Oct. 2001
President's
Message
Portrait of Jim and Kathy Jones
President's Message
Bob Coffey
As stated last month, this will be an exciting year. After seventy years,
it is time to plan for the future to assure continued success in these
rapidly changing times. I see two changes that the Club should put into
effect in the near future; a new name and a different tax status.
We need to change our name to something more befitting our organization and in keeping with the times. A more prestigious name would be helpful in seeking grants and contributions. A name such as Delaware Photographic Society would be viewed as a more serious contender for grants by organizations such as the Delaware Division of the Arts, the Delaware Humanities Forum, and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation as well as corporations.
The reason for changing the
tax status is simply so that contributions can be treated as charitable
tax deductions to a non-profit organization by the contributors. This
is the status that PSA has had since its founding.
The funds generated with this status would be used in continuing the sponsorship
of the annual WIEP and in the hosting of other special events to improve
the quality of our programs.
Our legal council has assured us that we should have no difficulty in qualifying for this IRS status. The legal fee involved will require approval by the Executive Committee. It appears that this one-time expense will be a good investment as it can be recuperated relatively quickly via awards of grants and contributions.
The first step will be to obtain membership approval of the new name. This requires two-thirds majority vote in a Club meeting of a quorum of the club membership. I have polled recent past presidents plus the Club Treasurer and other members of the Executive Committee and have their strong endorsement of this move. The voting date will be announced in the near future. I urge you to attend in order to approve this motion as it is an important milestone in our club’s future.
We have received the results of the annual website and news bulletin competition from PSA and are pleased to announce that our club website, delawarecameraclub.com, and The Reflector have both won honors.
Sandro Cuccia deserves our
gratitude for creating and maintaining one of the top six websites. The
Reflector has again received an honor ribbon as well as a Creative Award
for the Most Motivational newsletter. We owe our appreciation to Sharon
Coffey for her continued contribution.
- Bob Coffey