History of the PC Club
Tech has been part of Laguna Woods Village for many years.
In 1998 the Club moved to the annex building adjacent to Clubhouse II with one room for the PC Workshop and a second room for a Learning Center. New courses were offered (intermediate skills, spreadsheets, Picasa, digital imaging, and the Internet), additional sessions were added, and the class size was increased to 13. Software taught in the Learning Center was also installed in the Workshop to offer students a place to practice.
All teachers were volunteers and members of the PC Club. Throughout this developing period, the Club held monthly meetings and SIGs (special interest groups), presenting topics and information to help community members get more enjoyment from their computers.
The PC Club is a non-profit community service organization of volunteers. The goal of the PC Club is to assist, teach, and inform all residents of ways in which they can get more productive and enjoyable use from their computers. In the Learning Center, we offer a variety of computer classes, based on the needs and interests of a majority of the residents. In the Workshop, computers, with staff to assist, are available to all residents. Club funds are received from annual memberships, class fees, and user donations. These funds are used to purchase and maintain the computer equipment, the facility furnishings, and to pay daily operating expenses. We offer the community a cost-effective service using our knowledge and experience in computer operations to take care of most needs directly, without having to use VMS.
Justin Webb
Justin Webb was an early and strong supporter of the Laguna Woods Village
PC Club. He used his hands-on skills to maintain the computers, his photography and computer knowledge to teach Photoshop, and his business skills to help guide the club and get funding. Justin also served as the Treasurer of the Club. Justin’s contributions and his life were cut short in 2004 by a terminal pulmonary disease. The LC was named in his honor by the PC Club Board.
Before the Village moved to the current Community Center, the PC Club was located in a couple rooms in the Clubhouse 2 Annex (where the Video Club is located today). The facility was dark, power outages were frequent, and there was very limited space. Basic computer classes were taught, but the equipment was crude, and classes were small.
When the PC Club was given space on the 3rd floor of the new Community Center, one of the rooms was designated as the new Learning Center, and Justin was a very helpful force in creating what the LC has become today. Key improvements were:
- Re-routing wiring in the walls and ceiling to enable moving the Teacher’s Station from the middle to the front of the room, and eliminating wiring on the floor.
- Adding a portable microphone and video capability to the Teacher’s Station, and speakers in the ceiling.
- Replacing the portable cart-mounted projector with a clearer, brighter, remote controlled ceiling-mounted projector.
- Installing a custom (large as possible) screen on the front wall.Installing new computer-oriented student desks
The improvements significantly expanding the variety of classes offered and the number of students accommodated.