[TheForge] ABANA Dilema

Tue Oct 23 10:07:19 EDT 2007

Good post Ries.  I'm always amazed at how "cheap" we blacksmiths are.  Maybe it's because we are always looking at how we can make something out of scrap.

ABANA provides a whole lot more for us than publications.  But if you ONLY look at the publication value, these publications are at least equal to an over the counter cost.

It is foolish, though, to be equating the value of ABANA with the publications.  As a national organization, representing the interests of professionals and amateurs equally, ABANA is a bargain and maybe part of its problem is that its dues are too low.  My national architectural membership (AIA) costs me several hundred dollars a year and I only get 12 issues of its publication. Its value also is not in the publications and that's why I'm a member.   

Sure, ABANA has problems but it's a voluntary organization and if you want more out of it, you need to participate more.

Interesting ... we have people who complain about our $20 WRABA membership who say "the publications not worth the dues".  They still seem to find a way to show up to our open hammer-ins though. These people never contribute. 

--------
From: ries <ries at riesniemi.com>
Date: Mon Oct 22, 3:41 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [TheForge] ABANA Dilema

If you go to the Abana website, you can look at the financial  
statements.
The last one I found says it costs around $210,000 to publish the two  
magazines.
Then, they spend another $100,000 or so a year on scholarships,  
insurance, office expenses, and paying the one full time employee.
So at the end of the day, there is not some huge slush fund to waste  
on girls, parties, and trips to the casino.
Plus, due to whatever reasons (this is a giant subject for heated  
discussion all on its own)
the last conference in Seattle lost money.
The University of Washington claims we still owe em something like  
$60,000.

The all volunteer board does the best they can- and we can all tell  
em how to do it differently, I am sure.
But there aint no padding of expenses or swindling going on here- it  
costs money to be real today, to be legal, to file tax returns, to  
host conferences and publish two magazines.

Each of us is certainly free to decide that we dont want to support  
abana, or that we arent getting enough back for our dues.

Me, I send in my money strictly because I believe in the  
organisation- the two magazines are strictly a bonus, if you ask me.
I spend more on one halfway decent (not gourmet) meal for my family  
of four at a restaurant.

Toby Hickman put it quite nicely,  I, thought, over on the Poaba  
discussion board-
""I don”t know about any one else but all I want from my  
blacksmithing orginization is a good rag and a place to drink beer  
and talk to other blacksmiths.""

http://poaba.wordpress.com/2007/08/23/intro-to-poabas-blog-site/

Me, I am in total agreement with him, and $55 seems like a mighty  
small price to pay for that.

Nomma, for example, costs a minimum of $300 a year- $415 for a  
fabricator- and their parties are nowhere near as good as an Abana  
conference.

ries

On Oct 22, 2007, at 10:54 AM, Phil wrote:

I've been a member of ABANA since 1981.  I got my
ABANA membership renewal in the mail the other day,
$55 for the coming year.  I like reading the Hammer's
Blow.  The Anvil's ring has gotten a bit too artsy for
my taste, and it's hard to find the articles cause of
all the advertisements.  But anyway, I was weighing
whether I wanted to renew or not.  I was thinking $55
a year is a lot for two quarterly publications.  Then
it occurred to me that ABANA doesn't do conferences
anymore.  The ABANA web-site is basically unchanged
for the last few years.  Then I started thinking about
the numbers, 5000 people spending $55 a year, that's
$275,000.  Wow, that's a lot to publish two quarterly
journals.  Then a friend of mine pointed out to me
that the Anvil's Ring has ad revenue as well.  Where
does all that money go anyway?

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