End of May 2012

Fees are soon due...by JULY 2012 folks.

It's that time of year when we all have to dip our hands in pockets and pay the next years subs. With the development of our site at Penfield we will all need to join the Penfield Sports Association. It costs the princely sum of $30, which takes care of the administration of our the site and give us a position on the committee, as I understand it. The details of the PSA membership are a bit sketchy, so hopefully Chris C can clarify the details shortly. We have had the offer of a shed from Roxby Downs. It is not confirmed in black and white, but that will come soon after running it through the committee and gathering more details from up north. It is a larger shed that we anticipated, around 20 x 13 meters and a 4 meter roof height. When planning it out on the computer, it seems like more than enough room for the gear we have in storage and at the current workshop.
The shed is free. We just have to pay to get it down here from Roxby and on site. Hopefully, I'll have more details down the track.

Coke Supplies

The coke situation is getting sorted and hopefully we will have some at our disposal sooner rather than later, as stocks are running low at the workshop, as far as selling to members. Chris C is fielding phone calls constantly about coke from non members, so if we get 15 ton, it won't be sitting in a huge pile for long.
It looks like we aren't alone in having problems securing coke. The other state members and public are finding it difficult to get as well. I think we will have to sort out some gas forges down the track.
Gas forges have some great advantages, especially for the smaller work that we all do. I won't be getting rid of my coke forge at any case but it would be great to have a more or less instant heat source for those small jobs you don't feel like lighting the forge for.

Grants.

Grant applications are in progress, thanks to Chris C. He has spent a large chunk of time wadding through the paperwork and sending it off. If successful, we should be able to get all the gear we need to hold sausage sizzle days and raise some much needed funds.
One thing we all need to do is generate some artwork that we can put up for sale at the upcoming events like Stirling garden fair. We had the potential to make some good money, but didn't have enough variety on the table. If you're good at making particular items, have a go at making a few of them to pitch into the hat, so to speak.

Website

The website is on my mind constantly. It was a hastily thrown together affair and I would like to revamp it and add some new pages and topics, and maybe ditch a couple. After speaking with our web hoster, he has suggested going with Word press. I have had a play with it, but a blogs a blog and I haven't seen any Word press sites that blow wind up my skirt. On the other hand, iWeb is clunky and difficult and time consuming to use, even though I know it pretty well. I think Facebook will play a large roll in getting news and photos to the members quicker. We could use the website as a base of static information and let Facebook ride the crest of instant news gratification. Plus members can interact, and that's worth a Kings ransom in itself. Just a thought.

Clothing and Promotional stuff

While in the process of getting quotes for our grant, Chris came across a good source for ABASA clothing at Rays Outdoors. The prices are much better than Red Bubble and Vistaprint and you have more choice about what style of clothing you want embroidered. More details on this soon.

STOP PRESS...It's still the end of the month technically. I have just had word that 15 ton of Coke is coming down from Onesteel. The shed plans are locatable at Roxby Downs.The A.B.N. registration form has been submitted. Things are in motion folks.