Beth...
Well, I got this message on the mailing list, so I know it went through to
everyone. I
seems, however, that I apparently lost a lot of messages since going in the
hospital a
week ago.
Incidently, I would like thanks those good folks who called or sent e-mail
after my back
surgery. The doctor has guaranteed me that I will be able to lean under the
hood and
over the engine of the Frogeye. Unfortunately, I may have a hard time winding
myself
into the cockpit and behind the wheel!
Bob Evans
Anaheim, California
Frogeyes AN 5L/762, AN 5L/26893
====================================
Elizabeth Lunney wrote:
> I had written a lengthy response to each of Bob Evans's thoughtful questions
> regarding CHATTER/AHCA and mailed them to Bob and the Healey list --
>information I
> have gained from eight years of producing the magazine. Bob received my
>reply. But
> after three postings to the Healey list (starting over a week ago), my
>message has
> never appeared. Am I being censored? ... Am I becoming paranoid?
>
> The jist of my response boils down to:
>
> All the financial information, details of how the club works and copies of
>its bylaws
> are open to ALL MEMBERS through their delegate. The democratic process of the
>AHCA
> requires each club to elect a delegate that
> represents its members at two meetings each year. Those not affiliated with
>a local
> club are represented by John Marshall, 3000 Old Yankton Rd., Sioux Falls, SD
>57108,
> 605-334-5652, as the delegate-at-large. Also, minutes of the November
>delegates
> meeting are published in the CHATTER each year.
>
> Regarding how members get their feelings heard: All they need to do is call
>their
> delegate, contact any of the AHCA officers who are located around the country
> (information is in CHATTER, page 3) and who attend many of the regional
>events,
> write a letter to the editor of CHATTER, or get involved and make a change!
>
> Paid membership as of February 15, 1998, was 3634; there were 39
> complimentary/exchange subscriptions; 17 lifetime members. All of this is
>spelled out
> in the annual Membership Directory which is for the personal use of members.
>
> AHCA is incorporated and approved as a non-profit organization for tax
>purposes;
> however, the USPS does not recognize car clubs as "charitable" non-profit
> organizations and therefore AHCA does not qualify for the non-profit bulk
>rate.
> Sandi Baker, when president of AHC-PC, and I researched this thoroughly.
>
> Monthly CHATTER advertising consists of 6-8 pages (20-25 advertisers) of PAID
> commercial advertising. There is one "exchange" display ad and three
>"exchange"
> classified ads. Each month there are approximately 65-85 classified ads. Ads
>for
> cars and personal items are free to members, $.10 per word for commercial
> or non-members, and free on a space available basis for affiliated clubs
>promoting
> their fund raising projects.
>
> As for duplication of articles: Tammy Anderson, CHATTER editor, does an
>excellent
> job of balancing the multiple demands of our membership by soliciting articles
> on all aspects of Healeying -- Sprite/Big Healey, concours,
> technical, club events, racing, letters, international, historical, etc. It
>is often
> a hard decision on how to treat an article -- for example, a technical
>article will
> not always be given feature status or several articles will be fitted into a
>smaller
> space than other publications to accommodate the diversity of interests. We
>are
> always sorry about a complaint -- and there has been concern expressed about
> two articles that have been duplicated in the magazines. This will happen
> occasionally because the editors cannot consult each month and are not
> necessarily aware which articles have been sent to both publications. Due to
> the fact that each depends on volunteer contributions, neither has the liberty
> of demanding exclusive use. However, you will notice that each publication
> gave the duplicate articles different treatments according to the space
>available.
> The very interesting Knudsen article was fitted in three pages of CHATTER
> using all the photos; The Austin-Healey Magazine chose to use four pages
> with a very attractive, artistic layout. The funny “Austin-Healey Engine
> into a Nissan Car” article by Tom Mason was treated as a half-page side bar
> to one of Tom’s regular columns in CHATTER; while The Austin-Healey
> Magazine made it a full-page feature. This is one reason that having
> duplications is not always bad -- just different.
>
> During the consolidation effort, a comparison of the club memberships showed
>that the
> overlap of members was not as large as had been expected. Also, many people
>have
> told me they like getting two Healey publications and don’t mind the repeats.
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