I’d like to take this opportunity to announce my intension to run for Vice President of the CCA and make a few comments.

I’ve been a member of this club for 30 years now (just received my pin!). I’ve served on various committees, volunteered for projects, and have been an administrator of the ChipGuide for some time now. I am also a consistent writer for the club’s magazine on the subject of illegal casinos (having won Article of the Year numerous times). And it was my extreme honor to be inducted into the CCA Hall of Fame a couple of years ago.

It is no exaggeration to say that this club is one of the most important things in my life. The people I have met are some of my closest friends, and the joy I get from the hobby has turned into my passion. The club has been with me over half my life, predating even my wife and kids. (As a matter of fact, this board is where I announced the birth my first daughter 26 years ago!) Whatever I have faced, this club and you people have been there with me and for me. I can’t thank you enough.

So why after all these years am I now seeking a position on the board?
Answer: The time is finally right!
My daughters are (finally) finished with school and (finally) making it on their own, some health issues with my elderly parents are concluded, and most importantly, I have recently retired from work. I am FINALLY in a position that I feel I can give time, effort and follow-through to the club I hold so dear.

So what makes me qualified to help the club?
Answer: Experience!
Before I retired, I was the Controller for a large non-profit organization. It was much larger than the CCA (40,000 members, 130 countries, $50M revenues), but it was facing many of the same issues we are struggling with ourselves. Membership was dropping, volunteers were drying up and rising costs were crippling expansion. Over the years I have worked with various departments (membership, conference, education) to help diagnose issues and implement solutions. I know a lot of these same solutions can be used here.

There are a couple key areas I think the club needs to focus on immediately.

1) We need to identify new members and keep the ones we have.
We’re told there are thousands of collectors out there who aren’t members. Where are they, and how can we engage them? And just as important, once we get them, how do we keep them?

2) We need to set up the club so there are clear hierarchies and communication channels.
Projects and requests go unfulfilled and volunteers leave frustrated because of communication slowdowns/breakdowns. There should be clear lines of communication and workflows between members, volunteers and the management.

3) The club needs to understand and analyze its finances to ensure long term sustainability.
This is absolutely crucial. Costs to the club keep going up, and the solution cannot be constantly increasing dues. What might not seem like a lot to us old timers will absolutely run off the new casual collectors. I fear we are approaching the limit we can charge for dues and convention tables. The next couple of years will be very important to our long term success.

So you might say, “Ed, that all sounds extremely boring and work-like.” And I would agree. The good thing for you is, let the Board do all the administration, and you concentrate on (what my friend Steve likes to say) HAVING FUN.

This club needs a little work, but it is still the Casino Collectibles Association that I have loved for 30 fantastic years. Let’s make sure its here for another 30 years and beyond.

If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Email me and I’ll send my phone number if you’d rather talk that way.

Thank you for your time in reading this and I would appreciate your vote for Vice President.

Ed Hertel