Chris Murphy
09-15-2004, 11:09 AM
To All You Paste-Smeared Wretches:
As you read this, we of the NGPP are working out the details for a Hurricane Relief Fund, to which you all could, and should, contribute. This Fund will exist for the sole purpose of helping our brothers & sisters in the trade who are, and will, suffer the effects of the recent hurricanes. Insurance may be able to replace a house damaged by these storms, but it is the total effect of them that is hurting individuals in the affected areas: no gasoline, power, phone service, streets and roads blocked, evacuations,etc., plus customers are hard to come by in those conditions. The out-of-pocket costs can also be astronomical: deductibles, repair costs, hotel stays, plywood and tarps, emergency supplies, higher food costs (pork and beans, cold out of the can, can get old after a while).
As Hurricane Ivan approaches, and New Orleans waits to see if it will even exist in a couple days, please consider sending $10 in to the Fund, at an address that I hope to have for you by tomorrow(at the latest). Ten bucks. If every Guild member sent it in, we'd have thousands. If every person reading this sent it in, we'd have thousands more. I promise that every red cent will be accounted for, and the expense for administering it will be minimal (post card mailings to those off-line, and maybe the cost of opening a bank account).
No paperhanger I know of feels good about being in the position of needing help. Are we not mainly entrepeneurs, creative types who try to prevail through thick and thin, and take some pride in that? But there are times when a material is a mystery, or a job is too big, and we reluctantly reach out for a hand. Not admitting defeat, not wanting to be a bother, we sheepishly ask a fellow hanger for assistance. In the Guild, such situations are common, and we also see it every day on the listservs. We respond to those in need, because we've been 'there', and we'll help you do 'that'. It's why our funky trade, practiced by folks who use their natural and developed talents to beautify peoples' surroundings, has 3 listsevs, a bulletin board, and a trade organization to further our collective aims. Nothing against them, but do plumbers talk their trade to death, meet once a year to renew acquaintances and skills, publish newsletters, harangue & praise suppliers en masse? Carpenters? Nurses? Insurance salepeople? CEO's? No, but we do. So add that intangible quality to the list of requirements for the position of "Professional Paperhanger."
Look for further announcements here, Papernet, the NGPP Bulletin Board, and your mailbox (for those off-line). Ten dollars. Let's make a difference. "Let's Roll!"
Chris Murphy
SE Regional Director
National Guild of Professional Paperhangers
As you read this, we of the NGPP are working out the details for a Hurricane Relief Fund, to which you all could, and should, contribute. This Fund will exist for the sole purpose of helping our brothers & sisters in the trade who are, and will, suffer the effects of the recent hurricanes. Insurance may be able to replace a house damaged by these storms, but it is the total effect of them that is hurting individuals in the affected areas: no gasoline, power, phone service, streets and roads blocked, evacuations,etc., plus customers are hard to come by in those conditions. The out-of-pocket costs can also be astronomical: deductibles, repair costs, hotel stays, plywood and tarps, emergency supplies, higher food costs (pork and beans, cold out of the can, can get old after a while).
As Hurricane Ivan approaches, and New Orleans waits to see if it will even exist in a couple days, please consider sending $10 in to the Fund, at an address that I hope to have for you by tomorrow(at the latest). Ten bucks. If every Guild member sent it in, we'd have thousands. If every person reading this sent it in, we'd have thousands more. I promise that every red cent will be accounted for, and the expense for administering it will be minimal (post card mailings to those off-line, and maybe the cost of opening a bank account).
No paperhanger I know of feels good about being in the position of needing help. Are we not mainly entrepeneurs, creative types who try to prevail through thick and thin, and take some pride in that? But there are times when a material is a mystery, or a job is too big, and we reluctantly reach out for a hand. Not admitting defeat, not wanting to be a bother, we sheepishly ask a fellow hanger for assistance. In the Guild, such situations are common, and we also see it every day on the listservs. We respond to those in need, because we've been 'there', and we'll help you do 'that'. It's why our funky trade, practiced by folks who use their natural and developed talents to beautify peoples' surroundings, has 3 listsevs, a bulletin board, and a trade organization to further our collective aims. Nothing against them, but do plumbers talk their trade to death, meet once a year to renew acquaintances and skills, publish newsletters, harangue & praise suppliers en masse? Carpenters? Nurses? Insurance salepeople? CEO's? No, but we do. So add that intangible quality to the list of requirements for the position of "Professional Paperhanger."
Look for further announcements here, Papernet, the NGPP Bulletin Board, and your mailbox (for those off-line). Ten dollars. Let's make a difference. "Let's Roll!"
Chris Murphy
SE Regional Director
National Guild of Professional Paperhangers