The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Our Computer Swap Meet Volunteers Noel Peters noelp@melbpc.org.au

Firstly I should explain that I was recently elected to the Melbourne PC User Group committee of management at our December 1st Annual General Meeting last year. I am not yet convinced that should be written "December 1st last century". I thank those people who both made it their business to vote and decided that I could serve some useful purpose on the committee.

Getting down to business some six days later, one of the items on the agenda of the first meeting of the new committee was the division of tasks for the coming year. I landed the job of Swap Meet Coordinator, perhaps because it was known that I have spent a good deal of time haunting Sunday Swap Meets for components to either build up, or yet again rebuild computers to keep the home machine up with the progression of the well known Moore's Law.

About Swap Meets

Swap meets have been a feature of the Melbourne scene since Max Morton the MD of Technology Supermarket Pty Ltd rented the Malvern Town Hall in 1991 and attracted a number of computer hardware traders to bring their wares to this Sunday Market venue. Since then the operation has grown to two separate Swap Meets held every Sunday with about eight different venues being utilised.

Some readers may not be aware that for a number of years our Melbourne PC User Group has operated a stand at these Swap Meets staffed entirely by volunteers from the Group. The purpose of our stand can be summarised as follows.

• To bring Melbourne PC User Group to the attention of a section of the public already interested in computing.
• To gain some good publicity for our Group by having a professional looking stand staffed by helpful, attendant volunteers.
• To attract new members to our Group, so increasing our numbers in order to truly say we represent and speak for a significant part of the computer using fraternity.
• To have a location where our existing members visiting Swap Meets may exchange views on the best buys and otherwise interact socially.

The Swap Meet Volunteers

The volunteers who do this part of the exercise for Melb PC are Brian Taylor and Steve Everett. They also pick up and return the equipment when the Meets end at around 4.00 pm. As if this was not enough of a voluntary contribution, they with a few other dedicated helpers man the stand throughout the day. As Robert Mead another of the Swap Meet volunteers has said to me on more than one occasion, "We are starting to exhibit burn out being on the job every Sunday", and I can understand what he was saying, I should also make it clear he was not complaining but simply stating a fact.

I have been endeavouring to catch up with each of those people who have put in time at the different venues in the past and continue to do so. It is apparent that the same names appear at more than one location because of the limited numbers. It is clear that to remain viable and to meet the aim of a dynamic Melb PC presence at each Swap Meet we need a few more people, preferably local to each area who will give a few hours of their time each fourth Sunday. One does not have to be a computer whiz to do this task. It is simply a matter of talking to potential members, establishing their interests, explaining the process of joining the Group, what Melb PC offers them and perhaps telling of one's own experiences as a member. It can be rewarding to help people become new members and there is also a bonus you can claim for each newbie you introduce.

The Box Hill Meet

I should mention the case of the Box Hill Swap meet, held on the fourth Sunday of each month. The East Special Interest Group, participants of which live for the most part in the eastern suburbs, has adopted this venue; they set up the stand and staff it with members of their SIG. I understand this arrangement works well, however at the time of writing a Swap Meet has not been held at Box Hill during my short period as coordinator. Therefore I am not in a position to endorse this view but it accords well with my own thoughts about local area involvement. Perhaps our Retired and Interested Persons SIG which has a large number of its members residing in the Mount Waverley, Glen Waverley Burwood, Ashburton areas could adopt and staff the Malvern or Camberwell Swap Meets. What about it Ripsiggers? Don't move off when you see me coming please, you know every body likes to be loved.

Some Questions

What Is Involved in Being a Swap Meet Volunteer?
Well, in terms of your time commitment I see it as being available each fourth Sunday to spend a period of three to four hours at a venue close to your home suburb. The aim is to build up a sufficient number of volunteers for each venue so that even this commitment can be made flexible to fit in with personal arrangements. What Do I Need to Know? It does not require a high level of computer expertise to tell people what Melbourne PC User Group offers its members in the way of:

• PC Update our monthly magazine
• The Dial Help System for specific problems
• A members only, low cost Internet Service
• Monthly meeting with guest speakers
• Special Interest Groups covering an extensive range of computer interests
• Shareware Library
• Training courses
• BBS service
• A computer book library

Are There Any Perks?

Not a lot, but you do get into the Swap Meet for free and each volunteer is provided with a tee shirt with the Melb PC logo and a distinctive ID card bearing his/her first name. By arrangement with your fellow volunteers on the stand you can be relieved to look around and spend your own hard earned cash. Application forms distributed at Swap Meets are stamped with a "Swap Meet" stamp with a space to write the name and membership number of the introducing volunteer. When such an application form produces a new member, a credit of one month free membership is given to the introducing volunteer. With the right approach and twelve freebies per annum you can be a de facto life member.

Tribute

I would like our 10,000 plus members to join with me and thank the volunteers listed below who are presently giving their time to provide a Melb PC presence at Swap Meets. In alphabetical order, left to right: 

I know there are many, such as John Morris and others who have served at Swap Meets in the past and whose names do not appear above but whose contribution should be similarly recognised. If I have omitted any current volunteer I apologise. The only record available has been word of mouth and I should be grateful if anyone I have omitted or who has been incorrectly included would contact me at noelp@melbpc.org.au

As we need the above number of volunteers to be at least doubled to provide an effective, continuous Swap Meet presence and to give some relief to long term volunteers. I welcome all interested members to e-mail me or leave their names at the office. Please contact me also if you wish to discuss ways to make our stands more attractive, effective and professional in appearance.

The overall cost/benefit of Melb PC providing a continuing presence at Swap Meets is like each of our other services, the subject of ongoing review. Aspects such as the amount of time and effort put in by our Swap Meet contingent to service them: our ability to attract new members through them (which has declined as time has passed): the impression we give to the public ]via this medium, and the social aspect of these venues as forums for our existing members to get together in a computer rich environment, should all be considered.

Just prior to submitting this article I have learnt that two of our active long term volunteers, Brian Taylor and his friend Robert Mead have called it a day and are going to have a well earned rest from their Swap Meet activities. They deserve our unstinted thanks for the work they have put into the Swap Meets over a number of years, Brian particularly for delivering and setting up the stand every week, he is most certainly going to be missed. However, this is what our Group must expect because it is based in the main upon volunteer effort. Volunteers do drop out when they consider they have done their share or that their efforts are not appreciated and sometimes criticised. Obviously if we are to continue with Swap Meets we need some fresh faces in the team. The more people the lighter the individual load, and it really can be an interesting voluntary task, provided the contribution is limited to a few hours. Once every four weeks is the objective. I am prepared to be overwhelmed by your support please.

I hope to be able to tell you more about the Swap Meet aspect of Melb PC's endeavours in a subsequent article later in the year.

Reprinted from the February 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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