Our History

The Towns Area PC User Group was conceived in 1988 by Paul Marshall, a teacher, and Joe Ringwalt, a Baptist preacher, for the purpose of providing a forum in which local computer enthusiasts could discuss various topics related to the computing industry. One year later, the group began holding monthly meetings at the Mountain Regional Library in Young Harris, Georgia. They soon changed their name to Mountain Computer Club.

1992 was a big year for the club:

• In April, the first newsletter was published.
• In May, the club joined the Association of Personal Computer User Groups, Inc.(APCUG), a nonprofit, international organization dedicated to promoting communications between PC user groups and the computer industry.
• In July, the Mountain Computer Club was incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia.
• In November, the club, supported by a special grant received from Zell Miller, the then Governor of Georgia, presented a 486SX computer system to the Mountain Regional Library in Young Harris. This publicly available system included a printer and an overhead projection/display panel. Soon after, the members established a publicly available shareware library.
• 1992 also saw the first presentation by a vendor representative. Aldus Corporation's, Diane Dean, presented a presentation on Pagemaker, the popular desktop publishing software created by the corporation.
• That year the club also established its first Special Interest Group.

In 1993, the club continued to expand its activities. The newsletter was re-designed and renamed to yield a 12 page publication called Mountain Bits & Bytes. The newsletter is now published as a .PDF file available from this website.

That year, the club also legally changed its name to Mountain Computer User Group, Inc. The members felt that this new name more accurately reflected the purpose for which the group was formed.

In 1994, through the generosity of Young Harris College, the group began to hold its monthly meetings at the Goolsby Center, a 150-seat multimedia auditorium, located on the college's campus. In July, the groups was granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status by the IRS and bulk mail privileges by the US Postal Service. In December, the first annual MCUG Benefit Auction was held, with the proceeds going to Toys for Tots.

In July 1999, MCUG, the Mountain Computer User Group held their 1st Annual Software Auction. The purpose of this auction was to raise some much needed revenue for MCUG and at the same time give our members an opportunity to purchase top of the line software at bargain prices. This Mid Summer Auction lasted from 1999 through 2002 and was replaced by the Charity/Auction held during the Christmas Party.

July 9, 2001 the user group switched from meeting on Tuesday night to meeting on Monday nights. In an effort to make it more convenient for the software companies to cover several user groups on a single trip was the reason behind the switch. MCUG still meets on Monday night.

In July 7, 2003 the Mountain Computer User Group held its 1st Annual Summer Picnic. This was held at the Hiawassee River Trout Farm. The picnic was the brain child of then MCUG President Rick Steenmeijer.

In December 2003 the Mountain Computer User Group held its 1st Annual Charity/Auction Christmas Party. Members were urged to bring a toy for the Toys for Tots drive. All monies raised were donated to local charities.

Our Purpose

The Mountain Computer User Group is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization without corporate or vendor affiliation. Its purpose is the encouragement and advancement of computer information and knowledge through "users helping users".