Author: Webmaster

Mindbridge minutes Wednesday 1 November 2006

  1. Call to order at 6:06 pm.
  2. Introductions of various and sundry.
  3. Minutes: Cath makes lame excuses.
  4. Treasury Report: Jon gives me the following
    • Checking: $9,169.97
    • AnimeIowa: $34,951.39
    • Icon: $6,225.46
    • Gamicon: $2054.84
  5. Icon Report
    • Final Numbers after everything: $3000 profit
    • 1 week left to get receipts to the con comm before the books close.
  6. Gamicon Report
    • Meeting on Saturday.
    • Hammered out Fantasy Flight and Andy Hopp details.
    • Twenty-four hour gaming room this year!
    • November 19 GM Party at Critical Hits, Coralville, 10am-until they kick us out.
    • Registration will be available then, as will GM sign up. RPGA games. Some board games too.
    • Gaming Library
    • Steve gave out Gamicon fliers to a Marion Gaming group. Also hitting other gaming venues in the Cedar Rapids area. The area has been well peppered.
  7. AnimeIowa Report
    • AI Staff Meeting schedule has been set for the year.
    • August 10-12 is the next AI.
  8. PrePlanning Committee Report
    • Working on getting Steve Jackson for Gamicon Rho
  9. Other Projects
    • Lots of games ran at Icon from the game library.
  10. Old Business
    1. Refund Policy
      • New Improved version which was voted in WILL BE POSTED on the website before our next meeting.
      • New Improved by laws WILL BE POSTED on the website before the website our next meeting
      • Both will be at the Mindbridge Group and Mindbridge.org
    2. Board Members
      • New Board Members are Bryon Stump and Steve Tait.
    3. Mailbox key goes to Brian Womachka. Brian also has storage locker key.
    4. Catherine has to pick up huge box o’ Mindbridge stuff.
    5. Iowa.com ads for conventions are going well.
    6. Nigel wants alcoholics to come to his house. No, really, he needs people to take old Icon liquor.
    7. Mindbridge DVD player: Steve Tait has it.
  11. New Business
    1. Icon
      • Some discussion about Icon bids.
      • One group is looking for Fall, 2007.
      • Interim Icon, March, 2008 is also a possibility. Only 18 months between cons that way.
      • Then return to Fall, 2009.
      • Discussion of moving the con to the spring because of the
      • Nothing yet to come to Mindbridge as a proposal.
    2. One Day Fan Fest
      • Tabled until Dan Wojcik is at the meeting.
      • Marty reminds us of a similar event SWAMP had several years ago Dealer’s room? 12-6?
      • Advertise mostly around campus, get students and Iowa Citians.
    3. World Wide D&D Day at Critical Hits. If you are an old school D&D player, come on down! Official game starts at noon, although things will probably begin at ten(ish).
    4. Mindbridge Meeting at November 19th GM party
      • Jon makes the motion; Steve seconds.
      • Discussion: Henry–what will we do there?
      • Jon: We can tell them what we do.
      • Steve: It’s a membership meeting for those who want another meetin
      • Pro: 9 | Nay: 0 | Abstain: 1
    5. At large Board Member expires. December 6th nominations. January meeting is vote.
      • Nominations Now: Laura Thomas.
    6. New place to meet
      • Library?: Christine Cromwell will reserve January 3, 2007, at the library.
      • December 6th Meeting at Denny’s at 7 due to Mill kaputing on us. (Darned fire code).
    7. Steve: Icon group hopes to have a proposal in for December. Send it to board and we’ll look at it, says Brian.
  12. Meeting adjourned at 6:47 pm.

Action Note:

  • Steve Tait needs to hear from AnimeIowa about what they want on Iowa.com for an ad.
  • Central board address: Mark to Laura.

Fen!

We’ve got trouble.

Right near Iowa CIty

We’ve got Terrible Terrible Trouble.

And it starts with N and it ends with N and it spells NO ICON

For over 30 years we have made for ourselves a home, a gathering a place to share stories and art and fun and friendship. A chance to meet other like-minded folk, who appreciate the joys that we have found in all the forms of fandom.

But we are having trouble keeping this society alive. Sociologists report that all forms of communities are failing in America. The blame is put onto all the distractions that have made it possible to stay at home and be isolated. My stamp club and my comic book reading friends all report the same trend. Nobody wants to do anything that requires effort or participation or time!

I’ve always felt that the rewards of fandom are directly proportional to the effort you put into it. I’ve also felt that a convention should be inclusive enough to accept the wide range of genres and all their forms.

The challenge we all face is this: Icon has lost about $6,000 for each of the last 4 or 5 years. Our three options are

  1. Cancel the con.
  2. Cut expenses
  3. Increase attendance.

These are all hard problems to solve. But we can solve them by working together.

A meeting will be held at ICON this year, like the meeting that was held at last year’s ICON. We need YOU to come forward with ideas, with energy and with a commitment to do something to keep us going. If you enjoy this activity as much as I do, then join us.

Dennis Lynch
Survivor: ICON 1-30

The Mindbridge Board Decision to Cancel Icon in 2007

After some consultation at the last Mindbridge meeting in October, it was decided that a document along these lines might be a good idea to share with the membership of Icon, lest some rumors fester into fact.

On the whole, the Mindbridge Board wanted Icon to continue, but finally as a group we came to the stark realization that Icon could not continue. Our main motivations were as follows: continued financial loss and lacking volunteer base. In this memo, I plan to deal with each of these in turn.

Financial Loss

Any rumors that Mindbridge is absconding with Icon funds are unfounded, given that Icon has steadily lost money for the past several years. As always, the Mindbridge books are open, and we will be happy to share the gory details with interested parties. Financially, the con has not been able to support itself for a long time. Icon’s deficits were usually covered by Mindbridge’s general fund, and not carried into the next year’s convention.

A serious restructuring of Icon is necessary if Icon is to balance its budget, based on current membership, number of paying members, and financial outflow.

Lacking Volunteer Base

This is perhaps a much more serious problem. While it is often possible to drum up a convention committee at the last minute, that convention committee often has huge issues staffing its major departments and finding adequate volunteers to carry out the duties of the convention.

Last year, many new things were tried to increase the vitality of the convention. New programming and guests were used to attempt to draw new people to the convention. These plans did not help. A meeting was successful in pulling together this year’s con committee, and helping us find a list of potential contacts.

This year, the Mindbridge Board needed two criteria for the convention to continue. The first was that we needed to have a convention committee in place our September meeting. This was advertised on fliers and on the Mindbridge Boards. It was discussed frequently. No interested bids stepped forward. The other criteria would be that this year’s convention would have to break even. When we had no convention committee step forward in September, we decided to close down the convention as a Mindbridge Project.

We know that there is a great deal of interest in Icon from its regulars, and we are sorry that Icon is being discontinued as a Mindbridge project. This is a highly emotionally charged decision. However, we feel as a board we can not continue to run a project that loses money and is difficult to staff.

Mindbridge would welcome a bid in the future from Icon if Icon can present a balanced budget and a staff list for its major departments. Mindbridge would also be happy to negotiate Icon putting together a con without Mindbridge backing. These are matters for the new board of Mindbridge to discuss.

The Mindbridge Foundation is currently accepting bids for ICON 32 in 2007. Bids must include a projected budget, and a full listing of staff and con committe members. Bids will be accepted until September 1st, 2006. Bids will be presented to MIndbridge at the September membership meeting on September 5th, 2006. Voting will occur at the October 4, 2006 Mindbridge Membership meeting.

If you are interested in helping, but do not have enough people to form a committee, plese attend the September meeting and join a bid already in progress.

Board members are availble to help answer questions or supply help completing bids. Please pass this information along to anyone whom you feel may be interested in a staff or con committee position.

Please submit bids to a member of the Board of Directors: Michele Maakestad, Catherine Schaff-Stump, Brian Womachka, Jennifer Todd or Christine Cromwell. You can reach the Mindbridge Foundation board via their contact page.

Thank you!