OMUG announced it would like to host the event in 1998. The first meeting to plan RainCoast '98 was held November 8th.Committees were organized for the various aspects of the event and possible venues were discussed.

1998-99

President:  Linda Mae-richardson
Vice President: Charles Lander
Secretary: Pat Sonnenstuhl
Treasurer: Max Whipps
Librarian: Madlain Yunkers
Newsletter: Frances Cobb
Webmaster: Eric Kohnen
Director at Large:   Don Hertzog
Director at Large:   Ginger Andersen

In April 1998 OMUG held its 3rd annual Spring Mega Raffle. Over 130 items worth in excess of $1400 were raffled to attendees and new officers were inducted into office.

Also in April, for the second time the group hosted an I-5 rest stop. This time it was the Northbound Scatter Creek Rest Stop. For 60 straight hours OMUG volunteers once again served beverages and cookies to weary travelers. Don Hertzog organized the event and it was through his efforts that the event was a great success.

In May Linda Mae-richardson and Jim Bevan decided it was time to show their appreciation to the members who willingly give their time to make OMUG such a great group. In that interest, certificates of Appreciation were awarded to all officers and key members of the group.

On Saturday, June 13th, OMUG made its third appearance at Super Saturday. This was TESC's 20th annual event and the OMUG booth, again located in front of the Lecture Hall, was well manned for the deluge of prospective members that walked by. Those manning the booth have reported many people stopping with questions and showing interest in our group. The Lion's group loaned us a freestanding sunscreen, which made our location even more pleasant. Among the handouts for prospective members were the June 1998 newsletter, the OMUG brochures, and a new flyer showing the savings to be gained at local ISPs for OMUG members ("Spend $18 save $60").

On Saturday, August 22nd, OMUG held it's second annual Feed-A-Geek Potluck Picnic at Lacey's Wonderwood Park. Some 60 people attended the affair. Besides the potluck, attendees played Frisbee, badminton, and volleyball. It was mentioned that if the picnic is held again next year, a larger spot will be needed, as last year's event was attended by six people, this year's by 60 people...you do the math.

In October, OMUG hosted APCUG's 5th annual RainCoast convention at the Ramada Inn Governor House Hotel in downtown Olympia. Beginning Friday, October 9th RainCoast '98 was a great success attended by members of several computer interest groups from the Pacific Northwest. Among the groups in attendance were Victoria BC's Big Blue & Cousins, Boeing Employees Computing Society, Computer User Support Network, Komputer Enthusiasts of Greater Seattle (KEGS), Pacific Net Association, Portland Access User Group, Portland PC Users Group, Portland SQL User Group, Portland Visual Basic User Group, Skagit Computer Users Group, Tacoma Educational Computer User Group, Vancouver PC Users Group, Vancouver PC Users Group, Vernon Personal Computer User group, Web Enthusiast Association of Victoria and Yelm Computer User Group. A great deal of credit for the success of this event goes to Jim Bevan who chaired the event and created the WebPages for it. Jim's many helpers including (but were not limited to) Dalia Lavender, Contest Coordinator; Don Hertzog, Database Manager; Frances Cobb, Facilities/Vendor Subcommittee Chair; Pat Sonnenstuhl, Hospitality Subcommittee Chair; John Gerecht, Program Subcommittee Chair; Linda Mae-richardson, Registration & Public Relations Subcommittee Chair; and Dennis Elkins, Treasurer. Participating vendors included 3Com (US Robotics), Adobe, Corel, Intuit, Jasc, Microsoft, Philips Speech Processing, Powerquest, and Symantec. Special thanks to Thunderbird Computer Services for the loan of a computer in the hospitality room and to Olympia Networking Services for supplying an Internet connection so attendees could check their email while away from home.

1999-2000

President: Jason Scheurman/Jim Bevan/Rick Stacy (split term)
Vice President:   Frances Cobb
Secretary: Shirley Bellinghausen
Treasurer: Max Whipps
Librarian: Ryan Richardson
Newsletter: John Acocks
Webmaster: Eric Kohnen/Jim Bevan/Jason Scheurman/Clint Steele (split term)
Director at Large:   Newton Buker
Director at Large:   Bonnie Dillabough

On April 8th OMUG held its elections and 4th annual Spring Mega Raffle. Although not as large as previous events in participation or prizes to be awarded, the event was still a success and fun for all whom attended.

Less than a week after the elections it was announced that Eric Kohnen had resigned and Jim Bevan was appointed to the Webmaster position. In August Jason had to move, with approval of the board, he and Jim Bevan switched positions, Jason will upgrade the web site from Portland and Jim became President for the second time.

The third annual Feed-A-Geek picnic was held on August 21st at Priest Point Park. About 40 people attended the picnic. Some passersby asked if the affair was for members only and were welcomed to join in. As Jim Bevan later said, "A good time was had by all."

In October it was announced that Jason did not have as much time as he thought to devote to the Webmaster position so had to regretfully resign. Clint Steele was asked to fill the position and accepted. His appointment was made official at the September Business Meeting. Clint had previously served on the Raincoast 98 committee and at the time of his appointment was the chair of the Budget Committee. As Jim Bevan stated, "He (Clint) has demonstrated excellent organizational skills and is very dependable. I have the utmost confidence in his abilities in being one of this OMUG's leaders."

On October 8th and 9th five OMUGers attended Raincoast 99, hosted by the Komputer Enthusiasts of Greater Seattle (KEGS) at the West Coast Bellevue Hotel. Attending from OMUG were Clint Steele, Eugene Andrews, Kath Thorn, Linda Mae-richardson, and Ryan Richardson. Although the event was not as well attended as in previous years, the participants gained valuable ideas to put into OMUG.

In February 2000 Francis Cobb announced she had accepted a job opportunity in Iowa and would be leaving in March, just before her term as vice president came to a close.

On March 11th through the 13th OMUG served hot coffee, tea and cocoa to weary travelers at the southbound I-5 Maytown rest stop. From 2: 00 Saturday Morning until 2: 00 Monday afternoon, OMUG volunteers spent four hour shifts keeping hot beverages and fresh cookies available to the driving public. The success of this event was once again due to the enthusiasm and organization skills of Don Hertzog. Extra cookies from the event were donated to Olympia's Bread and Roses Shelter.

At the March general meeting Jim Bevan let it be known that former OMUG President Rick DeJarnette had hired him for a job with Microsoft in Redmond and he had to resign immediately. The sole nominee for president, Rick Stacy, was appointed to finish Jim's term of office.

In mid-March L&I announced they had decided to cease their policy of allowing public service groups to use the building for meetings. This change would effect several groups including OMUG and was viewed as a misuse of property paid for by taxes. Rick Stacy asked members to contact their elected representative to stop L&I from this change. Rick wrote a letter to Gary Moore, L&I director, and the change in policy was cancelled the next day.

Linda Mae-Richardson and Clint Steele began forming an affiliation of OMUG at The Evergreen State College to be called SOMUG (Students of OMUG). Linda and Clint were appointed to formulate rules, regulations and fees for the new group.

On April 9, 2000 OMUG hosted it first awards banquet. The catered affair was held at The Evergreen State College Longhouse. All awardees were fed for free while others were charged $10.00, a real bargain for a full lasagna dinner. The awardees included officers, SIG leaders, and all other volunteers who strive to make OMUG a success.

2000-2001

President: Rick Stacy, Clint Steele, Acting (split term)
Vice-President: Linda Mae-richardson
Secretary: Shirley Bellinghausen
Treasurer: Max Whipps
Newsletter Editor: Donna Reyes
Webmaster: Clint Steele
Librarian: Ryan Richardson
Director at Large: Gerald Abernathy
Director at Large: John Marshall

On April 13, 2000 elections were held for the coming year. Unfortunately, there was no mega-raffle but certificates were handed out to all the volunteers of the past year in appreciation for their contributions.

On April 26th it became official that OMUG was not a DOC/Windows only user group with the formation of the Macintosh SIG.

In June OMUG once again manned a booth at Super Saturday fielding questions from visitors about our group and computers in general.

In July, Rick Stacy announced that due to increasing work duties, he was unable to continue as president. Clint Steele stepped in as Acting President.

Once again L&I changed their policy regarding non-state organizations using their facility for meetings. We were told that we would have to find another location beginning with the September meeting. The September meeting was held at The Evergreen State College but our regular meeting site would become the General Administration Building in Olympia with The Evergreen State College serving as an alternate site when GA was unavailable.

On March 10th through 12th OMUG once again hosted the coffee stop at the Maytown rest stop off I-5 southbound. In addition to coffee, travelers could have tea or hot cocoa, and a variety of cookies (including 700 homemade cookies donated by Ann Anthony!). As in the past, the rest stop fundraiser for the OMUG scholarship fund was a success.

2001-2002

President: Clint Steele
Vice-President: Michelle Gipson
Secretary: Shirley Bellinghausen
Treasurer: Max Whipps
Librarian: John Whitehead
Newsletter Editor: John Acocks
Webmaster: Linda Mae
Director at Large: Ryan Richardson
Director at Large: John Marshall

The April meeting began with elections followed by the presentation of Certificates-of-Appreciation for all the volunteers who keep OMUG running.

As part of the group's evolution, Bob Euliss took over the Hardware SIG's project of building new computers from donated parts and donating them to families unable to afford a PC. Bob named it the Frankenstein Project and continued to build and donate PCs as parts and software became available.

In July Olympia Computer Central (OCC) announced that it was going to be remodeling its classroom facility. When the remodel was complete OCC leased the facility to a PC training company which was not willing to donate the facility to OMUG for its SIG meetings. As a number of SIGs had meet there, those SIGs suddenly found themselves without a home. Only five SIGs did not use the OCC facility and so continued to meet: the Women's Networking SIG, the Linux SIG (which had its first meeting in July), the Digital Imaging SIG, the Kingfishers SIG, and the Hardware SIG.

A new home for the SIGs requiring PCs for attendees was found in November at the Olympia Senior Center's computer lab. The lab had ten computers and a DSL Internet connection. It looked like our location problems were over. However, that same month OMUG was informed we would not be able to use the State's General Administration building after December due to increased concerns about security. The hunt was now on for a new General Meeting location.

The December meeting was planned as a Holiday Jamboree. Planned events were a silent auction, potluck, and short presentations by local vendors.

Our General Meetings for the January 2002 was held at the Olympia Community Center. This was a temporary measure while members continued to try to find a permanent site.

In February it was announced that meetings would be held at the Olympia Senior Center (part of the Olympia Community Center).The center's large meeting room, downstairs from the Computer lab where many of our SIGs were now meeting, was the right size for our monthly meetings.

In order to make life easier for our guest speakers, the Executive Board decided to purchase a LCD projector that can be connected to PCs and laptops for presentations. The board had discussed this purchase for several months and comparatively shopped before deciding on a Lightware Traveler CS11. The projector would also be used to display group information during the gathering period prior to each General Meeting.

On March 10th through the 12th OMUG once again hosted the Maytown Rest Stop Coffee Service. Many members volunteered for four-hour shifts with fellow group members to serve coffee, tea and cookies to weary travelers. In addition to the "store bought" cookies were "home baked" donated by Yvonne Farnsworth and Ann Anthony. As in past years, profits from this event went to our college scholarship fund.

2002-2003

President: Stan Lavender/John Marshall (split term)
Vice-President: Dalia Lavender/Deb Kime (split term)
Secretary: Shirley Stirling
Treasurer: Max Whipps
Librarian: John Whitehead
Newsletter Editor: John Acocks
Webmaster: Clint Steele
Director at Large: Michelle Gipson
Director at Large: John Marshall/Bill Gortz (split term)

Our April General Meeting began with a Mini-Raffle of donated items followed by the annual recognition of volunteers and presentation of Certificates of Appreciation. Election of new officers was next on the agenda and finally a presentation by Boot Pro.

In June the Scholarship Committee announced that this year's scholarship would recipient was Eric Cassidy. The scholarship would be available to Mr. Cassidy in the fall when he began attending The Evergreen State College.

On June 15th, despite an “iffy” weather forecast, OMUG members enjoyed a sunny day as they once again manned an information table at The Evergreen State College’s Super Saturday celebration. Nearly 20 OMUG volunteers dispensed information and assistance to passersby. Unlike many vendors at the event, OMUG was not selling a product or service but rather offering answers to computer questions and recruiting new members.

OMUG’s annual picnic was a big success with 30-40 attendees. The weather was good as OMUGers enjoyed each other’s company and good food. A few of the members even attempted a few games of horseshoes.

In September Stan and Dalia Lavender resigned as President and Vice-President respectively. At that month’s business meeting the Executive Board appointed John Marshall to fill the position of President. John resigned as Director at Large in order to accept the position.

In October the Executive Board appointed Deb Kime as Vice-President and Bill Gortz as Director at Large.

This year, the Frankenstein Project, under the supervision of John Marshall and Ausin Paulson, went into high gear. Thanks to increased donations jof new and used computer parts from OMUG members, the project was able to donate even more computers to needy families in the South Sound area.

2003-2004

President: Dave Wilson

Vice-President: Dan Colard

Secretary: Vivian Forrester

Treasurer: Max Whipps

Librarian: Christie McCormick

Newsletter Editor: Sandy Pishner

Webmaster: Clint Steele

Director at Large: Shirley Billinghausen

Director at Large: Bill Gortz

The April meeting began with the buying of tickets for our annual raffle and members busy with marking their ballots. Those running for office were introduced and ballots collected. While the ballots were tabulated the raffle took place with lucky winners collecting their prizes.

In June our club once again hosted the Maytown Rest Stop Coffee Service. This fund-raising event fuels our scholarship program and this year we broke the previous record for donations! Kudos to all the members who worked so hard to make this a reality and to Ann Anthony for once again supplying her homemade cookies.

Also in June, club members again manned a table at The Evergreen State College on Super Saturday answering computer questions of attendees and enjoying the festivities.

Club members assembled for the annual picnic at Priest Point Park in August. Once again club members joined together for good food, camaraderie, and fun.

In October the Internal Revenue Service recognized OMUG as a 501(c)(3) exempt organization. The primary advantage of this is that people making donations can now deduct the value of the donation from their annual income taxes. There is also a discount for bulk mailings as a non-profit organization.

The Frankenstein Project had another banner year under the leadership of John Marshall creating computer systems out of donated materials for needy families.

To wrap up 2003, the December general meeting hosted the club’s Christmas party with silent auction and member appreciation awards.

2004-2005

In February 2004, President Dave Wilson resigned as his employment required that he move out of the area. In March the OMUG Board appointed John Marshall to finish the remainder of Wilson’s term.

President:	Bill Gortz
Vice-President:	Shirley Bellinghausen
Secretary:	Vivian Forrester
Treasurer:	Max Whipps
Librarian:	Christie McCormick
Newsletter Editor:	Sandy Pishner
Webmaster:	Pat Sonnenstuhl
Director at Large # 1:	John Marshall
Director at Large #2:	James Gunnells
Director at Large # 3:	Christie McCormick

In the April 2004 elections all candidates ran unopposed.

It was noticed the OMUG library was not being used by members and it usefulness was called into question. An evaluation period began. This seemed to ignite a spark of interest and members began checking items out.

On June 17^th OMUG made their annual appearance at TESC’s Super Saturday. Among the members manning the booth were long-time members John Gerecht and Max Whipps.

The Frankenstein Project continued refurbishing computers for distribution to qualified recipients.

On August 14^th master burger-flipper Clint Steele was at it again. The annual OMUG at Yauger Park was a success as members arrived with potluck items while the club supplied the burgers, hot dogs, sodas and eating utensils.

The year 2004 closed with the annual OMUG Christmas Party on December 9^th. A potluck and silent auction was enjoyed by those attending. 2004 also saw the end of the Frankenstein Project. One last computer and all leftover hardware was put on the block at the silent auction. Free Geek in Olympia will take over the prime focus of the Frankenstein Project: to supply good computers to low income individuals. Ernie Liebenow, long time member attended and told us he had been dealing with pancreatic cancer.

2005-2006

Early in 2005 primary memberships dropped to 184 members. This drop was indicative of a trend among many clubs and membership groups.

Interest in the Library had also waned and the Bylaws Committee submitted an amendment to the by laws which would eliminate the position of librarian and replace it with a third Director at Large. The amendment was passed by the membership and the Executive Board appointed Christie McCormick as the third Director at Large.

President:	Bill Gortz
Vice-President:	Shirley Bellinghausen
Secretary:	Emily Brooks,
Secretary:	Larry Jensen (split term)
Treasurer:	Max Whipps
Librarian:	Christie McCormick
Newsletter Editor:	Sandra Pishner
Webmaster:	Pat Sonnenstuhl
Director at Large # 1:	L.D. McNall
Director at Large # 2:	James Gunnells
Director at Large # 3:	Christie McCormick

2006-2007
President:	Shirley Bellinghausen
Vice-President	John Acocks
Secretary:	Larry Jensen
Treasurer:	Max Whipps
Newsletter Editor:	Sister Dorothy Robinson
Webmaster	Pat Sonnenstuhl
Director # 1	L.D. McNall
Director # 2	Garry Bigger
Director # 3	John Marshall

2007-2008
President	Shirley Bellinghausen
Vice President	Jim Weist
Secretary:	Larry Jensen
Treasurer:	Garry Bigger
Newsletter Editor:	Sister Dorothy Robinson
Webmaster	Pat Sonnenstuhl
Director # 1	Arlene Kapner
Director # 2	Marilyn Hanna
Director # 3	Phil Vogal

2008-2009
President	Max Whipps
Vice President	Vivian Forrester
Secretary:	Larry Jensen
Treasurer:	Garry Bigger
Newsletter Editor:	Sister Dorothy Robinson
Webmaster	Pat Sonnenstuhl
Director # 1	Arlene Kapner
Director # 2	Tonney Yamane
Director # 3	Jim Simmons

2005-2006 History:

After the April elections it was decided to hold the annual leadership retreat on May 14^th at the Summit Lake Community Church.

OMUG manned a booth at the Information Processing Management Association (IPMA) forum held at St. Martin’s College May 24^th and 25^th. There were 12 OMUG members who volunteered to help out at this event.

On June 11^th OMUG once again made an appearance at The Evergreen State College’s Super Saturday. The booth location supplied us was different from previous years and not nearly as well situated. This did not deter members from showing up at the event.

The club returned to Scatter Creek Rest Area on August 6^th – 8^th as volunteers served coffee, tea and home-baked cookies to weary travelers to replenish our scholarship fund.

The 2005 OMUG picnic, held at Priest Point Park, was not as well attended as in previous years. It appears many members already had events scheduled for the date of the picnic. Those who did attend had a good time.

Emily Brooks had to resign as secretary due to health and personal reasons. In August the Executive Board appointed Larry Jensen to fill the vacancy beginning September 2005.

On October 8^th and 9^th, President Bill Gortz and other OMUG members attended the annual APCUG Raincoast Conference in Tacoma. Gortz reported the event was well attended by members of user groups in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia as well as many vendors.

There was concern that the membership had continued to erode. In November there were 175 primary members and 76 associate members for a total of 251 members. This was down 26 members from the same time in 2004.

The final event of the year was the annual potluck dinner and silent auction on December 8^th. The event was a huge success due in large part to the efforts of vice president and program chair, Shirley Bellinghausen, and special activities chair, Gary Bigger, who organized and oversaw the set-up and running of the event. The silent auction collected more funds for the OMUG scholarship program.

With membership down the Executive Board started looking at ways to reverse this trend. Christie McCormick volunteered to be a greeter at the General Meetings, asking guests to sign a guest book with name, address, phone number and e-mail address. Guest will be mailed a thank you for visiting/please come again letter. The Board also looked at new member packets for those joining.

In conclusion, Brian Geppert could hardly have guessed that his original gathering of eight DOS-users would grow into so diverse a group. Our club has members of all ages (from under 16 to over 90) and backgrounds (from students to retired physics professors). It has become active in the community with its participation at TESC’s Super Saturday, rest stop fundraisers, and a college scholarship program. With planning and our club’s spirit of participation we can only continue to grow and evolve.

Note of thanks: Many people deserve thanks for helping put together this history. Without their help historian David Belles could never have found the pieces of the puzzle (some small pieces are still missing) much less put them together. Thanks goes to: Noral Baughman and Wally Music, my first contacts who were there at the beginning; Rick DeJarnette; Loren Freeman; John Gerecht; Bill Gortz; Juanita Hart; Edwin Phillips; and, of course, Brian Geppert, for starting it all.

Archives? We got archives. OMUG bylaws require the Historian to maintain the club archives. At present, the archives consist of old and new (with some gaps) copies of the newsletters, photos from various OMUG events, the floppy disk (5 ¼” copied to 3 ½” disc and CD-RW) offered to members way back in the early days, and brochures (new). If anyone has old OMUG paraphernalia the club would be very interested in a donation to the archives. Current contributors have been: John Gerecht, Loren Freeman, Bill Gortz, Rick DeJarnette, Jim Bevan, and Juanita Hart. Thanks to you all.