As of 5 Aug2003, the club has $1006.16 in checking and $4021.92 in savings. We are looking at $1700.00 in expenses for the remainder of the year for printing and mailing of the newsletters. Based upon revenues for the past 2 years, I have conservatively estimated our income for the remainder of the year to be $850.00 for ads run in the newsletters and $1500.00 in new and renewed memberships. This does not include costs nor revenue from the Reunion. Yes, Nashcon was a financial disaster. It need not have been. We lost $5,423.56 for the want of 16 people. If 16 people had called and reserved a room by the second week of May, we could have saved $3,207.56. If you ever wondered how members can so dramatically affect the cost of things, just remember the following formula, 16 people = $3,207.56. As many found out the first day of the convention, the hotel was a busy place and rooms quickly disappeared. Some people dawdled looking for a “better deal” in a room rate at other hotels. This cost us $2,400 in rental fees increases because we did not make our room count, and $3,207.56 for those rooms not accounted for, yes, it was a double wammy. We could have purchased the rooms before the cutoff date, but, it has never been this severe a problem in the past and it was not thought about until after the fact. If those 16 people had gotten their rooms, Nashcon could have lost only $816.00, not to bad considering the fact that we had made a commitment to move to a nicer facility where we could stay for a couple of years. Being new and unknown customers to the hotel management, we didn’t get the best rate. This isn’t a new fact, it is fairly standard practice for hotels. Once an event is held, the hotel then has a track record to work with which allows more bargaining for better rates. Nashcon has been a good revenue producer in the past but its last positive return was in 2000. The Reunion and Siege of Augusta have been the revenue producers since 2001. With Nashcon now at a location that we are planning to stay at for a long time (no more hopscotching about between hotels) and whose facilities and location got good reviews from attendees, the treasury should bounce back. So, get out and spread the word, we are not doomed. We can still function. If you want to know how to help, do these things, 1) Let those that purchase ads in the newsletter know you saw the ad, 2) renew your membership, 3) Attend conventions, we have the Reunion in Memphis (17-19 Oct) this year and Siege of Augusta early next year, oh and bring a friend. Back to Dispatch August 2003 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com