President's Message - Reprinted from the Spring 2008 Merry-Go-Roundup

We Have "People" . . .

By Bette Largent

Just in case you noticed, there are a few new things happening with the National Carousel Association. For the Merry Go Roundup it began with the census produced for the Winter 07-08 issue. Credit goes to the great efforts of Pat Wentzel, Census Chairman, and Dennis Towndrow, our new editor. Upcoming issues will feature new additions and stories which are the results of the input of our members.

You have received your 08 membership cards with a new Executive Secretary's name on the envelope. In this issue we will introduce you to Norma Pankratz. I would also like to recognize Amy Mossman who volunteered to revamp the entire NCA data base. With the information now in an Access format, we can produce numbers, reports, and even know when you are enjoying the sunshine in Southern exposures. Norma and Amy continue to fine tune this important tool to the daily operations of the NCA.

The www.nca-usa.org website has a new look and even more great information on carousels. It is more user friendly and new member friendly. More and more carousel enthusiasts are joining us via the web and I just want to say, "Welcome to the National Carousel Association". It seems that every single morning I start my day with an email from a non-member who has discovered us this way. Often they have questions that are routed to one of our special committees, such as "identification" or "mechanical" or we have even asked permission to post their questions on the open forum of the Bulletin Board so our carousel membership can assist in their inquiries. What effect does weather and humidity have on a carousel? Or how about carousel physics for the classroom - or how do you resilver original jewels? You will find these questions posted on the member forum. Password protected, this forum is a private members only discussion group and is a service that can become what you need it to be. Maybe it's to find a gift shop item for resale or the nearest dealer for machine lubricants or new sweeps. It's your private online communicator to our carousel family.

Is your Merry Go Roundup missing or do you need to change mailing information or have other membership related questions, contact our new hotline@nca-usa.org which is guaranteed to get you the answer in 24 hours. Four Board members receive your message and if they don't know the solution they will network and find out.

With so many gorgeous pictures of carousels in our Photoshow Program, we now have a Carousel of the Month. Visit this home page attraction and view the featured monthly carousel. The photography of our carousels presented by our members is outstanding!

You will read in this issue how easy it is to add your own photos to the website from the Photoshow program's creator, Gary Nance, and a star contributor, Jean Bennett.

Adjacent to the Carousel of the Month is a spot for news and updates. With our publication schedule we often can't get the news out to you as quickly as we want. This new feature helps us do just that. Check it often or contribute anything you would like to share. Also convention and conference information is posted on the web first for those of us who plan months in advance. We hope this helps you to plan ahead to attend a convention or conference. Dates and location are added with updates, prices and downloadable registration forms as soon as available.

This also leads us into the subject of junk mail. Everyone who has an email address has seen this problem get bigger and bigger as the Internet expands. We have changed our policy on email notifications due to this. We will and do communicate with our members via their email addresses but we have a policy of not using mass email mailings - just one on one for confirmation and other personal feedback. Although we do post information of upcoming events and renewals on the web, we will continue to use the postal system and the Merry Go Roundup to communicate with all of you!

Sadly, we often must announce in our Gone Glimmering section the loss of members passing. Please share this news so we can honor them and also their stories and your memories of them as well. These predecessors have contributed in special ways to the building of our organization. We want you to be able to reminisce about the good times spent with them, which allows the rest of us to know them better as well.

Communication is the key in all that we do. We hope we have made it easier to keep in touch with you and we hope you will continue to let us know how we can improve. When you put that membership card in your wallet, we want you to feel like "you have people" that stand behind it. But unlike the popular ads that tout this slogan, remember the first one in our network of NCA people is you!

It is Spring! Gather you favorite pal or loved one and find yourself a carousel to ride. There is nothing like it on a warm, sunny day - the wind in your hair, the music in your ears, the sights and sounds of people around you enjoying the best journey in the world. It is a ride that circles without beginning or end, and sometimes if one isn't near by, you can visit the website of the NCA and imagine you have a ticket to ride them all.