Class Dues Letter Fall 2005

Fellow Classmates:   This mailing represents the first request for Class Dues for the 2005/06 year. Your prompt response will save the cost of future mailings, and will be very much appreciated. Dues for the 2005/06 year will remain the same as they were last year -- $45. So please respond quickly with your check for dues, and also please consider a generous contribution to one or more of our four worthwhile class projects.  

As a reminder, those worthy class projects are as follows:  

1. 1960 Scholarship Fund -- provides for a Class of 1960 scholar in every Dartmouth class;  
2. Dorm Art Fund -- purchases works of art from each graduating studio art major, which then brighten all dormitories (and give a jump start to the careers of these young artists);  
3. Athletic Sponsors Program -- brings promising candidates to campus as part of the recruiting process.  
4. Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth (SEAD) -- helps high-potential at-risk students prepare for college.  

Your collective dues payments make it possible for virtually all Class of 1960 members (and widows) to receive a subscription to the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Plus, they pay for your Class Newsletters (superbly produced and editedby Denny Goodman) and for these dues request mailings.  

Last year, we received total dues payments of about $19,400 -- and spent about $21,600 on magazine subscriptions, Newsletters, and dues mailers. So your response is important!!  

Please keep in touch with your class, and your alma mater, by sending your dues (and class project contributions) to our the Class of 1960, P.O. Box 866, Hanover, NH 03755-0866.  

Thanks!! And please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have -- at the Class P.O. Box, or bill.moorman@valley.net, or 603-298-6054.  

Thanks very much for your support!        

Bill Moorman, Treasurer Class of 1960  

Explaination of problems with first dues mailing

Dear Treasurers,

First, I'd like to apologize again for the major problem that occurred with the first dues mailing last week. The error was mine and occurred when I was manipulating the download from Quickbase from which the we pull the dues mailing database. Somehow I managed to get the names and addresses out of sync and it went unnoticed by all of us. Consequently, we have implemented some procedures which we believe will help prevent this from happening again. However, please know that no one feels worse about this than I do.

I also wanted to update you on the status of the revised first dues mailing. Here are the details:

1. The corrected version of the first dues mailing started hitting the US mail last Friday, Nov. 11. Ten thousand went out on Friday, another 22,000 on Monday and the remaining 4,500 on Tuesday.

2. This revised mailing includes a card from Alumni Relations explaining the problem and apologizing for it. In addition, the outside envelope also has a stamp that reads "Revised Dues Notice Enclosed". The bottom portion of the letter which is the actual dues slip they return with their payment also has been marked with "Revised Dues Notice" so that both the Wheelock Plan treasurers and the Ledyard Bank can identify the correct dues slip.

3. In my initial email regarding the problem, I indicated that the revised mailing would go out first class. Due to permitting issues and expediency these went out third class, not first. A significant delay would have resulted from adjusting everything to accommodate the first class postage so I made the decision to go with third class. My apologies for the misinformation in the first email.

4. Ledyard National Bank has been instructed to return any payments from the incorrect mailing to us so that we can make sure the right class and alumnus/nae receives credit for the dues payment.

5. There is a rumor floating about that we outsource the dues mailing to India. That is absolutely false. The preparation of the database and letters is done here in Blunt and sent to a mail house in Portland, Maine for processing.

6. Please instruct your classmates to simply throw away the erroneous notice and wait for the correct one before sending in their payment.

7. All costs associated with the revised dues mailing will be absorbed by Alumni Relations. The classes will only be charged for what would've been the normal first dues mailing expenses.

THE FUTURE

At the moment, the regular second dues notice is scheduled to hit the US mail on Friday, Jan. 27. A suggestion has been made that we might want to delay that slightly due to this problem with the first mailing. I would like to wait a bit before making that decision and first have a conversation with Tom Beecher '89, President of the Treasurers Association and Jeff Fine '99, Vice President. There are consequences to delaying the second mailing that we need to consider. In the meantime, please remember that the deadline for the second dues notice letter is Friday, December 2. (The reason for what might appear to be an early deadline for that letter is the fact that the College closes for the holidays from Dec. 23 until Jan. 3 and we need a fair amount of prep time for the letters.)

Thank you again for your understanding and patience.

Sincerely,

Sue Young