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MINUTES OF THE MICHIGAN PEN COLLECTORS
MARCH 6, 2003 CLUB MEETING — W. BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN
Attendees:
Erdvilas Bankauskas, Mark Blumer, Wayne Bradley Sr., Dennis Brown, Don Castle, Ken Freeman, Eric Fonville, Stanley Goodman, Kristen Krol (guest), Mike Krut, Dicron Mahakian (guest), Mark Peysakhovich, Jerry Rosenthal, Andy Rothman, Sean Stillwell, Fred Wassermann, Lih-Tah Wong, Greg Zierk.
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A regularly scheduled meeting of the Michigan Pen Collectors Club took place on March 6th, 2003, at the home of member Andy Rothman, in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Club President Eric Fonville called the meeting to order at 3:20 p.m.
Eric waived the reading of the minutes due to our missing secretary and stated that the first matter of business was to report on our past show in December 2003. As show coordinator Lih-Tah gave a financial report and highlighted the fact that, for the first time in many years, our show was significantly profitable. Revenues from dealers and paid attendees totaled [removed] while expenses were [removed] resulting in a net profit of [removed].
Lih-Tah commented that the significant difference was the rental for the show hall, which was lower by at least [removed]! This profitable show means that our club bank balance now stands at approximately [removed].
While we had a financially successful show, the bad news was that paid attendance dropped just as dramatically. Over the two days of our show, the number paid attendee fell 24% from 216 that we had in 2002 down to 164. Perhaps these lower numbers prevented the “tire-kickers” from coming because most dealers were happy with our show.
The discussion proceeded to comments heard from various dealers. Eric stated he received positive comments from Susan Wirth. Lih-Tah said that one dealer who was at first unwilling to attend due to the Cobo location admitted that he would come back. Yet another dealer reported that 2003 was his best Michigan show ever and he sold [removed] more than his previous high.
Ken Freeman added negative comments he heard from Betram’s Ken Jones who complained about his sales and distance of the show hall from the Marriott Courtyard hotel. We should note that Bertram’s had difficulties with his pen shipments getting in time for our show. This dealer also did not use the dealer shuttle provided by club members.
Eric pointed out that, as with any new locations, there were issues that we need to address if we are to have another show at Cobo Hall. The temperature was one issue due to the sunlight that poured through the windows. Also the expanse of Cobo Hall made it difficult to locate the room for our show. Mark Peysakhovich added that dealers had a difficult time getting something to eat.
The discussion proceeded to 2004 show or if the club wants to have one at all. With resounding approval the members decided to have our show on the weekend of Dec 3rd to 5th, 2004. Also we decided to use Cobo Hall once more and asked Wayne Bradley Sr. to initiate discussions about using an alternate room. (It was Wayne who originally suggested using Cobo Hall since he was very familiar that facility.)
Eric then talked about his promotion idea to use Post-It Notes with our show date and location information. One thousand 25-sheet pads will cost thirty-five cents each and the plan is to distribute them to dealers, members, and our show mailing list. With luck, people will use them resulting in viral marketing of our show that will increase the attendance figures.
Lih-Tah added that we should also to take advantage of the resources of Cobo Hall’s event coordinator to help promote our event. That person can provide us with ideas on reaching businesses in the downtown area. This promotion assistance was overlooked for our 2003 show.
Another promotion idea was to connect with other organizations. In particular, Eric said that he joined the Michigan Calligraphers group and will act as a liaison. Joining such organizations might allow us to promote our show within their member ranks, and perhaps to have them take a table to demonstrate their interests or more.
Sean Stillwell added that our club should have a similar connection with the watch people. He suggested that our club pay the ($60) fee for someone to join the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and the Great Lakes chapter ($5 fee). Perhaps that way we might be able to promote our show within their ranks. Sean also solicited members to submit articles and other information so that our club might have a regular newsletter and fresh material for the website.
Erdvilas Bankauskas volunteered to have the next meeting at his home in Ypsilanti, continuing a mid-year tradition for our club. The date has been tentatively set for June 12th, 2004.
Eric then moved to adjourn the meeting. Stan Goodman seconded the motion, which was unanimously passed. As there was no further business to come before the members, the meeting was adjourned at 4: 20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lih-Tah Wong
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