President's Message from Jack Fugiel

As mentioned in past messages we have been looking for ways to increase membership and attendance at monthly meetings. Over the past several months the board of directors has received feedback from the membership concerning monthly meetings and how we might increase attendance. Based on that feedback we have come up with a recommendation to change the monthly format and dues structure.

Please read through the full text that follows as it is important to understand the details and benefits of what we are proposing.

Currently our monthly meetings begin at six (6:00 PM) with an hour of individual networking and discussions with other members and guests. At seven (7:00 PM) dinner is served, at approximately eight (8:00 PM) the speaker begins and we finish around 9:00, sometimes closer to 9:30 with group business and news of next month's speaker. There is a monthly charge of twenty five dollars ($25.00) for members and thirty dollars ($30.00) for non-members.

After much thought and discussion, listening to the feedback and reviewing many ideas the board has come up with the following recommendation for the 1998 fiscal year that begins in January:

The meeting would include a light buffet starting at 6:00 PM and available until 7:00 PM. This will allow an hour to arrive, eat, and network with other members and guests. The speaker would start at 7:10 and would continue approximately one hour. Group business, discussions of upcoming events and discussion of next month's speaker would take place from 8:10 and the meeting would adjourn around 8:30. The speaker would be available following the meeting for a few minutes of individual questions and discussion.

To accomplish this and make membership an attractive and equitable investment we are proposing a change in the membership and dues structure.

Currently the structure and associated benefits look like this:

Annual dues is $36.00 for both individuals and companies. At each meeting every individual or company member pays an additional twenty five dollars ($25.00) and non-members thirty dollars ($30.00). Cost of the annual Technical Conference is one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for members and one hundred ninety five dollars ($195.00) for non-members. A discount is available to past attendees paying the fee prior to the early cut-off date, usually around October 15th.

Based on the current structure a member attending approximately half the monthly meetings and the technical conference, with early registration, would spend approximately two hundred and seventy five dollars ($275.00), while a non-member would spend approximately three hundred and fifty dollars ($350.00). However, not all members attend half the meetings, while some attend almost all mettings, plus the technical conference. Our feedback indicates most members attend a meeting when they have an interest in the speaker, when it fits their schedule, or when the location is convenient.

The proposed change in the meetings, structure and dues is an attempt to simplify the payment structure, eliminate the monthly fee, while making the meetings more attractive and less time consuming.

The following proposal is for your review and comment:

Annual dues would include the monthly buffet. It would eliminate the need to get a company check or write your personal check every month. The company membership would only cover one person, however the membership, either company or individual, can be used by someone else if you choose not to attend a particular meeting. This should be particularly attractive when a topic is of interest to a particular individual in your shop since he may attend in your place at no charge. Additional guests could still come at a $25.00 per person charge. Your membership will give you a discount at the annual technical conference. The proposed dues would be one hundred dollars ($100.00) for both individual and company memberships with each membership being transferable for monthly meetings and the technical conference.

Under this structure if you attended half the meetings in a given year and attended the annual technical conference your hundred dollar membership would save you fifty five dollars ($55.00) based on the 1997 dues and 1996 Technical Conference fee.

The board feels this new structure has something for everyone, will make the organization stronger, and will increase monthly meeting attendance. Increased attendance allows us to engage good speakers on the hot topics in the world of technology.

We would like your feedback, so please use our e-mail address, fax numbers, and phone numbers to give us your thoughts.

Thanks !

-Jack

JUNE MEETING

featuring John Gardner

John has 25 years with the U. S. Postal Service. He started in 1972 at the Merrifield Virginia Processing and Distribution Center for his first seven years which included all facets of mail processing. This was followed by eleven years in the field in associate (delivery) offices. Positions included window services, carrier supervisor and Branch Manager. The last seven years he has held positions in the Marketing and Communications Department. This included Commercial Accounts Representative, Sales Manager and International Account Manager. Some of the topics to be covered are:

National Change of Address, Address Element Correction, Address Change Service,AFCS, MLOCR, BCS, DPBC, Z+4, PBC, ECRLOT, JPG

- and other secrets of the postal universe

(Parking is FREE !)

Tossed Salad; Chicken Piccata (or Vegetable Lasagna); German Chocolate Cake

RSVP (by Friday 6/13) to Peter 703/834-3706 $25.00/member $30.00/non-member

WAM Membership:

K B Soni
Systems Management Associates
12023 Blackberry Terrace
North Potomac, Md 20878.

You can now reach us on the Internet ! Our home page is located at http://www.wash-midrange.org. Please feel free to send any suggestions to Peter.

Newsletter Deadlines.

Please bring copy with you to the monthly dinner meeting for inclusion in the newsletter. First choice is WP5.1, but hard copy, Word, or other format is welcome. If unable to attend e-mail on meeting day to Tom .

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Jan Cork was our April door prize winner of a free subscription to Midrange Computing magazine.

NEWSWire/400, a weekly e-mail newsletter from the NEWS/400 Newswatch staff, delivers the latest news right to your monitor. Every Wednesday afternoon, we deliver NEWSWire/400 * FREE OF CHARGE * ! For new subsciptions, call 800/621-1544, fax 970/663-3285, or fill out the subscription form in the Newswatch Weekly section of NEWS/400's Web site http://www.news400.com/nww/wire-sub.htm

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