I’d like to introduce you to another of our Desk Volunteers this month, a jovial fellow named John Gould.  John has been helping on the desk for several years.  He started at the Resource Center in Central Park  We have recently re-named the Center the Computer Learning Center in order to make it more understandable to the public.

I talked a bit with John the week of writing this article, and discovered several things I hadn’t known about him.  John spent 8½ years abroad, but it was mostly with the Red Cross rather than the military – though he also spent  23 years in the Navy.

I also discovered that John had lots of experience in organizing groups and paperwork in a variety of situations.  He was a yeoman in the Navy, and John tells me that in the olden days the yeoman had to know about a lot about the different sections of the base or ship.  So he did a lot of paperwork, bookkeeping, getting people together, etc among the different areas of responsibility.  Can you tell I’m not an ex-military guy  by my phrasing here?

John first came across computers when he was the secretary for his Masonic Lodge.  He discovered that his efficiency and control of records improved drastically with the use of a computer program.  He persuaded an old Navy man to write DOS programs that would help him with membership lists, mailing labels, address changes, inventory control, and  other areas.  He also used them in his Fleet Reserve Association, and even published a newsletter with a few graphics.  We need to remember that this was very definitely in the early days of computers.  But John found some ways to put them to use.

After his military career John spent 20 years full time with the Red Cross.  This job took him overseas for 8 ½ years to a variety of Asian countries – Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and others. He also developed his hobby from seeing a guy playing bagpipes in Vietnam.  He now plays the bagpipes for a lot of local events, and even has software that helps him write music for  bagpipes.

After retiring from the Red Cross - and with a little pushing from wife Nancy – he bought a 286 computer, and started taking classes to learn how to work the machine.  He took classes at Oasis, Holmes High School, and SAC.  Then he read about Alamo PC in the newspaper, and started taking classes here, and soon began volunteering at the desk.   He helps us search for new volunteers for the desk and elsewhere.  Wanna help by volunteering for 2 or 3 hours?  We’re always looking for more help on the Desk and elsewhere.

I should tell you that this is my last article for Volunteer of the Month.  I have written these for 3 years, and it’s time for someone else to take up the mantle.   I hope you have enjoyed the articles and reading about our great volunteers for Alamo PC.