Greetings VCF Members, I am Chris Fala, and for over two years I have been a member of the VCF Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee and the Chairman of the Committee for the past year. Below is a brief self-introduction, and my thoughts on the future of VCF and why I feel I’m worthy of your vote to stay on the Steering Committee. I hope you read further. and I look forward to receiving your confidence and vote as we move forward with the improvement and expansion of VCF. I grew up in the 1970s-80s in southern New Jersey. My first exposure to the world of computing was as a teenager in school on a TRS-80 model 1 (the only computer in the school) which I used to teach myself how to program in BASIC. Later, my sister who was a Commodore employee gave me a VIC-20 for Christmas that she got with her "employee discount" which I recently discovered was actually $0 (Bil Herd confirmed to me that this was a legitimate thing at Commodore!). I spent hundreds of hours programming that computer, trying to create games and other software, as I did not own any official software. I also learned to directly access the hardware thanks to the wonderful Programmer's Reference Guide book. In college, I learned Pascal and FORTRAN on the Apple IIe computers that were in the very small computer lab, and learned C at a different school on a VAX system. I have many other parallel experiences in my young days where I learned about electronics, experiences which were very impactful to me. Without further extending this document, suffice it to say that these experiences built a foundation that firmly rooted my interests in technology. While some who know me may think of me as a "Commodore guy", rest assured I have a deep appreciation for, and interest in promoting, all computer innovations wherever and whenever they may have occurred in history. While my personal history has some interesting events that have directed my life's path to where it is today, I feel my history is less relevant than my vision for the future. With the wonderful events that VCF makes available to its members at the InfoAge campus, such as workshops, swap-meets, our Holiday Membership Party, etc., we have a place to hang out, have fun, get to know people, and play/work with our toys. These gatherings make VCF-MA much more than just a museum and festival. We are a community of like-minded appreciators of creativity, preservation, history, and technology. I doubt that this dynamic will ever change, and I feel that it can only be enhanced by the growth that I believe we need and deserve. I have huge aspirations for the future of VCF. Since my first Vintage Computer Festival, I have been in awe at the literal genius that has been displayed at our tables. The skill and creativity that I have seen, I feel, has been sadly underrated based on the size of the event. Instead of being exposed to hundreds of people, I believe the great creations of our members and exhibitors should be seen by thousands, if not millions. The level of genius that I describe appears (in my opinion) to be better expressed at VCF-East than at other events. I have not had the luxury of attending many other related events, and I intend no insult or criticism of them. However, I have heard many testimonies and seen many videos that have painted a clear enough picture to help me firmly believe that what we have here at East is very special. Recently, in conversation where VCF-East was being compared to the other VCFs, I have heard the term "science fair" attributed to our festival. At face value, I feel this description can be construed as an insult. A science fair by definition is usually a children's event. Our festival is a science treasure trove! Our exhibitors don't just say, "here, look at this cool old computer". We present fully functional demonstrations of how they were used in their heyday, dig into the innovations that were foundations for later technology, promote appreciation for historic creativity that was derivative of nothing, and invent modern ways to tap into the old technology while honoring the history. The high caliber of speakers that have presented at VCF-East speak for themselves (literally!). If you don't know, go check out our YouTube channel and see the many historical figures who have been at our campus. We have an embarrassment of riches. Our host, InfoAge, possesses history that is unmatched by most other venues. While logistics can be challenging when putting on an event, those challenges don't compare with more significant facts. For example: 1. Marconi himself worked here. 2. The communications dish was significant in early space exploration. 3. Other museums on campus are exceptional, relevant, and unique. These are just a few reasons why the home of our museum is also a great home to our biggest public event! We have in our museum several extremely rare artifacts. The UNIVAC, which is one of very few that is still FUNCTIONAL. The Philbrick Researches tube based analog computer (that we affectionately refer to as "George") which we have been told was assembled to be a teaching computer and likely never existed elsewhere in this configuration. Our IBM 1130. Our Wang 4000. Our PDP "straight" 8. The list goes on. Are we the best computer museum? The most complete? The most convenient? The most attractive? The most well known? The easy answer to those questions is no. However, we have an opportunity to change that last one. We need to be foremost in people's thoughts when they think of a great place to learn about computer history. We should make every effort to make VCF-MA well known to anyone who is at all interested in technology. If elected to remain a member of the Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee, I will continue to promote the growth of all the great things I mentioned above. If you agree with me that these should be our priorities, I respectfully ask for your vote. Sincerely, Chris Fala Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee of the Vintage Computer Federation