Before Internet there were computer bulletin boards, called BBSs for Bulletin Board Systems. We left Washington DC area for River Bend in late '92 and at that time I was an avid subscriber of Prodigy, not to mention the 600 BBSs in the DC area. But neither Prodigy nor Internet existed in New Bern and there were only a few BBSs so that's where I headed. Donnie Benners had the oldest BBS in town and it had a chat board where all the local PC types hung out and compared notes.

It was Frank Chamberlin of Trent Woods who sent out a BBS message suggesting that we have breakfast at the Berne restaurant. That's how NBCUG got started. I recall Frank chairing the first meeting in '94 at which perhaps a dozen or so people attended.

The early meetings were sometimes held at the Berne restaurant and sometimes at Craven Community College. It was sort of leaderless until Jim Gray offered to be a temporary president. I recall folks suggesting that we have annual dues, a charter, perhaps be incorporated and even open a bank account, but none of these ideas materialized. Finally CoastalNet came to town and we all got on the Internet. One of their employees offered to be the president of NBCUG as soon as meetings resumed the following spring since we didn't have winter meetings then. Spring finally came and we had our first meeting at the Berne restaurant but our new president didn't show up. He had forgotten to tell us that he had taken a job at IBM in Raleigh.

Jim Gray once again helped out by calling several of us to his house to decide how to keep the club going. We finally agreed not to try organizing and instead have a monthly social breakfast gathering. Each of us in turn would run the meetings and be responsible for a speaker. If no speaker, then the meeting would be an open forum for any questions or comments. That's how it's been for the past 6 years. No charter, no officers, no dues, no organization, but we have volunteers that keep it all glued together. I happened to mention once that I didn't mind moderating the meetings and have had the job now for over 4 years. If anyone wants it it's available.

How has it worked out? My guess is that NBCUG is one of the fastest growing clubs in eastern NC. At last count we had 362 members, 285 of which are on the NBCUG e-mail list. The list is constantly pruned of members who don't attend meetings within 6-months and don't have e-mail. The club functions without dues from donations but does require an admission charge of $2.00. That's because NBCUG rents the Knights of Columbus Hall for $150 per meeting.

So why should you join NBCUG? If you have a PC problem you just might get some help. We no longer have breakfast meetings but the coffee social hour begins at 8 AM on the third Saturday of every month and that's when folks learn who the gurus are and bring in their problems. The program starts promptly at 9 AM, ends at 10:30 AM and is always on a computer topic. Becoming a member is simply a matter of signing the roster and providing your home address, phone number and e-mail address. This places you on the NBCUG e-mail list to receive monthly minutes, a member list and club announcements. More importantly it allows you to send e-mail to all 285 members, which comes in handy when you have a PC problem.

Who attends NBCUG? An average of better than 60 people attend each meeting. A survey in '99 showed that 80% of the members were age 54 or older. River Bend accounts for 35% of the membership and yet there are still 179 members on River Bend's e-mail list that have never been to NBCUG.

Now take a look at http://www4.coastalnet.com/nbcug where you can get more information about NBCUG. We'll expect to see you at the next meeting. Remember: 3rd Saturday of every month.