Shortly after our 2008 national convention, the Monthly Monetary Support (MMS) program committee kicked off its latest campaign to promote the MMS program among our ACB membership. The names of all new contributors, and all those existing participants who increased their contributions by at least $5 per month, were placed in a pot for a drawing to win a fully accessible Olympus Digital Recorder from LS&S, LLC. The promotion began immediately following the 2008 convention in Louisville and ran through the end of our ACB 2009 national convention. After the convention, the winner was selected using a random number program to ensure total fairness and objectivity. Each eligible contributor was numbered, and the computer program selected the magic number 18. And 18 turned out to be Linda Wyman of Ohio!! Congratulations to Linda, and we certainly hope she gets lots of good use out of her new little, fully accessible, Olympus Digital Recorder.
Once again, the campaign this last year was very successful bringing into the MMS program lots of new participants. We greatly appreciate everyone who contributes to the program, no matter how small or how large the contribution is. All contributions are important and they all add up to helping the ACB and our affiliates.
I'd like to recognize the efforts of the MMS committee: Ray Campbell, Donna Seliger, Kathy Brockman, William Benjamin, Ed Bradley, Mike Godino, and Melanie Brunson. I also thank Lane Waters and Michelle Mueller in our Minnesota office, and Dena Wilson in our Virginia office, for their extraordinary assistance during the convention. Michelle has done a wonderful job sending me updates and quarterly reports on the progress of the MMS program. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the extraordinary cooperation of Tomasina A. Perry, Vice President of LS&S Group, LLC, for his most generous donation of the Olympus Digital Recorder.
Also, I want to recognize the people who either became MMS Program contributors for the first time or increased the amount of their contributions during our 2008-2009 campaign. These people are: Jeremy Congdon, Patricia Wolf, Anne Mauro, Byron Sykes, Phyllis Pulfer, Jeanette Schmoyer, Victor Clifford, Helen Skarpentzos, Barbara Hayes, Greg Jack, Juliette Swiler, Katrina McCurdy, Jason Santa-Ana-White, Thomas Booker, Timothy Kelly, Carol Edwards, William Kraehling, Linda Wyman, Alfred Gil, Ardis Bazyn, Brun D. Platt, Robert Rindt & Lauren Casey, Bernice Klepac, Mike Cook, James Denham, Sharon McNerney, Sandy England, Ken Jessup, Marilyn Rodda, John McCann, Norman Ota, Linda Schultz, Leslie & Jeff Thom, Walt Spillum, Sally Benjamin, Billie Jean Keith, Cindi Vega, Robert Lucas, Janet Dickelman, Evelyn Larson, Adrian Taylor, Ann M. Byington, Pamela Metz, and Ken Metz.
The total annualized amount gained from the above new participants and the people who increased their contributions during the convention week is a little over $6,800. This is fantastic! This makes the total annualized amount of the contributions for our 2008-2009 campaign nearly $62,900. So, we are continuing to make slow but steady progress. I sincerely thank all of you who have made this progress possible.
However, we can do much better. We have several thousand ACB members, and right now, only 1.25 percent of our members are participating in the MMS program, which means 98.75 percent of you are still not participating in this vitally important method of funding our organization. We can do much, much better than that. A $15 per month contribution through the MMS program is only 50 cents a day!
The MMS Program Committee is currently planning the next big campaign and will be announcing it shortly. To sign up for the MMS program for the first time, or to make changes in your current contributions, you can contact Michelle Mueller in the Minnesota office, 1-800-866-3242, or contact me at (270) 782-9325, and we'll take care of whatever you need.
Again, congratulations to Linda Wyman for winning the Olympus Digital Recorder. Now, who will be the big winner next year? In order to win, you have to participate. So, sign up and be a new contributor or increase your current contribution. Maybe you'll be the next winner!