Richard Beaty
Computer Club classroom stripped for facility renovations
It’s started — the remodel of the HOA2 Arts and Crafts Center. When complete, this will result in a major upgrade for the Computer Club and all other clubs sharing this facility. For this work to begin, the classroom had to be completely emptied out. For all who have participated in our classes, you can imagine what a task this was. Twenty-five computers and their associated desks, all the infrastructure (wiring, network installation, multiple projector presentation connections, presentation consoles—everything had to go. With the help of several club board and other members, this work is done. Thanks to all the volunteers who stepped up to make this happen.
So where did all that stuff go? The desks and other non-heat sensitive things are in a temporary storage pod provided by the HOA. All the computers and other equipment subject to heat damage are in an environmentally controlled storage unit that we are renting. When the remodeling is complete and the facility is ready for us, everything will have to go back again. This will be an even bigger job than the original removal.
Computer class schedule impacted
Without a classroom, our traditional summer classes are all but shut down. In a few cases, instructors have arranged for demonstration-based classes in other meeting rooms. Check the calendar on the club’s website (saddlebrookecc.org/calendar.html) to see the current status.
The start of fall classes will also be impacted. Based on the projected completion date for renovations, we have determined that the earliest start date for fall classes is October 3. This should give a safety margin for construction schedule slippage plus time to get the classroom up and running again. Watch the calendar on the club website for new class availability.
Don’t forget our online classes
All this said, don’t forget about our online classes which are not subject to construction interruptions. You can view these courses anytime from anywhere. See saddlebrookecc.org and select Enrollment > eLearn to access the online class area of our website.
Thank you, Mr. President
Last month I reported that we decided to upgrade all the classroom PCs to solid state drives (SSD), which will make them perform significantly faster. It made sense to do this during the remodeling disruption, so all the PCs will be equipped with their new SSDs when classes start up again.
Our president and PC guru, Dennis Korger, stepped up to do this project. It required rotating the classroom PCs in and out of storage while he worked on the SSD upgrade at home. For a variety of technical reasons, the upgrade process mushroomed into a major project, requiring almost three hours per computer. There are 16 classroom computers! You do the math. These are just some of the things our dedicated president does behind the scenes to make your computer club a success. Thank you, Dennis.