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Questions for the Candidates...

Old 12-11-2012, 11:00 AM
  #26  
jetmech43
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Default RE: Questions for the Candidates...

I was there for your AMA contest in Sept, was well run and you made it alot of fun for me as well as others im sure, I will try your approach, Keith tried once to get the field for just a 1/2 day on a Sat and all the powers that be would never get back to him, but I will try again thanks.
ORIGINAL: jonlowe


ORIGINAL: jetmech43

Its hard to promote pattern in the club im in, just a hand full of us are doing it, I do wish we could change the way the club thinks, but trust me we have tried, all they want to do is the fun fly thing, if we mention anything about pattern they throw up the cross and push it back in the grave, we might as well ask for dental work than get the club to sponsor anything in pattern. Maybe you guys can give us a way to approach it in a different way.
Believe it or not, this one is fairly easy. Don't ask your club to sponsor anything. If your club rules have a way to make an event proposal, do that. It only takes two or three people to put on the contest. You basically just need a CD and a scorekeeper. Just ask for the field for 1/2 day on Friday for practice, all day Saturday, and 1/2 day Sunday. Don't ask for any help, other than perhaps someone to help you set up the poles. Don't ask for any money up front. Tell the members of the club you promise them a profit. Believe me, you will make one.

I CD'd two contests this year, one for BPA, and one an AMA contest. Total income from the BPA contest was $505, and total expenses including lunch, water, trophies (simple picture frames with a certificate and a picture), and other sundries was $127.47. We returned $377.53 to the club and charged $35 per entry for 14 entries. We also had one small contribution from a club member, around $20.

The AMA contest returned $469 with 19 entries to the club, and we only charged $30. In this case, trophy cost was zero, because one of our regulars had a friend who makes really nice plexiglass plaques, and all he asked was that he put a sticker on the back of the trophy with his company name and address.

The club is estatic because we are the biggest money makers for the club for the last several years. They don't have to do anything except loan us the field. Any other events give most of their money away in the form of door prizes or fancy trophies, and some end up costing the club money. If anyone makes noise about ''those pattern guys'' we and the club board just point out how much money we give back. Door prizes are nice, but pattern flyers understand the need to keep clubs happy, so they don't care.

If we could do a 50/50 cash raffle where the winner gets 50% and the club gets the other 50%, we could make more. But because we are in a city park, our contract with the city prohibits it.

Hope this helps give you some ideas.
Old 12-11-2012, 12:00 PM
  #27  
jonlowe
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Default RE: Questions for the Candidates...

One thing I forgot to mention in my resume/platform. I was involved at the national level in the Porsche Club of America, a similar organization to the NSRCA albeit much larger. I was appointed to the National Tech Committee for that organization, in charge all technical information for one model of Porsche. I was also on the committee for the Porsche Club National Convention, called a Parade, a week long affair held in the early 90's in Cincinnati, OH. I was in charge of one of the events. The politics in that organization make NSRCA pale in comparison!

I was asked about affiliations. I have no sponsors, am affliated with no companies involved with NSRCA, and am purely in the hobby for the competition. I also enjoy the technical aspects of the hobby. I have no deals, past or present, with anyone. I pay for everything out of my own pocket.
Old 12-11-2012, 12:41 PM
  #28  
wattsup
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Default RE: Questions for the Candidates...

Jon that's all well and good but what I'm talking about is your past political affiliation with Lamar Blair and the Northwest Florida group and how it related to the NSRCA at that time. The last thing any of us needs is for a candidate for the office of President of the NSRCA to make any promises or "backdoor deals" for the sake of being elected. I know that it is impossible to control all the political maneuvering but awareness can sure go a long way to curtail it. NSRCA was not founded for the personal gain or gratification of one or two individuals. So let's all keep this in mind as we move forward. Regards, Everette
Old 12-11-2012, 07:50 PM
  #29  
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Default RE: Questions for the Candidates...

If there is any interest we could resurrect the classified ad section in the K-Factor. we are always looking for new ways to include advertising in the K-Factor. However, it is not worth doing for a minimum fee on a monthly billing basis, maybe on a quarterly basis. So who is interested? Mike, is your offer good on the NSRCA and AMA numbers? Can we offer that to new members now?

John Gayer
NSRCA treasurer
Old 12-12-2012, 02:01 PM
  #30  
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Default RE: Questions for the Candidates...

Jon Lowe you write that there isn't significant cost savings on the K-factor if it's mailed to 250 people or 500 people as a member of the K-factor committee that the board appointed earlier this year, I have to strenuously disagree. It's true that from a POSTAL cost point of view the cost is the same 250 or 500 as long as things are carrier route sorted, etc. the cost to PRINT 250 is different than the cost to PRINT 500. Further, for cost reasons we limit length of content and most content is printed in black and white, making it very difficult to perceive details in how-to articles, etc. Finally advertisers have trouble tracking ROI for the advertisements they pay for because there's no tracking telling them that customer X who spent at least $2500 with them over the last year came to them through the K-factor unless that customer remembers to tell them "I buy from you because you advertise in the K-factor", and how many of us actually remember that? You can get some tracking from print media with QR codes or coupon codes that tell you what publication the customer came from, but those are cumbersome and most of the small companies that service RC don't have the resources to do the tracking that way. With a digital distribution, done right the way things like RC Pilot do it, the publication is pushed to your device when it's available, and every ad you see is tracked for how much time you spend reading it, how many of its interactive features you use, and, ultimately, how many people click through the ad to your commerce system all at no infrastructure cost to the advertiser. Color comes for free on all pages, and whether your ad is a full page or a 1/4 page the cost is the same (though you, the advertiser, may need to spend a little extra if you want to add interactive features or have a slick color ad since you need more layout/design expertise).

In the presentation I put together for the board, I covered carefully the revenue and expense implications of various options for going digital or mixed digital/paper. The fact is, without *some* kind of change, the K-factor is a significant COST to the NSRCA, it should be break-even at worst. I don't doubt that there will still be some folk who want paper, but, just as the club I'm with (with over 400 members) records the individuals preference and delivers paper or electronic, the same could be done by the NSRCA. At some point, as Jon Carter mentioned, we need to present the case for change to the membership and let them help the board make the right decision for the membership's needs & wants.

Peter+
Old 12-12-2012, 04:10 PM
  #31  
jonlowe
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Default RE: Questions for the Candidates...

Pete,
I was going by a portion of a this from Scott on the list. Hope he doesn't mind me repeating it here:

"... As far as your last sentence, the NSRCA currently pays for 500 copies and in order to get the "pre-sort" postage from USPS, we must order 500. Typically and depending on the month, we actually mail out 250-450 copies since I've been doing this based on the box that I receive as extras. So, whether we continue to mail out Kfactors for 1 month or 3 months, the cost does not change due to the fact we have to pay for 500. Actually, at the current way of doing the Kfactor, the more we mail out, the more we save as the extras have to be shipped to the Secretary. So it actually does make sense as the cost does not change aside from the box of extras that are shipped."

In another post he added this:

" Regardless of 250 mailing or 500 mailing, the postage is the same due to the pre-sort fee. In order to qualify for that, we have to get 500. The additional cost comes from the Publisher sending me the extras. The bigger the box, the higher the weight, the higher the cost. We are currently looking at ways to cut costs of the Kfactor, not because we are struggling or can't afford it but because it's an avenue to save money. We are looking at potentially bringing the publishing of the Kfactor in-house. This could potentially allow us to cut costs but there is a long way to go before making that decision."

I was talking about incremental postage costs being negligible. Sorry if I wan't clear. If a substantial portion of NSRCA members still want a printed K-Factor, it isn't clear from the info provided at what point print cost savings by not printing as many copies is a win situation for NSRCA. My guess is that print cost setup and the fact we use color is the major cost of printing, and that incremental costs of printing more or less copies is smaller factor in total print cost. If we go totally digital on the K-Factor, we save all of the postage and printing costs. But I'm not sure that is in the cards at this point. The board would have to make a decision that if members don't have web access, they wouldn't have any way of finding out what is going on in NSRCA.

I'm glad to see you mention that the board still intends to present a case on the K-Factor to the members. I got nervous after I saw that the board recinded the vote of the board at the 2011 Nats that required a vote by the members. The one that was rescinded was this one:

"Tony Frackowiak makes the motion: “The decision whether the Kfactor should be printed or solely sent
out by electronic delivery needs to be made by the general membership and not the board.” Gary
Courtney Seconds. No discussion. Vote is taken and passes."

This one is still on the books. I don't remember if the poll was ever taken.

"Motion made by Archie Stafford – “To distribute the poll to the membership to decide on whether to
keep paper K‐factor or go to an online only version of the K‐Factor in the October issue of the K‐Factor
and online in the Members only section of our website http://nsrca.us with a deadline to vote of
November 30, 2011.” Dave Johnstone Seconds. No discussion. Vote is taken and passes with 1 vote of
nay."

I guess I don't agree that cost of the K-Factor ought to be break even with advertising. There were many years when the K-Factor did not break even. The members are paying dues, and the K-Factor should be a tangible benefit that they get from their dues, just like a newsletter from any other organization. How much comes from dues vs. advertisers is a whole different discussion.

Thanks for your comments.






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