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The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Every so often the executives of The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club will pose a question asking for your thoughts. Or maybe you have something that you would like to share with us. Step up on the soap box here.

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Al Benton
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The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Al Benton » Thu Dec 17, 2015 2:34 pm

Issue 2015-4 of The Brass Bell is in the hands of the USPS a bit later than usual this year due to the tremendous loss of our loving "Mangling" Editor, Bill Baldwin in mid-October.

Due to late delivery in the midst of the Holiday Season we have posted The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4 online earlier than usual. It can be viewed and enjoyed NOW, cover to cover by going to our Home page and clicking on Brass Bell Past Issues under Membership Benefits. Note: You must be logged in to view this.

We anticipate being on-time with future issues in 2016 and beyond. Jim Frechette is filling in as our Interim Managing Editor until we are able to locate the right person to fill this important position. If you, or someone that you know, has experience in publications and would like to be considered to manage our quarterly publication, we would love to hear from you, and/or them. Email us at [email protected].
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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by tkhersom » Fri Dec 18, 2015 7:38 am

Thanks for the update AL!

It's funny that just this morning I was looking at my Brass Bell collection wondering if I had missed volume 4. Now I know it is on it's way.

Merry Christmas to all!

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by 57skiff » Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:50 pm

The Brass Bell (2015-4) has arrived in Fairport,NY but in duplicate....if anyone needs another copy I have one!

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Al Benton » Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:26 am

Strange that you received 2 of them. Anyone else experiencing this? I received my single copy yesterday, 12/29/2015.

Again, the BOD is very sorry that these are arriving so late, due to the sudden and tragic loss of our beloved "Mangling" Editor, Bill Baldwin in mid October. Thankfully, Jim Frechette has done an excellent job in managing the production of Issue 2015-4. Bill prepared him well. Also, Catalyst Communication and Digital 3 Printing pulled together to help minimize the delay, for which we are very thankful. They are both to be highly commended for their excellent work in this difficult time. We are extremely fortunate to have both of them on our Team.

The next issue of The Brass Bell, and future issues should be back on a normal schedule. Thanks much for your patience, and hope that you enjoy your copy of The Brass Bell as we welcome in a New Year 2016.
Al
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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Captain Nemo » Wed Dec 30, 2015 3:55 pm

I also received a duplicate copy. An excellent publication as usual! I will pass on my extra if needed too.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Fri Jan 01, 2016 3:05 pm

Suggest bringing back the Trading Dock

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Captain Nemo » Fri Jan 01, 2016 5:07 pm

Doug made a good point, I miss it too.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by jfrprops » Fri Jan 01, 2016 5:22 pm

Read it cover to cover while on the boat on New Year's Eve.......Great work, fine issue.

John in Va.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Al Benton » Fri Jan 01, 2016 9:01 pm

Trading Dock, along with the Event Calendar were both omitted from The Brass Bell beginning with Issue 2012-1. It was a tough decision at the time, but a necessary one in order to reduce the page count to fit the very limited budget during the difficult recovery period.

The recovery team managed to publish 3 new issues that year thanks to the cost reduction. One of those was the 2011 Winter edition and then Issues 2012-1 & 2 were published before year end.

Another decision was made by the BOD prior to moving on with the first issue in 2013. The consences of the board to cut Trading Dock from the publication was based on the 4 month delay of seeing classified ads in print. It was felt that most transactions would be obsolete by the time the quarterly publication was seen in our mailboxes. The decision considered the instant access that most of us have to Trading Dock online at http://www.TradingDock.org that includes more specific information and multiple photos that can't be included in The Brass Bell.
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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by jfrprops » Fri Jan 01, 2016 10:14 pm

I agree with Al, better to go to the net for current ads than pay for pages of old news.
Quality of paper, layout, and content is way up during this administration.

thanks,

John in Va.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Fri Jan 01, 2016 10:43 pm

Sorry Al and John.
Content has decreased.- dues have increased

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Al Benton
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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Al Benton » Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:11 am

Doug,
Prior to 2012 the Club was publishing a magazine that was more expenses than income (dues) could possibly pay for. That had to change in order to continue. Had it not changed, the Club would not have survived.

Believe me, all of us wish that we could enjoy receiving a 96-page premium quality publication that includes all of the content on our wish list. But it's simply not feasible to do. There are other priorities that the Club is obligated to improve upon as well as provide The Brass Bell that fits the budget.

One of those priorities that has not received enough attention lately is our Website. After struggling with budget figures and publication expenses the Executive Team has ben able to finally address this, as indicated in our Club's 2015 Budget that can be viewed on Boat Buzz - Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club Business section (you must be logged in to view this area) in the Topic "2015 Approved Budget". The initial work has just begun on upgrading our Website after a long and cautious selection process by our Website Committee that's Chaired by Paul Harrison. Look for progress reports as this begins to take shape in the next few months.

The bottom line is that, over the last 4 years, the Executive Team has developed the Club's governance structure that has kept the Club from collapsing, has kept The Brass Bell coming to your mailbox, has funded Website upgrades, has involved our members, and has maintained an absolute volunteer leadership, or Executive Team.

Let this stand as an invitation to any member to throw your name in the hat and become a volunteer.
Al
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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by jfrprops » Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:34 am

Doug,

I beg to strongly disagree.

In the many years I have been taking the Bell I recall the days when there was way less substance to the articles and there were pages and pages of repetitive ads and filler stuff. Page count and price are the rub in all published works these days.

This past issue contained several great stories, interesting and topical. The web is killing magazines and newspapers in general...that an a cyber drunk populace that will likely never again appreciate paper publishing.

I am just glad to have our Boat Buzz to stay in touch etc.....and I don't care if, for my money, I get a slick mag or not....I figure dues is the price of shared passion.

John in Va.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Oberon01 » Sun Jan 03, 2016 1:12 pm

Doug P. & Nemo -

I am off the BOD now, so speaking for myself only.

I was a strong advocate of removing the Trading Dock from the publication when we were forced into taking over the CCABC by the failure of prior management in early 2012, and may have even been the one who suggested it. When I actually looked at the printed version of the Trading Dock in the Bell, I immediately realized that it was PAGES and PAGES of ads that had never expired - many were several or more years YEARS old and were obviously stale. We received no revenue for publishing this filler and with the production values of the magazine, the additional cost was substantial. I cannot comprehend how Doug P. or anyone else could consider the publication of 5+ pages of these stale, expired and useless ads as "content".

We further realized that the ads, even on-line, never expired and stayed in perpetuity on the CCABC site, as well as the Bell. We also quickly realized where the revenues from the ads was actually going, but that was another issue. So, while the Trading Dock looked like a thriving on-line marketplace, it was really a complete and unmanaged mess, with no oversight or controls in place. We immediately took down all the old, expired ads and instituted proper renewal processes and re-directed the revenues accordingly. While this appeared to show that the volume of ads had fallen off a cliff, what it really showed was that the former proliferation of "content" was an illusion.

The Trading Dock is going to be the subject of near-term revitalization, as will the rest of this site.

Paul Harrison
CCABC BOD - 2012 - 2015

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Sun Jan 03, 2016 2:34 pm

Whether 54 pages or 96 pages the "BrassBell" should be a break even or profit center for the club.
The dues should NOT pay for the magazine. It has to support itself through revenues from advertising, and that constitutes display and classified (Trading Dock).

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Oberon01 » Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:26 pm

Doug - Re-read my reply, please. I addressed your opinion that Trading Dock ads should be printed in the magazine with hard facts. The printing of the ads was economically not viable, as indicated by Al Benton. The prior inclusion of the ads in the Bell simply had no foundation in economic reality - that's why it was stopped. On top of that, the ads were never culled and continued to be re-printed, meaning the costs of continuing to include an ever-expanding number of ads kept increasing, making this worse with every issue by compounding the cost of this policy. We have no idea why such a haphazard approach to managing the Trading Dock was in place, but as soon as we could do so we stopped it.

The Bell is to a very large extent supported by advertising and sponsors. I know this because I oversaw ad sales until 3 days ago, and I also know what it costs to produce the Bell. Any club member can familiarize themselves with this detailed financial information, as it is made available to all club members for their perusal on this site, as Al indicates. If you are in fact interested in the financial conduct and condition of the club, I invite you to review the information that is posted.

Aside from that, The Brass Bell is a key membership benefit, and it is no more or less worthy of being supported by club revenues than any other aspect of club operations. In an ideal world every aspect of operations would be self supporting and that is not the case, so revenues are utilized in a manner which supports the entire suite of benefits. I will say that if you trouble yourself to read the financials, you will see transparency, efficiency, a reasonable operating balance and we also have a pro-forma that shows a small operating surplus. This is in contrast to 4 years ago when the club had un-mailed magazines piled up which had been produced on a haphazard schedule at best, $930 in the bank, massive debts to printers who hadn't been paid, lawsuits pending against it from still others and tax filing problems - among other serious complications. It was insolvent and at very serious risk. Decisions had to be made by the incoming BOD and they were, and the current foundation of the CCABC is very solid because of this.

Now, back to your argument that Trading Dock should be in the Bell - I believe that it is plainly incorrect to consider classified ads as "content" - especially those that were formerly included. It is more efficient and cost effective in every single way for all parties involved for Trading Dock ads to be submitted, promoted, edited and maintained in real time on our website, as opposed to dealing with a print publication that has an inherent and substantial time lag. In contrast to the past, Trading Dock ads are paid for and the CCABC does receive the revenues - just as it does for advertising in the Brass Bell. Trading Dock revenues are not and were never dependent on the ads being printed in the Brass Bell. The era of printed classified ads is over - just ask your local news paper publisher.

I have spoken my piece here as I am no longer involved in decision making for the CCABC as I am off the BOD, though as a member I support the BOD and the decisions they make. I am sure Al will be happy to take up any further issues you may have.

Paul Harrison
CCABC BOD 2012-15

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:40 pm

Paul. Sorry cannot agree.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by mfine » Sun Jan 03, 2016 5:14 pm

Doug P wrote:Whether 54 pages or 96 pages the "BrassBell" should be a break even or profit center for the club.
The dues should NOT pay for the magazine. It has to support itself through revenues from advertising, and that constitutes display and classified (Trading Dock).
That is simply not a reasonable expectation. The costs to produce a magazine are not going to be recouped through advertising with the size of our membership. The Bell was so unprofitable my suggestion was to cancel it completely. Even had we lost more than half our membership, the club would be ahead financially. The board disagreed and felt a printed mag is an important benefit and have focused on making it sustainable, but it will never be profitable while it is still a print publication.

As for classifieds, how many members do you think have something for sale at any one time? How many are willing to wait months for their ad to be printed when it can be published online in minutes? How much are they going to be willing to pay for an ad that will appear in a matter of months and will only go to our limited circulation? Do the math and you see that sales of classified ads in the 21st century aren't even going to cover postage and handling expenses.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Sun Jan 03, 2016 6:10 pm

Paul....You are preaching to the choir. But, the wrong sermon

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by steve bunda » Sun Jan 03, 2016 7:20 pm

I would like to advertise in the B. B. and others, BUT, wood boat restoration is generally regional due to the logistics of transporting a complete boat a thousand miles or more. Thus the cost of an add , and the time spent on the phone to a prospective client is futile . My 2 cents

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Sun Jan 03, 2016 7:36 pm

Steve....Your 2 cents make sense.
Would not a small print ad in BB Trading Dock with added web exposure make sense.
Steve...You made the point that Trading Dock ads can also sell services such as yours...not just one time ads for boats.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by jfrprops » Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:08 pm

I don't know about anybody's "2 cents worth" but I do know that 50 bucks is chump change for getting to hang out with you guys no matter the medium.

John in Va.

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by Doug P » Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:43 pm

John....You make the most sense....as usual! Let's go boating

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Re: The Brass Bell - Issue 2015-4

Post by jfrprops » Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:44 am

Ha.....! thanks Doug, I don't know about out your way but around here the boating weather has been weird....I went yesterday....temp in the 50's and sunny....and right this moment we have snow flurries....????
But some time this week I will surely be Going Boating!

Hasn't this site proven to be just the best for meeting like minded classic boaters?!!!'

John in Va.

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