President's Message March '05

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President's Message
March, 2005

Hi all,

It's St. Patty's Day, and it's snowing here in Chicago. The snow is not green but I'm sure the Chicago River is. Those who celebrate green beer day have already done major liver damage to themselves because Chicago had its big parade last weekend. I assume power drinking will move indoors today. I think I'll take a pass on this celebration.

The Guild has been a busy place these first three months of the year and you will be reading about some of that in the Guild News Winter 05 issue, which should be arriving in your mailbox very soon. The Guild News is going back to its bimonthly schedule so you'll be better informed about Guild business this year. The next edition will be March/April 05.

You also should have received the Authors Coalition Survey in the mail. Please fill in the boxes that apply to you and return it immediately. The more responses we get, the more funds come to the Guild. Every member that makes graphic art should be able to fill in a couple of boxes. Helpful instructions are included with the survey, and if you have questions, please call the office.

Your National Board met by phone and conducted some business. Our '05 budget was passed, money to the chapters was agreed upon, and the board considered and passed a dues restructure. The dues restructure will be voted upon by the membership, and all voting members in good standing will be receiving a ballot in June.

The Executive Committee (Exe-Comm) has worked on the dues restructure for a long time. Scott Bakal spent countless hours researching dues, membership categories, member expectations, and operating expenses, and came up with a plan for restructure that is fair to the members and allows the Guild to carry on our missions. Exe-Comm approved the plan, and it was ratified by your Board.

We will be discussing the plan in detail in the Guild news in the coming months. The plan will reduce the number of categories of membership, raise the dues slightly and still retain our organization's status as an organization by and for the graphic artist.

We are working on a number of issues that affect the graphic arts community. You may have heard about the issue of orphaned artwork. Lisa Shaftel, Advocacy Chair, has written a white paper addressing the issue, giving great background on the subject. Read about it in the upcoming March/April Guild News and soon, on our website. Lisa also reports on her trip to Singapore and the IFRRO conference there. We also sent money in support of the Grokster amicus, a case involving the unauthorized use of copyrighted material on the Internet, also covered in the Guild News.

Your Guild is working for you and I hope you are all busy and making art.

John P. Schmelzer
National President
Graphic Artists Guild

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Click here to visit John's December President's Message.

Click here to visit John's November President's Message.

President's Message March, 2005

President's Message
March, 2005