By John Tilden
A THS Goals, Mission & Vision Meeting was held Wednesday 15 August 2018, approximately 6:30-8:30 PM, at the Fairmont Hotel, San Jose CA, Room 1090. A meeting of this type first occurred at the 2016 Kansas City Worldcon, and allowed Society members to have extended conversations with Board officers, other Directors, and committee chairs and workers on any number of topics.
After a dinner provided by THS of salad, pizza, and drinks we convened to discuss broad goals for the Society over the next few years. It is the intention of the Board and Chairs of the Society to use this discussion to help guide action.
Present: Keith Kato, Herb Gilliland, John Seltzer, Susan Seltzer, Lester Gibo, Juliet Vogel, Kevin Ellingwood, Geo Rule, John Tilden, Mike Sheffield, Betsey Wilcox, Marie Guthrie, Will Hamilton, Ty Arnold, Carlin Black, Kenn Bates.
We had much good discussion. If something approached a “goal” for the Society and at least a couple of people agreed, it was put to the “whiteboard” on the wall. The whiteboard is transcribed below:
- Qualified Scholarship entrants get 1 year Supporting Membership free.
- Communication points for Newsletter—what to do (whom to contact, how to up-vote) to get more RAH on the Kindle format in particular and ebooks in general.
- Expand membership into the Asian countries’ fan base.
- Get stuff out of storage and “into circulation”—(Update: Send The Martian Named Smith to Dragon Con next year; lend our art to the Bonestall exhibit, Center For Bradbury Studies/IUPUI, or some other like gallery).
- Inventory what we have.
- Foreign Editions especially.
- Create an “on-demand” store for stuff with the THS logo and attach to the website.
- Survey membership by zip code to find their local SF cons, as THSer to help Blood Drives etc.
- Gauge commitment to be a local THS con coordinator.
- Staff a “Fan/THS” presence at Dragon Con by 2019 (subsidize if necessary).
- Gain 25 new members under the age of 30 within 3 years.
- Expand our “Fan/THS” presence to 5 -more- “key” conventions in 2 years.
It should be noted that, from the 2016 Kansas City Worldcon Mission & Vision meeting, the Virginia Edition Raffle to conclude the Society’s Annual Meeting in 2017 and 2018 were enacted.
