[vcf-midatlantic] Exciting Opportunity - VCF Needs Your Help

[Chris Fala]

Attention VCF Members! We have very exciting news to announce, and an
important request!

As many of you are undoubtedly aware, the Vintage Computer Federation
Mid-Atlantic chapter has been in possession of a 1960s IBM 1130 computer
which has been on display in our museum for several years. The IBM 1130 is
an early example of what became commonly known as minicomputers (smaller
than room-size); one computer for one person. It is also unique in the
sense that there are only a small number in existence, and few are
functional.

We take pride in the fact that many, in fact most, artifacts displayed in
our museum are functional and provide an interactive experience for our
museum visitors. We now have an opportunity to add the IBM 1130 to the list
of functional artifacts!

A long-time friend of VCF who lives in Florida, Carl Claunch, has
experience in successfully restoring these computers to a functional state.
Mr. Claunch is not able to travel to us to perform the work, so we need to
transport the computer to and from his residence. As you can imagine, this
presents various challenges, but we believe this is a very worthwhile
effort. To ignore this opportunity to engage with this expert would be a
regrettable, permanent loss for our museum.

To move forward with this project, *we need your support*. We need to raise
approximately $6,000 to cover shipping and other expenses involved in the
repair. Funds donated will be used for expenses related to this repair
project and operating costs of the IBM 1130 computer. Funds received that
are in excess of the needs of this project will be directed to the
restoration and preservation of other artifacts in our collection.

We need to acknowledge that, in a project like this, there is no guarantee
of success. We cannot predict issues that may occur during transportation.
Additionally, insurmountable problems may be revealed during the repair
process that would cause the computer to remain non-functional, and there
could be other issues that we can only imagine. Therefore, as hopeful as we
are for success, there are no guarantees, and we cannot make any promises.
For this reason, we must clearly state that your donation is NOT refundable.

In recognition of your support, you have the option to include your name on
a donor plaque (or another suitable memorial, to be determined) which will
be proudly displayed along with the computer in our museum.

Please follow this link
https://vcfed.org/membership/contribute/transact/?reset=1&id=2 to reach the
donation page on our website. We ask that you please act soon and consider
donating to this important historic project. We have a delivery window
early this fall and greatly appreciate your support.

We hope that you will participate in this endeavor. Please share this with
like-minded individuals and organizations who may also be interested in
helping to preserve computing history.

Thank you all for your attention and consideration, and your interest in
the advancement of our hobby through our museum. Should you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Sincerely,
Chris Fala
Chairman of the Vintage Computer Federation Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee