Minutes

MIDWEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE, INC.
Treasurer’s Report
OCTOBER 18, 2003

I would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we make the transition from Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology subscribers to Midwest Archaeological Conference, Incorporated members. For those who have received one or more letters asking for money of varying amounts to continue receiving MCJA, let me lay out our situation as of last year.

While initially an income-generating journal, economic conditions through the past decade came to require direct academic institution subvention to supplement MCJA's traditionally low subscription rates. The end of the University of Iowa's 5-year subvention period led to a serious deficit in the MCJA account, jeopardizing the journal's continuation. Without an organization that would take on the debt, subscribers to MCJA were not going to get what they had paid for. That is one major reason for the incorporation of the Midwest Archaeological Conference in 2002. The recent financial linkage of MCJA to MAC and our proposed new publishing contract with AltaMira Press will insure that MCJA remains a viable and high-quality journal.

A complication arose in making the transition from being an MCJA subscriber to becoming a member of MAC. The problem was that of multiple membership categories. MCJA had some patrons whose subscriptions ended in 2002, some who had paid for 2003, some who had paid for 2002-2003, some who had paid for 2003-2004. Each of these people paid different amounts of money to MCJA.

MAC offered regular memberships for 2003 and 2003-2004, family memberships for 2003 and 2003-2004 as well as student memberships for 2003 and 2003-2004. Each of these categories cost different amounts of money. The first mailing asked people to determine what category of MCJA subscriber they were and what category of MAC member they wanted to be—and then to send in the appropriate amount of money to make up the difference. Amazingly, it worked for about 90% of those who chose to become members. For the other 10%, I apologize for the inconvenience, and I thank you for your persistence in helping to resolve any inconsistencies. As of 2004, we should be all on the same page and membership should go smoothly.

Several important points:

1) Financial details of the MAC were distributed and discussed at the business meeting of the Midwest Archaeological Conference in Milwaukee. The organization is currently solvent, but we will struggle to meet our past financial obligations to the University of Iowa along with our publishing costs in 2004 without continuing membership increases and philanthropic support from our membership. Members who would like a copy of the organization's financial status as of 10/15/03 should contact the Treasurer.
2) If you are still not sure how much money you should pay for membership, please do not hesitate to contact me.
3) If you paid for 2003, but did not receive your Spring 2003 issue (28.1), please contact me. The Fall issue (28.2) will be out to you soon.
4) As a 501(c)(3) organization, any money you send to us over and above your membership dues is a tax deductible contribution. We owe the University of Iowa approximately $12,000, which we must pay off within the next year. We need your support to retire our debt to Iowa, so please give.
5) We need new members, so please talk up membership in the organization. In particular, graduate students should be encouraged to make MAC membership part of their professionalization. Some schools are doing a good job of this, some are not.
6) We also need to make sure that members of the CRM community find us a useful organization. The types of articles in MCJA and the traditional data-based presentations at the annual meetings are tailor-made to disseminate information on new developments in our field. Like the schools, some CRM firms seem to be encouraging their employees to participate in MAC, others are not so encouraging.
7) By the same token, the articles in MCJA are generally accessible to serious avocational archaeologists. We need to encourage participation in MAC among those in the nonprofessional community. The annual meetings have traditionally attracted avocational archaeologists, both as attendees and presenters, and we need to reach out to them to strengthen that connection.
8) The organization is new, and it is now that we, as members, have the chance to fashion it into the shape that we choose. So please, send in your money, encourage your colleagues to send in their money, and make a difference.

MEMBERSHIP AS OF 10/15/03

Members paid through 2003 90
Members paid through 2004 164
Total 253