APCUG began after a series of meetings and discussions between representatives from various user groups around the country about improving communications between groups and sharing information. The presidents from three user groups—Boston Computer Society, Capital PC User Group, and Houston Area League of PC Users—organized the First Annual User Group Summit meeting in conjunction with the 1986 Fall Comdex computer expo.
After that first Summit meeting and subsequent meetings, the leaders of 15 user groups met in Seattle in October 1987 and proposed the formation of an association for the purpose of fostering communication among and between user groups. That proposal was presented before 130 representatives from 50 user groups at the Second Annual User Group Summit Meeting in November 1987, and was unanimously approved.
See Membership Benefits under the Benefits tab for an overview of the advantages of being a member of APCUG.