Here is the mail Bill was referring to above. This recently went out to all current and past members of ASIA who have valid email addresses on file.
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As you may already know, the board has made a renewed commitment in several areas, one of which is to better communicate with the membership. This "newsletter", whether it becomes monthly, bi-monthly, or simply comes out whenever we have something to say, is one of the vehicles we'll be using, in addition to Guitarmaker Magazine. We hope you'll take a bit of time to read these, and to respond whenever the impulse strikes. Of course, you may also opt out of receiving them at any time; just let us know that you're not interested.
This first "issue" is going out to current members of course, but we're also copying past members who have not renewed - some, for many years. It's our sincere hope that those of you who have been gone for a while will see and appreciate what we're trying to do, and will rejoin us in an effort to achieve the success we all want for ASIA. From now on however, these little meanderings will be sent to current members only.
You've all heard about new plans and new commitments in the past but, right now - even as I type this, we're in the process of implementing some new management strategies that we feel will make very effective differences, and are geared toward the double edged goal of de-centralizing the operational structure of the organization, while involving the membership to a much greater degree. This, we believe, better follows the association's original mandate to be "member run", while allowing a greater depth and scope of activity and value for all members.
First, because a few folks have asked, the organization is financially healthy, not particularly "rich", but in good shape. From what I can tell, and with the exception of a couple of shaky years where member donations saved the day, ASIA's past difficulties have rarely been as much a financial issue as one of "too much work to do, and not enough workers" so, a large part of our new strategy is to form volunteer committees for work in areas where sheer manpower has always been a major difficulty - Simply put, if more of us take an active part in the process, we can accomplish a lot without any single member having to take on more than they can handle. In fact, we can delve into a few areas we've never jumped into before. The following committees seem intelligent for starters however, we're certainly not limited to them, and members may have others to suggest as well.
An Editorial committee will be needed, for solicitation and collection of editorial materials, both print and web based. This has begun already, in conjunction with the web site's complete re-design, but will require a strong staff to get the magazine on schedule and keep it that way. This is the first order of business and, with your help, this committee should be fully staffed by the time the new site is ready to replace the current one and the next issue of Guitarmaker goes to the printer. Of course, a strong publication can be a good revenue generator so...
An advertising committee will be formed to secure ads for both print and web based venues. If we can generate more income for the association, we can spend it on the membership by way of more benefits and programs like...
An education committee, to be involved in producing tutorials, seminars, and continuing education opportunities for members, from newcomers to the more advanced. This could be really cool - lots of ideas to pursue here.
A marketing committee to both, market ASIA to the community at large, and to explore marketing and advertising related opportunities for members, as well as consulting and advising individual members in their own marketing needs.
A political action committee, to make ASIA's agenda for small business, and the arts, known to policy makers at local, regional, and national levels. This includes making our position clear on taxation issues, group health insurance regulations, and import/export policies to name a few. Sure, we're a relatively "small" group but, together, we have a voice that ought to be heard.
Does it all sound like "pie in the sky"? It's not. Within our current membership we have writers, editors, and publishers; we have teachers and educators, managers and CEO's - attorneys, judges, and politicians. Some are active, some are retired but, all are knowledgeable and experienced in these areas. All we need is a volunteer effort to tap that resource of experience and expertise, and we can take the organization to levels of professionalism and service many haven't even imagined. It's pretty simple really. But, it'll take effort.
Symposium is just around the corner, (if you plan to attend but haven't registered yet, please do so soon. You won't want to miss this one), and I hope to personally meet many of you whom I don't already know. If you have an area of interest and experience, and you would like to volunteer for a committee, or suggest one we haven't thought of, we can sure use your help. Please feel free to get my attention at Symposium or, if you're not attending, contact me via e-mail.
If you are a current member, we thank you for your continued support. If you're not, we hope you'll come back and help us grow ASIA into the organization it has the capacity to become. Member in good standing, or member and volunteer, however you choose to do it, please get involved. I firmly believe the craft will be better for it.
Thanks so much,
Bill Moll.
If you would like to renew your membership please go to this link:
http://www.guitarmaker.org/Pages/pay.html
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FAQ
If your desire to build is strong enough, and you can finance the materials (housing in Amsterdam is utterly, utterly disastrous), and your SO will put up with it, there's pretty much always a way to get instruments built.
