Last night PAMPA held their annual meeting here at the Nats. I know not everyone here is a member (why not?) but quite a few are , were, want to be or aren't sure right now. This is a quick way to touch upon the main points and also reach out for your help to get our data base up to date. We know our master roster has VERY MANY out of date /bad account email addresses and other info which has greatly hindered get timely renewals and other things to many. On this issue I will ask that you check your info on the PAMPA website. If that doesn't work then I ask you to wait a week or two and I will provide a new email to simply up date this info or check you're status if you aren't sure. NEW members or renewals for expired members can now or at any time go to the website to join/re-join. More on this shortly.
In the past few weeks the Executive Counsel has approved two important measures:
1. Due to the financial balance sheet and cost projections it has been necessary to end the printed version of Stunt News. There should be issue #2 in your mailbox any day. Then #3 has already been mostly created (and paid for in terms of creation costs) so it will be completed and go out. I have asked Chris to stop production of the printed paper issues at that point.
2. The Counsel approved a new web-only dues structure for EVERYONE domestic AND foreign members of $40.00 per year. You're own personal renewal date will then be 365 days from the day you join/renew and there will be no more single, mass renewal date or time of year. The new website has this enhancement added which will make our workload so much less and the system will automatically prompt you to renew as your time approaches. We will no longer need to prepare and mail/email renewals.
WHY did we end the newsletter (formerly known as 'magazine')?
1. We are not a publishing company. We are a Non Profit US corporation. Almost everything PAMPA has done and almost all of it's budget has been about printing a magazine and little else. That wasn't a point on the original charter.
2. We simply can no longer afford to print 'magazines'. Here are some numbers:
It was known as long as three years ago we were losing money. At that time the member dues were $58.00. The cost to provide six issues of the magazine to a member was calculated at $66.00. That included no other PAMPA expenses or projects. More currently the copy was reduced, the dues were reduced and the membership declined (largely due to the roster problems) and then of course the revenue;
January 1st to July 1st revenue from dues and other sources was $14,281.84. This will be most all the income received this fiscal year.
January 1st to July 1st expenses including related to the magazine, Nats, fees, rents and supplies were $18,257.72....for 1/2 the year with another half year of expenses yet to come.
In the past year PAMPA received a gift from the passing of Roger Widman in the amount of $41,000. As of this week or next, other than this sum from Roger, I will need to write checks exhausting the rest of the cash assets in PAMPA accounts. This will mean we are running now entirely on those funds from Roger. If we go on without stopping the print we will burn through that balance by early next year to year and a half and PAMPA would be mostly defunct. This is why we are taking the action we did.
NOW IN A POSITIVE LIGHT!
We are coming fully into the digital age. The website in the near future will not be issue-based. Things will be added/updated every few days with a lot of full color content. ALL past Stunt News-back to 1973 (over 50 years) will be fully on the website library for paid members to access at any time they wish. Not sure anyone will live long enough to read it all! You will find bullet points on the opening page from which you will select to go right to the topic of choice. Chris plans to upload at least two full feature articles each month. We will expand our international coverage and grow our membership outside the US with the same dues structure and total access as all domestic members.
You may join now at any time on the website using PayPal. We know there are those members who paid an extra amount for the printed version of the newsletter. We offer our sincere apologies we have to end that mid-year. Our ByLaws do state that publications are subject to financial resources. Even so at the time of your renewal a stipend of some sort will be offered. The EC will be working on this and other issues.
We want PAMPA to get back to it's roots- to promote and support our sport in many ways from the local to the national.
Thank You!
Dave Trible
PAMPA President
Topic: PAMPA General Meeting brief synopsis (Read 1179 times)
