Is there a future for the NWSGA?

We, the current officers of the NWSGA, have reached a point of discouragement.

In the past two years of our administration, we have enjoyed some very nice successes. We can point to a great Jamboree last year which we organized, and an equally good one the year before, organized by the previous officers and volunteers. We also have had several minijams, plus a KPBX Kids' Concert featuring steel guitar. With these successes, we should be in good spirits, but we are not. The overwhelmingly prime reason is that our membership has been almost totally inactive. We have received payments of dues from over 50 people, and participation has stopped right there. There have been repeated requests for members to get involved with their organization, requests for input, thoughts and feedback, specific requests for such things as a newsletter editor, and they have all been met with resounding silence. It would seem that there is no membership at all, from the response we got.

There was a questionnaire sent out, and though many people returned it, there was minimal response to the questions. The section labeled "essay questions" was filled out with single word answers, short phrases and very short sentences. Some questionnaires were returned with only the first few questions answered. In spite of this relatively lukewarm response, all the answers were summarized and we tried to get an idea of what the membership wanted, and attempted to meet it.

This administration spent the Association's money providing a great Jamboree last May. The purpose of the Jamboree was to promote interest in steel guitar (though the representation was primarily pedal steel) and provide a common meeting place for fans. Making money was only to be hoped for, and in fact we wound up with a little over $500 afterward, having started with around $2500. With expenses of over $5,000, it says a lot that the result was in the black. In order to raise money for the next Jamboree, other efforts needed to be made.

As we had been hampered by lack of help in holding previous fundraising events, coupled with poor attendance, we (meaning Jim Arnold) made major attempts to locate sponsors who would support the organization with large contributions. We learned that first we had to have Non-Profit status, which we had been told we had and then discovered was not so. We then took the necessary steps and obtained that status with Washington State, and then were stopped at the IRS, where they wanted a $300 fee just to consider whether to grant the status, after reviewing a ten-page application detailing all our financial dealings, both current and anticipated. As there were no sponsors showing interest, this avenue has yet to be traveled.

For those who are interested, we posted the minutes of the meetings on the website (you did know there was a website, didn't you? Go to www.nwsteelguitar.com). Further, we abolished the Members Only section, where the minutes were posted, in an attempt to make our organization more accessible. In those minutes, it was always stated when and where the next meeting would be held, and frequently we encouraged other members to attend. During our tenure, we have had a grand total of fewer than ten people (other than ourselves) show up for meetings.

In Jim's last President's Letter, he requested comments from anyone on the subject of what was wanted in a Jamboree. This request appears to have been ignored, as absolutely no one has responded.

With involvement like this, how can any organization continue to exist?

We held an event on Feb.24 at the Valley Eagles, where we had 6 showcase players, an auction, and a jam utilizing Band-in-a-Box, and we brought in over $1600. We decided we should do it again before the next Jamboree, as it seemed we could raise money enough to provide a decent show. However, the Mirabeau suddenly declared they didn't have any space for us at the time we wanted it, plus they were less than helpful this time. We also were facing some steep performer costs to bring in the headliners we wanted (Reese Anderson and Bobby Black). Then, we found the Eagles club was booked up past April, and we now have to look for another venue.

At the last meeting March 11, the lack of interest from our membership was a major topic and we realized that even if we had enough money, we would still be hard pressed to put on the Jamboree, as again it would be organized by an exceptionally small number of people who did not have time enough to cover everything.

Election of officers is coming up this May, and we are suffering from the impression that it will be difficult to find people willing to take the reins from us and continue trying to improve the organization.

Consequently, several decisions were made at this meeting. The first is that we will not be presenting a Jamboree in May. Second, we will attempt to hold another event similar to the last one at Valley Eagles, but finding available venues at short notice is a very difficult thing to do. We need to find a venue that is available before our terms of office expire in May. Thirdly, we are alerting the membership that we need people to step forward in response to this letter, to show us that the next decision should not be implemented. We have decided that if there are no nominations for officers received by May 15, we will declare the organization disbanded.

During this two years of administration, the opinion we have formed is that the membership doesn't care if there is an organization. We know that in most organizations, only a few people do the work. We don't have a big enough membership to allow that "luxury". Sending dues money isn't enough. There must be active participation. We don't even have decent attendance at the events we do hold. The message that seems to be forthcoming is this: there isn't any reason to have a Northwest Steel Guitar Association. If you disagree, then step up and prove us wrong.

Jim Arnold, President             shobutch@comcast.net           509-921-5467

Russ Rask, Vice President      rrask@wellsstjohn.com           509-465-9364

Chris Howie, Secretary           chrishowie@centurytel.net     509-245-3777

Jack Peters, Treasurer              p40warhawkrls@msn.com      509-328-1386