You Must Be Kidding! $8 for Meetings?

Billie Reynolds - OCW Treasurer - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Recently, another writer asked me about the one-day OCW conferences. She was lamenting having missed the February 2009 meeting where Paul Young of The Shack fame was the keynoter. I told her she should not miss the October 17th conference, when Eva Marie Everson will be the keynoter, nor the topnotch workshops in the lineup.

“How much will it cost me?” she asked.

“This is the last conference where we’ll be using the old pricing structure of $8 for members and $30 for nonmembers, plus lunch,” I replied. “Starting with the February 2010 conference, it will cost a nonmember $50, plus lunch. Members will pay only $25, plus lunch. You save money by joining OCW, and you’ll get the three newsletters that come out just before our October, February, and May one-day conferences.”

“Wow! I usually pay $60 for a full day’s meeting, plus lunch, at other one-day conferences I attend. Dues in my old group ran $55 a year. How can you do it?”
“Considering that we’ve charged members only $8 for a one-day conference for several years, this jump may seem high to many of our longtime members. Because so many people donate volunteer hours and the board is frugal with the finances, OCW has become the fine organization it is.”

Members of OCW have been getting wonderful bargains for many years, thanks to top leadership and Christian colleges hosting us at minimal or no cost. But, because speaker fees have increased and we now have to pay for venues we once were allowed to use for free, if we want OCW to maintain the high quality that makes this a premier writing organization, something needed to change.
After careful study of the actual income and expense, the OCW board realized that the income from one-day conferences was falling far short of covering the cost involved in putting on the conferences. Therefore the board deemed it necessary to increase the one-day conference fees so that they pay for themselves and don’t lose money as they have for several years.

The good news is that the OCW dues will not be raised. It makes a lot of sense to pay dues once a year and then utilize the new member fee of $25 for a one-day conference, a significant savings over the nonmember rate. Those attending the conferences will thus bear the cost of them.

P.S. Thank you all for depositing your checks quickly!