SUN CITY — If membership numbers of the Sun City Computer Club were measured in gigabytes, you would be looking at a fairly impressive display of storage ability by today’s technological standards. With 700-plus members, the Computer Club is one of Sun City’s largest clubs.
“There’s a commonality of interests. Look at how many people use computers,” said current Computer Club President, Barry Marcus, N.17, about the club’s broad appeal. As well, the universal interest in computers is growing among today’s senior population, stimulated in many cases, Marcus joked, “by grandkids saying, ‘I want to e-mail you.’”
Marcus added, however, “Some of us have dealt with computers a little longer because our careers extended into the time we had computers.”
Computer Club members are entitled to lab use and services, which includes diagnostics and computer repair and free enrollment to scheduled classes. Previous classes include Introduction to Computers, Excel, Word, Picasa, among many others. Nonmembers are also welcomed to enroll in classes for a fee of $25, which, per class, happens to be the same amount as a yearly membership, making yearly membership, according Marcus, the most frugal decision.
General meetings are held the first Saturday of each month, beginning at 9 a.m., with coffee and doughnuts at 8:30 a.m., and are open to all Sun City residents regardless of Computer Club membership status. Meetings regularly offer guests a range of educational features, said Marcus.
“We have speakers, we discuss topics related to computing, new developments in the field, history of the field,” Marcus said. “That’s an educational [component] for the entire community.”
Members also have the security of computer repair, Marcus said. Club experts will work to diagnose computer-related problems, identify parts that need replacement, and help with installation of new or replaced parts.
“For $25 per year, it’s the cheapest insurance policy you could ever buy. Here you’re able to bring it [your computer] in and have experienced people diagnose your problem and, in many cases, fix it,” Marcus said. But, moreover, he added, “Do you know what the Geek Squad costs!”
Marcus admits that, although the Computer Club President and computer knowledgeable, he is not the most computer savvy. He is, however, an administrator with a fondness for technology and, moreover, educating Sun City residents on the benefits of what the Computer Club offers to both its members and the larger community.
Marcus took his first computer class in college and, thinking back on it, laughs a little at the thought that he graduated college in 1959, when the idea of a home computer was years away.
“It’s interesting … to realize that that little laptop or desktop we work with has more computing power than the room-size installations we had back in the 60s,” Marcus said. “It’s kind of amazing.”
