Despite the fact that there was a consensus for this decision and I am confident that it is the right path to take, I would like to personally address the particular concerns of those who expressed a strong opinion against the increase or who had deep reservations. Although you are small in number your voice has been heard.

"What is the reason for the increase? Please justify. I think you should publish a Balance Sheet." Class members `44, `49, `55, `76

The increase was adopted for a number of reasons:
1. The cost of publishing and mailing the Association newsletter, "Reflections", the heart of the Association, has increased.
2.The Association is in the process of becoming incorporated and achieving 501.3c tax exempt status, so that it can pursue it's charitable activities, which requires considerable expense.
3. The cost to host the ever popular Alumni Weekend is a factor. As Alumni Weekend continues to grow, so do the expenses. Rental costs for the various venues, insurance costs and promotional cost are on the rise. While some of the costs are underwritten by local businesses, there is still significant expense to the Association. The Association takes extraordinary means to control expenses. It should be remembered that all the time associated with planning and organizing the weekend is strictly on a volunteer basis. There is no cover charge to the Alumni for these events except for the Luncheon and Golf Tournament and we would like to keep it that way.
4. In addition, consistent with the purposes of the Association, it is our goal to be come more. involved with Community and School on behalf of the Alumni Community which will require additional finances. Exactly what form this will take is open the membership. Some thoughts on this subject can be found in the President's column in the fall issue of Reflections. (which is still available on the website.)

At present we collect about $2,000 a year in membership dues. The costs for publishing and mailing "Reflections" alone is over $3,000. We have been relying too heavily on additional fund raising to bridge the gap. This is dangerous to the financial integrity of the Association and threatens the long term survival.

We believe the Association is something in which all alumni can take pride and the Directors take their duty to preserve it for future generations very seriously. A steady stream of revenue for the purpose of building a solid financial foundation is critical to achieve this goal. I hope this gives you a sense of the funds that are needed to maintain the Association as a viable and active organization.

As a matter of record, the Association's balance sheet is published once a year in the newsletter "Reflections". The finance Committee is developing a format for posting the financial statements on the Website which should be completed by late summer. Further we plan on publishing all the minutes and Agenda's from the Board meetings consistent with a policy of full disclosure.

"I am against the increase. It will hurt those on fixed incomes especially Seniors." Class member `56

The Board of Directors shares your concern which is the reason why the dues for Seniors over 65 remains at $5.00. Also, as explained above the Association has adopted a policy not to deny membership to any alumni with special financial difficulties. If any alumni cannot afford the increase or afford the dues entirely then they can submit the application with what they can afford, if anything, and state on the application that they can not pay due to financial circumstances. No questions asked and the information will remain confidential On the other hand, it is up to the Senior if they want to accept the Senior discount. If their financial circumstances allow they are welcome to waive the discount. The choice is theirs.

"Respectfully, this may be heading in the wrong direction. I suggest an aggressive campaign to increase the alumni membership as opposed to increasing membership dues." Class member `79

Although I think the reasoning for increasing the dues structure has been validated by solid research, we are open to ideas for increasing membership. The Association does have a membership committee and has made numerous attempts in the past and continues to aggressively campaign for new members. A membership application is published in each issue of "Reflections" and posted on the Website. Applications are available at every venue during Alumni Weekend. The respective class representatives have been provided membership applications to distribute to their class members. Several articles have appeared in this column appealing for new members. While we have made progress it has been slow. Only about 15% of our mailing roster consists of paid members.

I contend that the dues structure was artificially low at $5 and $10 is the more appropriate level for the reasons explained throughout this article especially since the Board has made provisions for those with fixed incomes or financial circumstances. However, if we can come up with a way to accelerate the growth in membership, we would be more than willing to revisit this issue. I encourage anyone with ideas for recruiting new members to share them with the Association or volunteer their time to assist in this effort.