First of all...Thanks to all of you for the kind words in the posts & E-Mails.

But, I have been doing these auctions for 5 weeks now & they have been very time consuming. So, the auction that ends tomorrow will be the last one.

Now I have a question. I did indeed say that these auctions were for members. And from the start Mike & I thought that Brad Keller WAS still a member. As it turns out he let his membership lapse. As per Ralph Myers latest E-Mail to me, Brad was a member until 3-31-05. Ralph had made a post on the club board though on September 3rd listing Brad as one of the members from MS. That is why Mike & I thought he was still a member & at that point Ralph no doubt thought he was still a member himself.

The question is, would anyone have a problem if I paid whatever the amount is to make Brad current in the & then he would get half of the money raised with Sue Wells getting the other half. It's not like Brad has never been a member or that it has been years. It's a total of 6 months. At this point the only two members needing help that we know of, are Sue Wells & Brad Keller. If anyone else was going to step forward I think they would have done so by now. Mike Skelton & I will make the final decision, but I'm interested in what others have to say & those who won auctions & made donations.

And just for the record...I had never met or even heard of Brad Keller until after Hurricane Katrina.

At the end of this post is part of an E-Mail I received from Sue Wells over the weekend. Judging from what she said, I don't think she would have a problem with what I'm thinking of doing.

I'm not going to be responding to the replies, just reading them & thinking them over. Once Mike & I make a final decision & a check or checks are mailed out, that information will be updated at the page linked below. I will also make a post here.

Andy - Las Vegas

I received the $200 check from Mike and was sincerely touched by the generosity of my fellow club members. Your efforts and those of Ed Bigley have just overwhelmed me. You and he certainly were not obligated to do anything. Yet you both jumped up and lended a very needed helping hand. I just can't thank you enough.

As for helping Brad, I say GREAT! I, more than most, understand the need of those who lost everything. Whether his membership has lapsed or not (and he may well have rejoined) is of no matter. He is a friend, fellow collector and a former member of the Deep South Chip Collectors Club. Whether we get $1.00 or $1,000,000, doesn't matter either. It's the fact that fellow collectors got together to help in a very direct way.

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who may think that I may be "upset". I AM NOT. All I would like, above all else, is a means to contact Brad and help him if I can.