A summer evening in the atrium of HAL-PC Headquarters earlier this year was reminiscent of HAL-PC, the Club. Two hundred people gathered there for Volunteer Appreciation Night, when long-time volunteers who had never met were able to put faces with names they had heard for so long. Those who did know one another were introduced to spouses for the first time, and warmth and camaraderie filled the air. They exchanged stories about members they had helped, by phone or in person.
Membership in HAL-PC has many benefits – from all the obvious ones like this monthly Magazine, to the Special Interest Groups, classes, and more. Every member participates in some activity that suits them. On this particular evening, the atmosphere was d ifferent from the well-organized and interesting General Meetings. You see, these volunteers enjoy their membership in HAL-PC at a level beyond all that, by giving a small part of themselves back to others.
Like most things, you get out exactly what you put in. With 12,000+ members now, certainly every member has their own agenda. And the organization can be enjoyed at various levels. So those who wish to participate at modem-arm’s-length are certainly not to be criticized. But those members looking for more active participation levels can do so at home, office or at Club Headquarters – answering Help Lines, attending SIG groups, e-mail and bulletin board support, or library/shareware assistance.
I remember shortly after joining HAL-PC I attended a meeting held at the Shrine Temple. I stood in the Group Purchase line visiting with another member I had never met before. He was explaining how he, a retiree, tracked his favorite stocks and kept the data in a spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3. After 45 minutes, we reached the head of the line, he made his purchase and we both walked away. “Didn’t you want to buy anything?” he asked me. “Oh, no,” I replied, “I was only learning how to use a spreadsheet!”
Soon after, I became a Library Volunteer, spending two or three hours each month at the old Headquarters helping folks copy shareware, when we still copied the programs from floppies. “No experience necessary,” they told us. And it was true – we learned as we went, and had lots of fun meeting other members. Soon we began looking forward to our once-a-month visits, and our families became friends.
Then a few years later, I noticed a small box on a page near the front of the (then) Journal asking for three volunteers to join the Journal staff. I called the editor at the time, eager to learn to do something related to publishing our monthly effort. I got an assignment, and the rest is history – my first column, “Beginning with Beverly”, was born. See what a little encouragement can do?
Now HAL-PC has come a long way. Our membership has grown immensely, and our new Headquarters are bigger and better. But at the heart of this largest User Group in the country (world?) still beats the core Club of Volunteers. That’s how we feel – we’re users helping users. So pick a time when you can pitch in and give a couple of hours. You can contact Volunteer Coordinator Bonnie Carruth by phone at 713/993-3300 or e-mail at @hal-pc.org. Take advantage of this volunteer opportunity and reap the rewards yourself. I did – and that was the “Beginning” for Beverly.
Beverly Rosenbaum is a HAL-PC member.
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Last modified: 1997:09:30