Important Society News – Please Read!
Spring Fair Committee Chair
Unfortunately, Stan Bratten got away. He ran off to Arizona and so is not able to manage the Spring Fair Photo Salon for TPS any more. This year, Heather is acting as Manager but she already has a full plate. If you can, please join us for a planning and project meeting on Monday, February 17th, Presidents Day.
The location is yet to be confirmed.
The Spring Fair Photo Salon is a huge source of income for the Society. Now that we must rent our meeting facilities, this income is very important to us. Please show your support for YOUR Society by helping out in any way you can.
Other Committee Changes
As most members are aware, Dave Scott is shedding a number of roles he currently performs for the club:
- Scorekeeper
- receives the division meeting scorecards and posts them to the member’s activity report
- posts activity report to the website
- creates results post
- Awards Chair
- works with scorekeeper to ensure record-keeping is accurate
- manages Division Annual Competition (collection of images, judging, recording results)
- Annual Banquet Manager / MC
- prepare agenda for Annual Awards Banquet
- obtain prizes/ribbons for the annual competition winners
- prepare awards certificates for Service Award Winners
- prepare award certificates for Society Rank Advancement Winners
If you are interested in any of these committee positions, please let Heather know. If you want more information, feel free to give Dave a shout.
Membership Dues Collection Changes
Collection of Member Dues.
Last month, a notice of an amendment to the Society Bylaws was announced. The purpose of the amendment is to simplify the collection of member dues.
The details of the amendment are in this post.
The vote will take place at the Print Division Meeting on February 20th.
Reason for Change
Currently, our Treasurer, Rich Thomas, receives member dues directly from members, or through the Society Shop on the website. When he receives your money, he then has to update the membership roles in our accounting system and the website. He should also be sending a notification to the Division Secretaries who then know who is eligible to enter into division competition.
A lot of things to remember to do.
The changes which we are making will simplify this process.
New process
Payment of Dues
All dues will be collected through this website. A new piece of software enables this change. When you pay your dues through the website, your membership status will automatically be recorded.
Competition Entries
All competition entries will be made through this website. Members are already using the system. The big change is that as soon as your membership becomes due, you must renew it in order to access the entry forms.
Because your membership status is automatically updated on payment, you will be able to enter into the competition without having to wait for the Treasurer to take your money and update your status.
Other Website Changes
While the change to the Dues Collection Process is a big deal, there are changes coming to this website that will have a greater visual impact.
We invite members to visit our test site at https://test.tacomaphoto.org to see what is in store. – You can join the test society if you like. It is not connected to a payment gateway, so you won’t be asked for a credit card. You will be asked to pay with Monopoly Money.
Reason for change
Again, the reason for this change is a simplification of systems and processes.
The new design removes the need for a Member Store. This removes the need to maintain a product list and makes training of members on how to use the store.
The new design changes the WordPress Theme we are using to a simpler one. This simpler theme is easier to manage with fewer components to confuse website contributors.