Tim Brown, Commanding Officer
It is time to discuss financial matters with the membership of GPS. As you know, GPS does not charge a membership fee to participate in our activities. To fund our activities such as printing and mailing the OpPlan, maintaining our website, supporting the SOQ awards program, and paying the cost of emailing the OpPlan, we rely on contributions from our members (“Great Guys”) and a slight mark up on the cost of lunches. Over the years we have been slowly but surely eating away at the balance in our checking account that once stood at around $20,000 when we had well over 100 members and guests attending our meetings and we held the meetings at the local military clubs. That ended when MCAS El Toro was closed and we started looking for a new “home”.
We finally found a great venue at the Garden Grove Elks Lodge. For many years we have enjoyed a great relationship with both the members and management there. They have been very gracious and accommodating to our needs. The cost per meal has not changed for many years despite our dwindling attendance and the ever present increased cost of food and labor. Having said that, the Elks Lodge has only recently raised the price per meal. Another expense that has increased is the cost of printing and mailing the OpPlan. Even though the number of copies mailed has diminished with our membership, the cost per item mailed has grown to about $10 per year, including envelopes, paper, ink, and postage.
Another thing that has changed over time has been the extent of our participation in the Sailor of the Quarter awards program. Many years ago we worked with the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and its crew but that relationship ended when it was forward deployed to Japan. At that time we switched over to NWSSB. For many years we honored only two SOQs per quarter, junior and senior. Over time we have expanded the program to include Bluejacket, Junior SOQ, and Senior SOQ for both NWSSB and NMC. We also honor the Sailor of the Year for the combined command. Our costs for the program include lunches for the SOQs, their guests and some of the staff at NWSSB and NMC. We also give each SOQ a small financial award.
Now that I have given you the background, this is what I need from you. The staff has met and conferred regarding our finances and has come up with some possible solutions. Now we need your input. Read the following proposals. If you are a current member of the Association of Naval Aviation, Grampaw Pettibone Squadron, vote on each of the proposals. Either yes or no. Do not give us alternatives to the proposals. You can call me at (562) 547-0780 and leave a message if I do not answer, send an email to me at timb53@hotmail.com, or mail your response to me at Tim Brown, 5061 Marion Avenue, Cypress, CA 90630. I must have your response before 1700 on 30 September 2017. No response will be considered a “yes” vote on each proposal.
Please vote yes or no on the following proposals:
1. Any member who wants a hard copy (printed) mailed to them will pay $10 per year prior to December 1st of every year. No pay, no USPS delivery. The $10 is about what it costs for each copy including printing, the envelope and the stamp. The electronic version of the OpPlan will continue to be sent with no additional cost but we must have a current, valid email address.
2. Increase the cost for a lunch at our meetings to $18.
Those are the proposals. The $10 must be paid before 1 December of each year or we will remove your name from the USPS mailing list. As for the meal cost: We were considering $20 per meal so that we could avoid making change for a $20 bill but we decided to keep it at the lower amount in case it was a burdenon anyone. You would make life much easier if you gave Chris K a $20 bill and said “keep the change” so we could happily add your name to the “Great Guys” list of contributors and avoid making change. For those who have been participating in the Raffle and/or as “Great Guys”, please keep it up! Thanks, it helps a bunch! Please vote before 1700 on 30 September 2017. Tim
