Westercon 74 Progress Report 5 Published
Westercon 74 Progress Report 5 was released today. You can download it from the Westercon 74 website (even if you don't have a membership), and we mailed printed copies to those membership who requested them (or who did not have an email address — yes, there really are people who don't have email addresses) — about 18% of our members have paper copies going to them this afternoon.
On Saturday, after I printed the pages for PR5 on the new printer, Lisa collated, stapled, and folded them. I was able to persuade the printer to print the members' addresses directly onto the envelopes by defining a report as "labels" where each "label" was 9x12 inches and by telling the printer to expect heavy stock as I couldn't find an "envelope" paper type on its list.
It wasn't perfect (it stopped several times, but never completely jammed), but it still was better than having to deal with mailing labels. It also looked better.
Lisa put the PRs into the envelopes, sealed them, and applied the postage. I was rather pleased that we were able to use the Ursula K. Le Guin three-ounce stamps. As we needed one additional standard letter postage stamp, I also got these "western wear" stamps, which also seemed appropriate.
This afternoon after lunch, I carried the almost sixty PRs down to the post office and dropped them into the post, after also buying the postage for the one PR going outside the USA, in this case to a member in Denmark.
US postage is going to be going up in a few weeks, and we'll have to do one more mailing to members: copies of the program book to the supporting and no-show attending members. So when I dropped the mailing, I asked to buy more of the Le Guin stamps. They had run out. I'd already bought all that they had. However, they said that the will have more in a couple of days, so I can come back and get what I need before the postage rates go up. These are "forever" stamps and work even at the old rates, so I'll save us a few dollars by purchasing the postage in advance.
After dropping the PRs into the post, I came home and sent out an email blast to all Westercon members who do have valid email addresses. (There is at least one member who has neither a valid email or postal mail address, and there is not much we can do for people who do that.) If you're a member of Westercon 74, you should have received the email by now. If you have not, check your spam folder, and if you still can't see it, contact us to make sure we have your membership record correct.
On Saturday, after I printed the pages for PR5 on the new printer, Lisa collated, stapled, and folded them. I was able to persuade the printer to print the members' addresses directly onto the envelopes by defining a report as "labels" where each "label" was 9x12 inches and by telling the printer to expect heavy stock as I couldn't find an "envelope" paper type on its list.
It wasn't perfect (it stopped several times, but never completely jammed), but it still was better than having to deal with mailing labels. It also looked better.
Lisa put the PRs into the envelopes, sealed them, and applied the postage. I was rather pleased that we were able to use the Ursula K. Le Guin three-ounce stamps. As we needed one additional standard letter postage stamp, I also got these "western wear" stamps, which also seemed appropriate.
This afternoon after lunch, I carried the almost sixty PRs down to the post office and dropped them into the post, after also buying the postage for the one PR going outside the USA, in this case to a member in Denmark.
US postage is going to be going up in a few weeks, and we'll have to do one more mailing to members: copies of the program book to the supporting and no-show attending members. So when I dropped the mailing, I asked to buy more of the Le Guin stamps. They had run out. I'd already bought all that they had. However, they said that the will have more in a couple of days, so I can come back and get what I need before the postage rates go up. These are "forever" stamps and work even at the old rates, so I'll save us a few dollars by purchasing the postage in advance.
After dropping the PRs into the post, I came home and sent out an email blast to all Westercon members who do have valid email addresses. (There is at least one member who has neither a valid email or postal mail address, and there is not much we can do for people who do that.) If you're a member of Westercon 74, you should have received the email by now. If you have not, check your spam folder, and if you still can't see it, contact us to make sure we have your membership record correct.