1. He who reads the REVIEW knows we're in a transition period in terms of raising enough funds to finance use of the church for our monthly meetings. We have two regular funding sources:
(a) About 25 local members who each pay $10 for the year, providing a total of $250, and
(b) About 50 subscribers, each paying $12 a year to get their issue mailed to them. This raises a total of $600, but not all of the $500 sticks to us. With 2 stamps on each copy mailed, the monthly mailing cost is $30, and the yearly mailing expense is $360; of the $600, therefore, we salvage $240.
The above gives us a net of $490 for the year. We need $45 per month for the church, or $540 for the year. Which means that we're always short a few dollars, which we make up by having our September flea market.
But: here's the rub ... I've spoken of rent ... note there's nothing mentioned about publishing costs for the REVIEW. Up 'till now, that's been a freebee; I've managed to run out all our copies on the xerox machine at the office. Now that I've retired, there's neither a xerox machine nor an office, and we've got to get the issues published somewhere.
The cheapest publishing figures I've come up with amount to 2 1/2 cents a page, or 50 cents per copy (for 20 pages). The total monthly publishing cost would be around $40, or $480 for the year. An expenditure of an additional $480 simply puts us out of business. What to do??
First, we've got to raise our membership costs a wee bit; the current rates have been in effect for well over five years. How much? I'll describe that later on (see Paragraph 3).
Second, I wrote a plaintive letter to the HMGS Board of Directors, describing our problems, and, on bended knee, asked for financial help until we straighten ourselves out. The BOD responded positively; I received a check for $500 from HMGS and a very nice note from the treasurer, Dick Sossi:
- Potomac Wargamers enjoys a special position with the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society. It was PW that served as the fertile soil from which HMGS grew and it is PW which continues to serve as our chief source of volunteers for both COLD WARS and HISTORICON.
Thanks to the HMGS BOD, we're out of the woods for '96. This gives us a full -year to resolve the problem.
2. But wait!!!... yet another problem. The Potomac Wargamers organization does not have its own bank account. The friendly banks in my neighborhood all indicate that if I open an account for an organization, any organization, the group will be tagged for a monthly service charge.
Personal accounts are spared this charge, providing there's a minimum amount kept in the account. Thus the PW funds are kept in my own personal account, under my name.
I receive a number of checks made out to the "Potomac Wargamers", and each time I try and deposit them, I need to get special dispensation from the friendly banking representative at my friendly bank... "We can't honor third party checks if they're made out to an organization." sez he, time and time again. I think he's as tired of seeing me as I of him.
I would appreciate, therefore, if all checks for the PW club were to be written in my name, rather than made out to PW.
3. At our March meeting, 'twas decided to raise our membership fees. The regular membership is now $15 (up from $10) for the year. For the subscribing members, those who get their issues mailed to them, it's now $18 (up from $12) . These rates go into effect only for newcomers who sign up now; all those who are currently on the list are unaffected.
4. I've signed up for the Internet and can be reached at the following E-Mail address:
- wsimon@erols.com
I'm curious to see if the existence of an on-line address will increase the number of comments I receive pertinent to the REVIEW (I think I received a letter last May ... it may have been June).
4. The HMGS COLD WARS convention took place in early March. Tom Elsworth of Oxford came over for the event and stayed with me for a few days. At HISTORICON, last July in 1995, Tom entered and won the DBM tournament ... he took home a plaque commemorating the event.
This year, 1996, Tom did it again! At COLD WARS, he was again awarded the winner's plaque. I think he swept the tournament employing an early Hebraic, Judaic, Davidic, Solomonic army (and possibly, a wee bit of help from Yahweh).
in one of his matches, his circa-1500 BC army faced off with one from the War of the Roses, circa-1400 AD. Obviously, this historically based tournament, using the just-as-historically-based DBM rules, gives one a lot of leeway. I'm thinking of entering the next DBM ancients tournament with my D-Day-The-Sixth-Of -June army. Will anyone notice? Will anyone care?
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© Copyright 1996 Wally Simon
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