OK, you are right. I seem to remeber a grant the TSA land fund made to TCMA when the down payment for Deep/Punkin was being put together. But the primary purpose of the TSA is not to buy caves, ostensibly not even a secondary one since they have never bought one. There are two organizations in the state dedicated to doing that though, each in their own unique ways. I would argue that if cave acquisition is your goal (and a worthy goal in my estimation) then get involved and donate to TCMA or TCC.
I think the TSA meeting was this previous Saturday at CBSP. My take. TSA was traditionally a social gathering mechanism for cavers is a vast geographic area. The Texas Caver was an invaluable source for information. That was before the internet. I asked at a grotto meeting tonight that the president designate a caver, preferably a TSA member, to act as TSA liaison, to announce TSA activities to the meeting attendees. Couldn't find a TSA member in the room. Why? Too much money; well more like not getting anything for the dues. Several people cited the , um, infrequest publication schedules of the past. I still feel that twenty bucks is way out of line for what you get. And this is not to take anything away from Mark, the editor, he does a great job, and this from a grotto editor. But in a weird sort of way the TC editor is in direct competition with grotto editors for material. The UT Grotto effectively uses the Texas Caver as their grotto newsletter. Pretty slick, getting a guy from Dallas to edit your Austin cave news. In the era of instant communication the TSA seems like something of an achronism, an unneeded layer in the caving cake. My proposal. Someone in Austin get the UT grotto newsletter going. Use the Texas Caver as a DIGEST for the best articles, maps, trip reports, cave poetry, technical reports, art work, photography, etc. and publish quarterly. Go online as was previously suggested, and start back the Activities Newsletter, again online. Lower online membership to $10 bucks. Raise the dues for hard copy to $25 or whatever it takes to cover printing and postage costs plus a little for the bank acount, let the folks needing paper for paper. The $10 from online subscribers is pure gravy, no costs incurred to produce it. More people join, membership swells, everyone contributes to their grotto newletter hoping the TC editor or editorial board chooses their work for statewide publication; cavers all over the state camp out by their mailbox waiting to see what wondrous stuff is happening in other parts of the state. Uh... well maybe not. In summary, I fully appreciate that the leaders of the TSA and members who have stuck with it have done so for what they genuinely feel are good reasons. I think some of the old timers have a sentimental attachment to the "way we used to do things" and have not allowed things to move along into the future, er... present. I have expressed these ideas to several TSA leaders in the past and was scolded in most cases for not being onboard. A few (who were not elected) agreed with some or all of what I expressed. I basically posited this same scheme tonight, and several grotto members who were once TSA members or had never joined stated they would seriously consider joining/rejoining. That includes me. You know, joining a group of like-minded people seems to be a natural response, unless the group makes it to difficult to do so, or can't show a reasonable set of benefits for doing so. -----Original Message----- From: Charles Goldsmith [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 6:19 PM To: RD Milhollin Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ot_caving] RE: TexasCaver The TSA does have funds for land/cave purchase, its invested currently. I don't know if it was approved, but I do know a grant was put forth towards the TSA for $1200 to help improve Honey Creek entrance. The next meeting for TSA will be at CBSP I think, that alone will support that project, driving people there. I'm not an active member of TSA, but I have been a member for a couple of years and these are the types of things that I've seen happening and it's why I'm a member. To each his own. On 1/16/08, RD Milhollin <[email protected]> wrote: > > Each grotto has (or should have) a newsletter. > The projects are the result of individual initiative and followup, and could > be done without the help of any organization. > I am not aware of the TSA purchasing land/caves. I know the TCMA and TCC do, > and I support both of those organizations. > Honey Creek, CBSP: see projects above. > TSS is a private corporation, as far as I know. Please correct me if I am > mistaken. > TCR is a stand-alone affair/organization/happening. > > The Spring Convention is a worthy endeavor, certainly worthy of support, but > not $20-30 per year from people who might not even be able to make it there. > > I don't see that the TSA actually "does a lot". You haven't yet convinced > me. > > FWIW I am not a TSA member, I once was but chose not to renew several years > ago. I would consider rejoining and becoming involved if I could convince > myself that it served a purpose not covered either by individuals who choose > to take on tasks for the loive of it, or by other caving organizations; and > if I could feel that the dues justified the returns. > > It doesn't count but my vote would be to have an electronic newsletter > available to those who don't want paper, and for a considerable break in the > dues, as was mentioned in a previous post. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Charles Goldsmith [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 5:48 PM > To: RD Milhollin > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ot_caving] RE: TexasCaver > > > I'll chime in here, as a TSA member and what I see coming out of this > organization. Aside from the obvious, the newsletter, the TSA also > has several projects that are on-going. Land purchase, helping with > Honey Creek, CBSP, TSS, TCR/Spring Convention and others. > > I'm sure that I didn't get nearly all of the things, but from what > I've seen, the TSA does a lot and could do more with extra funding, > saving cash on doing bulk mails. > > Charles > > On 1/16/08, RD Milhollin <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > Hmm, I can't seem to get this to post righ... let me try this message for > > the third time: > > > > Fritz, for the sake of good natured argument, please enumerate said > benefits > > and the value you place on those. > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Give this to a friend: [email protected] > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Give this to a friend: [email protected] To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Give this to a friend: [email protected] To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
