Because of the rapid membership growth in the F1 Computer Club, many of our newer members are not aware of some of the history, goals, rules, and purposes of this club. For those who were not present at the inception of the F1 Club, here is a little background.

In June of 1995, Don McGhee, Don Burns, Sharon Ott-Deal, Edith Eriksen, Hank Girner, and Coco Johnston got together to discussed the idea of a computer club in Shell Knob that would serve the needs of people who were just getting started with computers and had nowhere to turn for education, questions, or just plain help. An article was published in the Rattler asking anyone interested in forming a club to come to a meeting at the library. Nearly thirty people showed up. By-laws were discussed and voted on, officers were elected, and the club was officially formed on June 26, 1995.

• The club was named The F1 Computer Users' Club (F1 is the key used by many programs to access HELP files).
• The F1 Club will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month (unless otherwise specified).
• The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
• Officers for the coming year are elected at the June meeting.
• Dues are necessary to cover the cost of insurance required to use the school and the cost of printing and mailing a monthly newsletter. Since it is difficult to determine how much money will be needed for each coming year, the annual dues will be set at each June meeting. If there is an abundance of money in the treasury from the preceding year, the dues for the coming year will be reduced. If there was a shortage of money the previous year, the dues for the coming year will be increased.
• To prevent people from coming to the meetings without joining the club, it was decided that one must join to attend the meetings, but anyone could come to one meeting to check it out without having to join.
• The board of directors includes a president, a vice-president, a secretary-treasurer and two board members (the additional board members give a wider voting base for making business decisions). The board handles business decisions concerning the club so that meetings can be devoted to learning and not be wasted discussing business matters. At the June 1998 meeting, it was decided to split the secretary/treasurer job into two separate jobs with two officers. An additional board member was added to avoid tie votes on business decisions.

We offer classes whenever someone is available to teach. Each club meeting provides a program with instructional information. We encourage people to bring their questions to meetings where 40-60 people can possibly come up with an answer.

We are a loosely run club, foregoing the formalities and structure of many other clubs. Our primary directive is to teach and help others learn how to use computers.

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