October 3, 2014
Dear Everyone:
I got my flu shot this week.
In the past, I usually got a shot at work, paid for by the Company.
This was because the Company, like a lot of employers with many,
many employees, discovered that the cost of the vaccinations was way
less than the cost of lost productivity when said employees called in
sick.
But now that I’m retired (spelled “u-n-e-m-p-l-o-y-e-d”), that is no
longer an option.
I could, theoretically, go to my doctor (spelled “Primary Care
Physician”) and get the shot for “free”.
This means my health insurance would pay for the actual
injection.
However. I would have to
make an appointment with said doctor, and pay the “co-payment”, which in
my case is $25. It costs me
that much to even see the doctor, regardless of reason.
Or, I could go to my local Large National Grocery Chain (spelled
“S-a-f-e-w-a-y”) and pay $30 for the injection.
No appointment necessary.
Plus, I get a 10%-off coupon at the store.
So, the difference is, basically, $5.00.
Make an appointment, or go whenever it suits me.
And, if I spend more than $50 on a regular weekly shopping trip
(when was the last time I got out of the store for under $100?), I get
the $5.00 back, or even more.
In other words: No contest.
Popped into the store, filled out a form, paid the $30, and
there’s a very good chance I won’t get sick this year.
In other news…
ARMA, of course.
One of the things I discovered the Chapter President does is get
Sponsors (spelled “v-e-n-d-o-r-s”) to give the Chapter money.
Each Chapter member pays an annual fee of $45, over the cost to
belong to the International organization.
We have around 35 members, making us a Small (spelled
“m-i-n-i-s-c-u-l-e”) Chapter.
35 members times $45 each adds up to less than $1600 per year.
That’s not a lot of money.
In fact, it’s not even one monthly mortgage payment for me.
So we ask for money. From
the people who make their money selling things to
Records Managers.
Like file cabinets,
folders,
labels, boxes and, more recently,
software.
They, in turn, are happy to give us money, provided they get something
in return, as in advertising.
So we offer them a spot on our
Website, in communications,
mentions at monthly meetings, and so on.
And where do we find these Sponsors?
On the websites of other ARMA chapters, of course.
Look at their Sponsors, proudly displayed somewhere on the Site,
take down the information, add it to the list.
At the moment, I have over two dozen potential Sponsors.
Some people might consider this
Poaching (spelled “s-t-e-a-l-i-n-g”)
from other Chapters.
Nonsense. We’re all in this
together, records management-wise.
And a potential Sponsor has only to say, “Sorry.
Already gave to another Chapter.”
So far, I have never heard this from a Vendor.
I also got some contacts from one of our Board members who participated
on a project to find a new vendor for one thing or another (spelled
“Fill-In-Blank”) at her place of business, which she passed along to me.
So I have a nice list of possible “advertisers”.
Next up is to get the email address of a contact.
Some companies even have “info@vendor.com” on their Website’s
contact page. Yesterday I
sent out 16 emails.
Other companies just have a form for you to fill out.
This doesn’t allow a lot of space for “convincing” someone to
give us money. But I have a
paragraph worked out that may pique their interest.
So far, I’ve heard from three possibilities.
Two have said they’ll “think about it”, so I may hear something
from them next week. And
I’ve already heard from one vendor who is more than happy to “invest”
$500, thus increasing our annual revenue by almost 25%.
Every little bit helps, of course.
Love, as always,
Pete
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