Hello Everyone! This is my 1st post to the Board, so my apologies if I make any mistakes or, God forbid, cause any arguments. Ebay is down so I decided to take a look at the Board to catch up on Club happenings.

What apparently started out as a conveying of ideas regarding the convention and fee increases, etc. turned into multiple arguments. So, I will give my own ideas regarding the convention happenings and dues increases. It is true that most shows require a higher admission than does our convention, but the great part about the low entrance fee is that it encourages attendance by non-club members. This may include casino patrons, workers, tourists and local residents. With a much higher cost to attend, or with a registration fee, we might lose a majority of the 700+ non-members who came in this year. The idea of $3-4 1-day fee, and a $10 3-day fee is a good idea.

The food costs incurred by the Club might be better defrayed with the purchase of a meal ticket and a no-host bar. That way you could attend without paying if you wanted to eat elsewhere and only those eating there would be incuring the cost of the food. Who would object to paying a few bucks to sit with fellow collectors and talk and trade? Keep in mind that if the club is paying $7000 now, if attendees pay part of the bill, the club might only have to kick in $2000-3000....remember that there is also a business meeting and awards ceremony held at the same time which are club events.

Those who have attended the past conventions should realize all of the volunteers who spend many hours helping make the convention a success. The check-in desk had 4-5 people sitting there all 3 days.... the previewing of the auction lots was supervised for 2 full days... the club table was manned the entire show... many people helped out at the auction from 6pm to after 1am... these are just a few of your fellow collectors who spent many hours of their convention time to make it a success....there were many more who worked throughout the year to assure a great event. If the club might be thinking about creating a paid position, they should think about all those volunteers who graciously work to benefit the club. A paid position could be detrimental to the volunteerism seen in the past and necessary to make the convention a continued success.

Is it important to increase the amount of funds in the Club account? If the dues cover the newsletter, and the table fees and room reservations pay for the convention space, and the auction nets the Club between $8000-11000 a year, and there has always been money in the Club account, then why do we need a substancial influx of funds? There is talk on the Board about purchasing chip manufacturer records. The historic value of chip records is without question, but not everybody in the club collects chips, nor would they want the club to obtain expensive chip records.

By the way, I am not opposed to paying a few extra bucks for my dues. The experience of being a club member and meeting up with others at the convention each year is well worth it!

Sorry for the length of my 1st post, hopefully ebay is back on line now.

Happy Collecting, Cameron