New AAW Journal on the stands

[PapaDoc]

I picked up the new American Woodturner yesterday at Highland Hardware. Once again, Carl Voss has done an outstanding job of bringing good technique as well as helpful hints to the woodturning community. In addition, there was good coverage of the national symposium that made me regret not going.
Finally, there is a major piece on segmented turning that highlights some exceptional work, notably the amazing finishes of Mark Kauder. Congratulations Mark! The vessels displayed are spectacular!

 

[Wilford Bickel]

Mad

Still makes me mad when NON MEMBERS can buy a copy of our journal long before mine arrives in the mail - I still do not agree with this policy!!!!! :mad:

 

[Brian Hahn]

It seems to be that way for most magazines, not just American Woodturner. The sun also rises in the East, but I'm not going to loose sleep over that either. Besides my issue arrived this afternoon.

 

[woodwish]

Still makes me mad when NON MEMBERS can buy a copy of our journal long before mine arrives in the mail - I still do not agree with this policy!!!!! :mad:

I fully agree, but it seems any magazine I subscribe to comes to the newstand long before I get my copy in the mail. I guess that is why subscriptions are cheaper? This seems to get hashed out with each issue but it still doesn't mean I have to like it.

I'll agree that the sun rises in the East and I can't do anything about it, it's because it's part of God's plan. The sun comes in the windows on the East side of the house in the morning, I put up shades, part of my plan. Newstands get their issues for non-members before members get theirs, part of AAW's plan, not my plan or God's.

 

[john lucas]

Well I got mine in the mail today which is rare. Usually most of you guys have yours well before I have mine. I got it very early last time as well.

 

[Martin Braun]

Not to be a wet blanket on a good rant, but wasn't this hashed out at length a few months back? If memory serves, there wasn't too much the AAW could do about it, without increasing the price, or something like that.

 

[Frank Kobilsek]

Solution

Guys, let's have 6 issues per year instead of 4 so we can have this discussion more often.

Frank

PS: I don't have mine yet either.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Still makes me mad when NON MEMBERS can buy a copy of our journal long before mine arrives in the mail - I still do not agree with this policy!!!!! :mad:

Yeah, but THEY don't know The Handshake or get to use the Decoder Ring to reveal the Members Only secret message hidden in the text of the last page. Plus, they have to pay for their copy including the cost of gas and time to go pick it up!

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Yes this was discussed 3 months ago, and also 6 months ago. It's not going to change. And thanks to Mark for finding the positive side of the distribution model !

 

[Mark Mandell]

And thanks to Mark for finding the positive side of the distribution model !

I could have included the inconvenience and discomfort of camping out on the sidewalk in front of the news stand (concrete is HARD even with an ensolite pad), not to mention the strange looks you get from regular customers and the nice offers of help from homeless person rescue workers or the really strange looks you get from THEM when you try to explain you're only there to get a woodturning magazine when the store opens.

 

[Wilford Bickel]

Yes this was discussed 3 months ago, and also 6 months ago. It's not going to change. And thanks to Mark for finding the positive side of the distribution model !

I am sorry a board member does not even want to consider a change in AAW policy - this is the only private orginization I belong to that allows non members to purchase the magazine without membership. I have seen a number of posts asking how to get the local club members to become national members - maybe having membership benefits (of which the magazine is the MAIN one) available ONLY to members would be a good start.

 

[john lucas]

I don't agree. One of the main reasons for the AAW is woodturning education. We need to allow anyone who wants to learn woodturning to have access to the best information available. American Woodturner is one such resource. One of the main reasons I belong to the AAW is to help educate other people on the rewards of woodturning. The main benefit I get from the AAW is the insurance for the club. We would not be meeting in our current facility without insurance. A small club simply doesn't have the monetary resources for this. The magazine to me is a small portion of what I get from the AAW.

 

[Mark Mandell]

I am sorry a board member does not even want to consider a change in AAW policy - this is the only private orginization I belong to that allows non members to purchase the magazine without membership. I have seen a number of posts asking how to get the local club members to become national members - maybe having membership benefits (of which the magazine is the MAIN one) available ONLY to members would be a good start.

Wilford,

There is a real difference between the AAW and "private organizations" you may be familiar with. To further John's point about education, the AAW is a charity with its stated primary public purpose being to conduct outreach to promote turning and awareness of the artform in The General Public. The Journal is the central part of that required effort, so making it a "house organ" newsletter thing would tend to defeat the accretive effort the group was formed to carry on.

The topic of membership benefits has come up here before, and I think you will be seeing some very interesting things coming out in the near future that are for "Members Only."

 

[DeanGThomas]

A little different slant on newsstand sales...

this is the only private orginization I belong to that allows non members to purchase the magazine without membership. I have seen a number of posts asking how to get the local club members to become national members - maybe having membership benefits (of which the magazine is the MAIN one) available ONLY to members would be a good start.

I've been a member of different national organizations over the years, a couple of them as large as AAW. I certainly can't speak for all of them, but I can at least speak to two of them.

The one (craft) organization would indeed sell their monthly magazine to non-members, but the price was high. Higher than the cover price of ours. It was part of the membership dues. Those dues were considerably higher than the AAW dues for individuals. Considerably higher! That magazine was not available on the newsstand. It would not have sold there as the craft is a bit too specialized for general public consumption. It was deliberately set high to serve both as a fund raiser for the organization (helping to pay for the actual cost of producing the magazine beyond advertising revenues, since that magazine only had about 6-10 pages of advertising in a 64 page issue). It also served as an incentive to those purchasing the magazine at the non-member price to become members. The other organization, again highly specialized and not about something that would interest most of the general public, produced a very modest magazine, 6 issues per year, thin issues at that.

Our magazine is a dandy piece of work. Having worked in the publishing industry, and having been part of the oversight of a couple of regular publications, believe me when I say, our folks do a great job and we get the benefit. These folks are approachable, available, willing to listen, and willing to pursue a good idea when they hear one. And they are ANXIOUS to hear those good ideas, if you've been listening and watching the surveys.

I hear the pain of Wilford and others, but having sat on the board of the one organization for a couple of years, I have a sense about how much the full front-cover price brings to the budget of the AAW. Yeah, I really enjoy the magazine a lot. I drool considerably over it. I plot and I plan. I watch the mailbox for its arrival, and I slump my shoulders and shuffle off when it doesn't arrive. Mine's not here yet! I'm not whining. It'll get here and by the time I get to read it, thousands of folks across the country will have purchased their own copies at full retail, and hopefully will have paid the printing costs to keep the costs down for us, the members. That, friends, IS a benefit of membership! $30 a year for full retail, plus time and travel expense to pick it up. I don't pay a whole lot more than that for my annual dues, folks. Plus we get other benefits, like being able to have a nifty forum in which to participate, where we can ooh and aah over other turners' wares, where we can ask questions of folks who know stuff, and where we can put out the occasional grouse/gripe/whine/criticism in a place where it can be heard and either acted on, explained, or properly ignored (like my whine about Normy).

I am NOT a "glass half-full" kind of guy, okay? At least not normally. In this case, I want to propose that while the full-retail purchasers get their copies first, WE GET THE REAL BENEFIT!!! If we can change our minds a bit to take into account that those folks are helping keep our dues down, we can smile when we get ours a little later than theirs.

At least, that's how it works for me! YMMCertainlyV

 

[Wilford Bickel]

Question -

Mark (and others)

In the Bylaws under Article III-Members Section 2

It is the intention of the Association to offer:

2) For hobbyist, students, amateur or part-time woodturners, technical information about wood and woodturning tools machinery, safety tips and also a vehicle for establishing and maintaining communication among others with similar interests.

According to this you get education with your membership. I cannot find where in the bylaws it states our association is to freely educate all wood turners that choose not to be a member. While it does state under Article II Purposes that education is a purpose, Article III states that education comes with membership.

Can you show me reference in the Bylaws where non members are to be educated at the expense of members dues??? I am serious in my question as I am trying to understand why the Association is allowing so much of what I see as "freeloading".

Thanks

Wilford

 

[Jeff Jilg]

I'm just glad the Journal is a commodity which is in such high demand! If it's any consolation, I look forward to each issue with enthusiasm as well. And the regular issue doesn't get to my mailbox.

 

[Mr. Don]

Magazine

Good presentation, Dean!!!! I, for one will gratefully wait at the mailbox for my copy....and wait...and wait...and wait.....and when it arrives, I will fight to the death over it as fiercely as a she bear defends her cub!! All you whiners read again Dean's words, then SSSHHHH!!!! I'm waiting!!! I for one am glad and lucky for the chance to start a new turner down the right path, or do a small thing to staighten out the path of one with problems. That to me is well worth the price of membership, and I willingly loan out my current issues, and back ones, to friends. The smiles and handshakes of gratitude are an immense reward. Oh yes, and maybe a new member!!!

 

[Charlie Knighton]

new

i'm a new turner, 1st year assocition member, interesting discussion, as soon as a password that is in the publication was mentioned i quit waiting til 5:30 to go to the mail box, now its 3 pm, 3:30, 4:00, etc., the publication and forum has been very helpful and enjoyable for me

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Here is the thread where this was already discussed extensively. It was brought to the board by me, then discussed by the board, and it is not going to change for the reasons listed in that thread.

 

[Brian Hahn]

Can you show me reference in the Bylaws where non members are to be educated at the expense of members dues??? Wilford

Try Article II of the bylaws which starts: "The Association's purpose is to foster a wider understanding and appreciation of lathe-turning as a traditional and contemporary craft and a form of art among the general public, ..."

No where does that article limit the mission of the AAW only its members. The intent as I read it is just the opposite, to spread the word to everyone. Any your dues help do that.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Can you show me reference in the Bylaws where non members are to be educated at the expense of members dues??? I am serious in my question as I am trying to understand why the Association is allowing so much of what I see as "freeloading" Wilford

Wilford,

The AAW is a section 501(c)(3) charity under the tax laws, which involves a lengthy submission to the Government both Fed and the state of incorporation. It would be in those documents, and not necessarily in the by-laws adopted later, that you would find the "public purpose" goal laid out. Demonstrating a real benefit for the public at large is a requirement for obtaining the charitable not-for-profit designation that is vital to so much of the AAW's efforts. Lose that and you lose all donations and funds raised for the organization would be "income" and then be taxed accordingly.

Remember too that the Journal is most likely the single strongest advertisement and recruitment tool available for the organization. Were we to lock it up as a member's only exclusive club thing, I think few would know the AAW even existed.

m

 

[Frank Kobilsek]

Got Mine, now the world is right again

Mark, maybe non-members can put out a tin can during thier sidewalk time and collect enough for a small fancy burl bowl blank. Maybe that's why they don't just join AAW ... we trade plain old straight grain walnut, cherry etc and they get special wood by panhandling.

It's Friday of holiday weekend, sorry brain is a little twisted today.

Frank

 

[Mark Mandell]

Got Mine, now the world is right again

Mark, maybe non-members can put out a tin can during thier sidewalk time and collect enough for a small fancy burl bowl blank. Maybe that's why they don't just join AAW ... we trade plain old straight grain walnut, cherry etc and they get special wood by panhandling.

It's Friday of holiday weekend, sorry brain is a little twisted today.

Frank

Yeah! Now where'd I leave my tin cup? Got the sign all set, "WILL WORK FOR WOOD"

 

[John King]

The Journal of the American Association of Woodturners

Surely there must be more important and interesting topics to discuss in this forum than non-members purchasing a copy of The Journal before members receive their copy in the mail. It's such a trivial issue and of little/no importance to most of the woodturning community (my opinion). It's time to let this one go and move on to a topic worthy of discussing in this forum. Let's use this forum for exchange woodturning ideas and techniques.

 

[BigGuy]

jjkingjr, Welcome and thanks for using your first post to admonish us for using this forum for such a trivial matter to YOU! This matter is very important to me because I am one of the fortunate ones who has to wait 3 to 4 weeks to get my magazine in the mail because of my membership in this organization. It frustrates me greatly when I can go to a store and see a magazine in the store that I have already paid for but dont have in my possession. It also makes it hard for me to convince new turners to join the AAW when they think they can buy the magazine on time at the store. Many look at the magazine as the only apparent benefit of joining. There are many more benefits but the magazine is a tangible they can hold in their hand. I feel like I am being treated worse than non-members because of my membership.

This is not the only thread on this forum. There are hundreds dealing with what is foremost to you and the rest of us. That being turning. This thread is definitley part of learning about turning. :mad:

 

[Wilford Bickel]

Renewal late fee

Bigguy,
You expressed well the frustration that I am feeling concerning AAW and the delivery of the magazine - the tangible part of being a member. In addition part of my frustration that caused some of my previous posts was when I finally received my Journal (after this thread started!) and read in the letter with the AAW Journal that if you don't pay to renew your membership by Jan 1 - you will be charged a $5 late fee! As we have been fighting a drought all summer with the cattle farm, every magazine and membership is being reviewed for justification and scheduled for payment if we decide it is worth the money. I don't remember ever seeing that you had to pay these dues by a deadline or be charged extra - what is our board doing to the membership???? I wonder how many members that need to wait till after Christmas and New Year to renew will just say forget it when they find out we have a new policy against members renewing! I could see setting a deadline by which time you would not receive the first Journal of the year - but NEVER a late fee on membership dues!!

Mark - I appreciate your answer but must question it. The last filings for tax free status I helped with the attorny required us to have our bylaws and ruling documents included. Their intents all had to match so I still feel like the bylaws in this case are the proper rules to follow and the way I read them they still state that education comes with membership.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Wilford,

I think you'll find the "public purposes" set forth in the text of Article II which particularly does not refer or relate to members or membership that are covered in Article III. Specifically the first two paragraphs of Article II deal with the required general public nature of the organization's activities because there is no language to limit the listed functions and goals to members only. Indeed, the only mention of "members" in Article II is in the third paragraph in the context of what the organization will NOT do for them. Were the organization to become "closed" with education and benefits and such only going to persons who can come up with the scratch for the "entry fee," I have little doubt that the IRS (and state tax departments) would be quick to revoke the tax-exempt status in short order. Focusing all benefits on members would cut off the public charity function, and make the whole deal into just another mutual admiration society and an advertising entity functioning for the purely economic benefit of its exclusive club of members. Dues could then easily reach into several hundred or $K per year, things like scholarships and such would disappear, and symposia would become just one-trick-pony craft shows; kind of pricey for four magazine issues that arrive in the mail. But then again they'd have the money to send stuff by FedEx.

Note further that the Articles of Incorporation under which the corporation was formed are not set forth but are still "included by reference" in Article II. Also, although unusual, the By-Laws you now see on the AAW Info Page could have been amended over the last 20 years such that the original text which might have supplied what you now seek could have been changed to make things even more general and less focused on members.

I understand the reasons for the late fee, but will leave it others, more knowledgeable of the specifics, to speak to that.

Personally, if I considered the magazine to be the only benefit I receive for my dues, I wouldn't be an AAW member because I can save at least $10/year by previewing it on the newsstand and also avoiding the high anxiety of waiting for the damn mail to get here.

m

 

[Jeff Jilg]

The late fee is small and encourages people to renew ontime. So why not renew ontime? If people don't want to pay a late fee - then don't pay it by renewing on time! If your renewal is postmarked December 31, then you'll avoid paying the $5 late fee. Or a person could renew online on December 31 and incur no late fee.

The late fee is new and the board approved it for two big reasons. Both of those reasons are intended to pass late membership handling costs to the people who join/renew late.

1) Many members do not renew on time. They require reminders. The cost of the post card reminders comes out of the funds that you and I pay as members. Many members require multiple reminders. In addition to the postcard and postage we need to consider the staff time in generating and handling those reminders. That staff time is significant.

It isn't 20 or 30 people who join/renew late. It is over 2,000. Some of them don't renew until May or June. We are currently in September 2006 and we're still getting a few renewals for 2006. Sheesh!

2) The AAW membership allows people to join or renew anytime during the year. If you join after any of the magazines for that year were mailed then an AAW staff individual must manually send you a magazine. The cost of this work includes the AAW staff time, the rental space for the magazine storage area, and the postage.

Let's consider #2 for a moment. Let's say someone joins/renews on 9/1/06 for 2006. The AAW office has to send 3 magazines to that individual. Since this is occurs with regularity, the office must forecast the number of late members and reserve boxes of magazines for that occasion. The same thing happens in June - where 2 magazines must be mailed to each individual. The same thing happens in March - and in this case 1 magazine must be mailed to each individual.

------

To summarize this change, the overall intent is to pass the cost of joining/renewing late to the individuals who are late. New members have the option of joining for next year (with no late fee), or if they join anytime during the current year and they want the current magazines they get charged $5 in extra fees.

 

[Mark Mandell]

I Have a Complaint!!!

I carefully ran the text on the last page (By Nature cover article) through my Decoder Ring and it came up "Drink More Ovaltine." I ran it 4 times just to make sure, and got the same message each time.

Something is very wrong here.

We need Independent Counsel appointed! Crass commercialism such as this will only threaten the organization. Next thing you know, Hershey and Nestles will be demanding equal time!

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Ovaltine can be good right before bedtime.

 

[Jake Debski]

Ovaltine can be good right before bedtime.

Yeah, but I can't fall asleep waiting and wondering where is my copy of the Journal!!!!!

 

[Claude]

Still makes me mad when NON MEMBERS can buy a copy of our journal long before mine arrives in the mail - I still do not agree with this policy!!!!! :mad:

And I totally agree with you!

 

[Sean Troy]

The late fee is small and encourages people to renew ontime. So why not renew ontime? If people don't want to pay a late fee - then don't pay it by renewing on time! If your renewal is postmarked December 31, then you'll avoid paying the $5 late fee. Or a person could renew online on December 31 and incur no late fee.

The late fee is new and the board approved it for two big reasons. Both of those reasons are intended to pass late membership handling costs to the people who join/renew late.

1) Many members do not renew on time. They require reminders. The cost of the post card reminders comes out of the funds that you and I pay as members. Many members require multiple reminders. In addition to the postcard and postage we need to consider the staff time in generating and handling those reminders. That staff time is significant.

It isn't 20 or 30 people who join/renew late. It is over 2,000. Some of them don't renew until May or June. We are currently in September 2006 and we're still getting a few renewals for 2006. Sheesh!

2) The AAW membership allows people to join or renew anytime during the year. If you join after any of the magazines for that year were mailed then an AAW staff individual must manually send you a magazine. The cost of this work includes the AAW staff time, the rental space for the magazine storage area, and the postage.

Let's consider #2 for a moment. Let's say someone joins/renews on 9/1/06 for 2006. The AAW office has to send 3 magazines to that individual. Since this is occurs with regularity, the office must forecast the number of late members and reserve boxes of magazines for that occasion. The same thing happens in June - where 2 magazines must be mailed to each individual. The same thing happens in March - and in this case 1 magazine must be mailed to each individual.

------

To summarize this change, the overall intent is to pass the cost of joining/renewing late to the individuals who are late. New members have the option of joining for next year (with no late fee), or if they join anytime during the current year and they want the current magazines they get charged $5 in extra fees.

Jeff, that was explained very well.

 

[Ron Sardo]

When any magazine is finish at the printer's they are shipped as a whole to a private distribution center. Holding back any copies at the printers incurs storage charges.

At the distribution center they are sent off to different venues, that is they are shipped to newsstands, book stores and the like. They are also labeled, sorted into bundles according to zip codes and delivered to a local post office. This is all done at the same time, holding some back for later delivery incurs extra charges and storage.

Once the post office receives 2nd class mail (magazines), the sorted bundles are then delivered to the originating state's USPS distribution center then forwarded to each individual state's USPS distribution center and finally delivered to your local post office. Of course, mail going overseas or Canada is a different story.

So while the recent issue is already at the newsstand, your copy is still in the mail. Doing it any other way just costs more.

 

[robert davis]

ireceived min several days ago and i am definitely not one of the chosen few..amistake?

 

[DeanGThomas]

Geez, Robert, you only live 15 minutes away and I still haven't gotten mine yet. I think you are among the favored ones. Just like with the monthly tool raffles, friend.

Can you rub some of that off on me???

 

[Mr. Don]

Magazine

Speaking of bedtime...do all those whiners never sleep??? If they are so dis-enchanted with A.A.W. why don't they LEAVE??? PUHLEEZ!!!! Let us move on to other topics, and start setting good examples. NUF SED.

 

[AnnHerbst]

Why it is hard to wait.

Why are members upset about waiting for their journal?

IT is so GREAT!

IT has the article that the quarterly online turning challenge is based on and announced upon the mailing of the journal (August 27 this time). Remember we are told we have 6 weekends from announced date--but if said article is 3 to 4 weeks later !

This time IT has the password for the newly announced members' area on the web. (We want in.)

Two suggestions to help reduce the angst in the future:
Challenge makers use a past journal article or wait for mid-quarter to announce the challenge.
Organization wait to announce new stuff until after it will be assessable to members. You are so excited to tell us what we are going to get and we hate waiting.

The plus in all of this is the advancement in our online membership title for all who post to the quarterly journal wait threads.

 

[Steve Worcester]

This time IT has the password for the newly announced members' area on the web. (We want in.)

As far as I kn ow, the member section password on the website (completely and totally unrelated to the forums) was sent in a separate letter.

And by the way, if you have problems with the members only website, the moderators can only forward the info. We don't have anything to do with that part.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Thanks Steve, well stated and correct.