SOS 2008

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Consuls' Report on the Status of The Augustan Society, Inc. delivered Saturday 23 August 2008

  1. State of the Society
    1. Our membership is small but stable, with significant losses over the past few years of inactivity. As of this writing, we have a total of 98 members, of which there are 74 Regular, 20 Life, and 4 Honorary (Associate) members. (Nine of the Life members have not been heard from lately, thus their status is in question.) That said, applications have resumed, with 5 new members and 2 reinstatements accepted to date. Our Internet presence has contributed markedly to these new members.
    2. Our finances are presently stable, with good potential for long-term growth.
      1. The investment of about $200,000 as an endowment will provide for all of the Society's fixed costs. Adjustments will be necessary and will be made as needed to keep up with increased costs and varying returns.
      2. The “building fund” stands at about $60,000 at this point, and is being managed a bit more aggressively than our endowment for long-term growth.
      3. Working funds amount to about $24,000. This is higher than we would prefer, but with possible capital expenditures and multi-year purchases (such as insignia) in the offing, we have chosen to maintain this level at least until next August.
      4. Matching price to cost of goods and services will permit all programs to be self-supporting (after unfunded liabilities are discharged). The market appears willing to bear the fair cost of our offerings. Note please that our normal prices are designed to have a 50% markup, except for subscriptions which are priced at cost presently—something we should probably look at.
      5. The “unfunded liabilities” mentioned above are those obligations we have taken on without preserving the funds to provide them. This includes obvious issues like unfilled subscriptions, but also less obvious matters such as members who paid dues during the interregnum, but for whom we may not have received the funds. It is to cover these liabilities and other transition expenses that we are conducting this year's Annual Fundraiser. Should we ever obtain the missing financial records, it may be possible to put a solid price on these costs, and the Annual Fundraiser target may be adjusted based on that value.
    3. Our collections are secure, but remain at small risk from environmental challenges. They are housed in an air-conditioned building, but conditions are not archival and humidity in particular varies more than we should prefer. Most museum artifacts deserve proper packaging, especially the paintings, and some books need rebinding.
    4. Our publications represent a major challenge. We presently have but limited copy to publish, especially for the specialty publications. We have thus initiated a return to Omnibus publication (in concept, not in size or frequency). Our goal is—and must be—to return The Augustan Omnibus to a quarterly frequency, even if it means limiting each issue to the size of recent Augustans (36pp., including covers). Current subscription prices appear sufficient to print 36-page magazines similar to the last issue, but not to cover fixed production costs. Significant increases in page count would require a price increase (or a major jump in advertising revenue).
    5. All of our planning is now long-term planning, including documentation of policies and procedures. Day-to-day operations are based on “business as usual”, to the extent that's understood and achievable. We are not investing much time in ad hoc solutions, and focusing on long-term sustainable procedures and policies.
    6. The longest-range goal of your Consuls is to plan for their eventual replacement by a paid Executive Director and staff. True, with our small size we may never reach this stage, and if we do it may be decades away, but as we are no more immortal than Sir Rodney, it seems needful that we plan for our eventual replacement.
  2. Computer systems
    1. We have assembled, and continue to assemble and refine, a series of computer systems, printers, and software to assist with the work of the Society. Not all has gone well, some equipment is on indefinite loan, but the prospects to obtain the rest of our present and projected needs with little or no cost looks excellent.
    2. A secure firewall (IPCOP) has been donated by the Metcalfs.
    3. We have purchased a VOIP telephone system. This uses the Internet rather than a conventional telephone line, and provides us with free calling to US, Canada, and most of Western Europe. A fax line is also included in this, and both lines can be relocated to any eventual office without having to change numbers.
    4. An “All-In-One” (printer/fax/scanner/copier) has been donated by John Shankland. It is seeing heavy and daily use.
    5. Our (11×17”) photocopier is not well. Toshiba was called to perform maintenance, but their level of support is somewhere between lacking to fraudulent, and they have failed to offer even a price for repair parts. Our long range plan is to digitize publications and use conventional printers. Copying can be performed using several scanners.
    6. A large (11×17”) laser printer was donated by MediaMarx, Inc. It is not yet in service due to software issues, and it may need to have a dedicated print server (easily obtained). This unit would be to print magazines and reprints, and if it cannot be put into service we may recommend a new one be purchased. Color inkjet printers to handle 11x17” stock are about $1,000, color laser printers about $3,000. Commercial copying costs put the ROI at less than one and three years, respectively.
    7. In addition to the flatbed scanner owned by the Society, another has been donated by the Metcalfs. Neither are presently in service, but will prove very helpful for scanning and copying.
    8. We have received several used systems from Linux Enthusiasts and Professionals, Central Florida Chapter (LEAP-CF). These will be used as workstations until newer systems are received (see “I” below), thereafter kept for guest use.
    9. The donation of additional workstations from the Walt Disney Co. are pending. These are three-year-old units withdrawn from service as they are replaced by newer systems. These would displace the older units described in “H” above.
    10. We have received the donation of two Dell “Power Edge” 4400 servers, one from the State of Florida, another from an anonymous member of LEAP-CF. This is a year 2000 model, so one would be kept for parts to support the other. This will be used as a central file server for the office, an email server, and a web host for the Staff Wiki and other services. Its size should be sufficient to sustain our operations for quite some time to come.
    11. All needed software and support for the in-house systems have been obtained free. Linux operating systems and open source software are the standard approach; to date, no needed task has been identified that requires paid software, and none such is expected. The one exception is the possible use of one Windows-based machine as a print server for obsolete printers.
    12. New Website:
      1. The Website is online and generating both interest and revenue.
      2. Online contact has generated 100% of all sales and non-member subscriptions, and the vast majority of all membership renewals and first contacts with new members to date.
      3. A members-only section will be delayed until at least August 2008 while we complete work on the phases installed to date. There remains much work to do, most obviously inputting all of the back issues and other material for sale. Given the revenue potential, this will take precedence over enhancements.
      4. Work on the website was hired out to expedite our online presence, and that has proven most satisfactory. Work was divided into three phases:
        1. Phase I was planning, work complete.
        2. Phase II was deployment of the base system, work complete.
        3. Phase III is a collection of future developments that will be taken one at a time. Board assistance in prioritizing these will be solicited.
      5. We now have sufficient confidence in the new website that it is appropriate to take the old website offline to save expenses. Monies recently paid are not necessarily wasted, as we continue to use the old web service provider for email forwarding services.
    13. An Email system is in early deployment; it will include <...@augustansociety.org> email addresses for all officers and committees, perhaps eventually all members. This will allow for permanent addresses such as <treasurer@augustansociety.org> to remain constant despite changes in the identity or home email address of that officer. More on this is expected soon.
    14. We have a new membership data system in deployment. Progress is slow both due to the disorganized state of the records and the natural challenges of learning new software. It is already in a sufficiently advanced stage to use it for printing mailing labels. Alas, it is not clear if printing a roster from it will be possible or not. Alternate software is being investigated.
    15. A computer accounting system is in deployment. As above, there will be a learning curve involved. We hope to be able to generate conventional reports soon.
    16. We plan to install a Wiki system once our server is working. This would be used to provide an electronic “policy and procedure manual” that all staff could access and help edit. These have proven most useful for other organizations, and we hope to leverage their experiences to expedite our success.
    17. Long term, we hope to be able to offer remote access to systems, but we presently lack the expertise and data to predict when. The first uses will probably be to grant Chairmen access to change their Committee's page on the Website, and to give staff access to the Wiki (above). More data as we figure things out.
  3. Procedures and Perspective
    1. Very little has come to us in the way of procedures from our predecessors. One letter written by Sir Rodney suggests this was deliberate, as he didn't want his dead hand to prevent us from developing the procedures—or indeed the Society—in new ways. There are days we resent this courtesy. The basic principles that guide our choices are to a large degree drawn from the experience of working for the Walt Disney Co., a firm well known for customer service. To this is added the Augustan traditions to create an atmosphere where we are never at odds with a member. Recent failures in our Society's record keeping (and a few of our own) have created challenges. By resolving these in favor of our members, potential members, and clients, all but one have been settled in a positive manner (and that one individual may find it surprisingly difficult to renew his subscriptions). Documentation of procedures is needed, and will be done using an in-house Wiki. Board participation will be invited in development. It may be premature to describe them here, as much is still being learned, often the hard way.
    2. Our recommendations for a minor reorganization of the Society's administration have been presented to this meeting in the form of By-Law Amendments and a few policy items. Correspondence suggests we have wide support for these changes, but know that we are happy to listen to constructive criticism and suggestions for further change, including changing things back. Please do not refrain from sharing your opinions out of respect for our office or ourselves, as we're much more concerned with the Society than with out own ideas about it. Key to this reorganization is the creation of a Champion for each Society program, said Champions to make up the Board along with the Officers. At present, some programs are having to share a Champion; we feel this practice should be phased out so that Champions will not have divided loyalties, or more importantly, divided time.
    3. There are a number of large issues to be addressed in the near future. One of our goals is to itemize them all and present them in time for discussions at the Annual Meeting. We invite additional items, but at present our list includes:
      1. The Augustan Omnibus and the future of publications:
        1. Subscription price philosophy
        2. Possibility of a return to multiple publications
        3. Journal of Ancient & Medieval Studies — merger, independence, or termination
        4. Payments to authors
        5. Electronic distribution
      2. The list of Society programs to be active. We presently have more programs than we do members!
      3. Plans for a return to a public Headquarters and the funding mechanism for same
      4. Plans for a permanent Headquarters:
        1. Office space
        2. Library
        3. Museum
        4. Chapel and meeting space
        5. Lodging
      5. Long-range financial planning for Headquarters finance and growth
      6. Charitable activities, both local and international (one local project has already been identified)



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