First off, there have been a number really great threads with some really great ideas in the past day or two. The 's President has requested that these type of posts either be posted on the club's message board or forwarded to any (or all) of the club's BoD members. Please take the time to follow his request. The bad part is that because THIS BB gets so much traffic, sometimes these threads and their responses get pushed down. As the ENTIRE BoD will agree, the more minds to come up with suggestions & ideas, the better...but please do it in such a way that they will get maximum impact & consideration. Doug Smith is a GREAT person when it comes to this club & I will attest to the fact that every suggestion & idea brought to him is discussed by the BoD. These discussions are usually done in a timely manner, although the outcome may not be shared immediately as most changes seem to require additional thought & effort...but they ARE discussed. And most of the best ideas for moving this club forward have come from outside the BoD. So, please...keep them coming but respect the request of the Prez.

Now for the venting part -- hopefully, all club members are aware that this is an organization built on & by volunteers. While you may provide the club's officers with ideas & suggestions, please keep in mind that they are volunteers...and all have a life outside of this club & hobby. So as you provide these ideas and suggestions, why not also ask if there's something that you can do to help. Can you do some extra research? Get some contact names? Find out costs? Instead of putting this on the five or six members that volunteer the most time & effort towards this club...ask "How can I help?". And not only with just club stuff...hobby stuff & collecting stuff too.

Dan Cooley lamented that no one trades. Dan -- why don't you set-up a Round Robin? Don't know what that is? Ask some of the older members here -- they'll tell you & possibly help you. When I first joined the hobby, they happened quite often until a couple of people screwed it up for everyone. I never participated, but those that did always had fun. And the cool thing is, the person that started it usually got bonus chips that people would add "just because". Dan -- you mentioned that you don't mind spending a couple of bucks to trade some chips - how about $12 to trade a bunch of chips because that's what a flat rate medium USPS box will cost you. $12 too much?? How's about $6 for a small Flat Rate USPS box then.

It's our club (those of us that are members)...but it's all of ours hobby. If you're NOT a club member and want to help -- jump right in. I'm sure that all of us "hobbyists" will applaude your effort. While the club is important, the hobby is really what binds us all. Sad to say, but the hobby can survive without the club but the club cannot survive without the hobby. So EVERYONE...do what YOU can to help. While suggestions are great, suggestions with back-up data or contact names or research or pricing is invaluable.

Rant over. In closing, I do want to thank all of the current & past volunteers and all of the current & past club officers for all of your time, effort & dedication. Having lived on that side, I appreciate it all.

Steve Bedo