Changes to Newsletter Distribution

Greetings Altair Shipmates.

First of all, let me thank more than 40 (to date) dues paying shipmates that support the entire crew with their yearly dues. Some have sent in dues for several years too. Thanks!

My shipmate list has 414 crew members of which 305 have email and 102 have no email. I show a few shipmates with bad email/or addresses. When I do a full mailing of the double side (8 pages) Altair Newsletter, the approx. total cost is over $500 which includes printing, envelopes, stamps, labels, ind, etc. Of course less pages, less printing cost. Plus, there are 2500 physical operations to fold (the printer does the stapling), insert, attach 2 mailing labels, stamp and seal which Lillie and I do. The total cost per mailing the newsletter is approx. $1.25 each to cover over 400 shipmates. I am proposing to email the newsletter as a PDF attachment to the 305 shipmates that have email. A PDF reader is a FREE download from Adobe, and others. I receive quite a few emails with a PDF attachments which I download to my desktop (so I can find them) and just double click on it and the Adobe reader opens the file. IT WORKS GREAT! The other 102 shipmates with no email will get the newsletter via snail mail. This will save at least $300 plus! I can purchase "docudesk", or another PDF conversion software for under #30. I have tested this method with several shipmates and it works fine! You just need a PDF reader.

The chairman of our 2009 reunion in Branson, MO is Dick Stader. Information has already been sent via email and snail mail to all the shipmates about the reunion There will be additional information to be sent, forms to be filled out and returned to Dick; and, I will be sending this information as a PDF file attachment to your email. A mailing of only 2 sheets of paper to cover all the shipmates would cost approx. $.64 each totaling $250. Doing this will allow me to mail only 102 copies to shipmates with email and save dollars.

PDF IS ON THE WAY! And, it is the way to go!

If you do not want to receive email with attachments please let me know and the info will be snail mailed.

Comments are welcome and please reply to cmbaltairaks32@fastmail.

Best Regards To All..........Charles