Former GoH invitation

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Former Minicon GoH get a free membership each year for themselves if they want it. This is by tradition only and not an official standing policy, and so whether we do it and the details thereof are up to the chair each year. However, we've been doing it for a long time, and with exactly the same details for about 5 years (M45ish-M50), so it's probably a good idea to keep doing it.

The rules are that you have to have been a former "guest of honor" or "toastmaster", and not an "honored guest" or "special guest" or any other title. (As of this writing, Steve Brust is the only living former toastmaster who is not also a former GoH.) The registration database can spit out a list of such people. We only give one membership to each (not for their spouses, children, etc.) and don't financially support their coming in any other way. However, we do try to be especially nice to them.

Here are drafts of the invitation to be sent for Minicon 51, based on that used for Minicon 50, first the e-mail version that we send by default (for Minicon 50, we sent 75 such e-mails), then the postcard version that goes to fGoH without good e-mail addresses known to us (for Minicon50, we sent 26 such postcards).

E-mail version

Subject: Invitation to Minicon 51

Greetings!

You are receiving this because you have been a guest of honor at Minicon in the past.

In 2015, we are continuing our tradition of granting free memberships to all our former guests of honor. You are encouraged and welcome to attend Minicon again. Minicon 51 will be held on March 25-27, 2016 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Our guests of honor are Seanan McGuire and Sara Butcher Burrier.

If you plan to attend Minicon 51, please reply to this e-mail. Please let us know if you are interested in any of the following:

  • Participation in programming
  • A badge name other than your full name
  • Any assistance during the con (rides, shuttles, room requirements)
  • If you do not want your name to appear in our list of members

If you have not been receiving all our progress reports, we probably don't have a good street address on file for you. If you like, you can send us updates to your contact information.

Our hotel room block is not yet open. Room reservation information will be posted to http://mnstf.org/minicon51/hotel when it is available. While we unfortunately cannot afford to reimburse former guests for travel or hotel rooms, we would like your stay to be as pleasant and appealing as is possible, so let us know at any point if we can be of assistance.

Thanks,
Matthew Strait,
Minicon 51 registration department
http://mnstf.org/minicon51/

Postcard version

There is less room for text on a postcard (at least if you want very former GoH to be able to read it), so the above is abbreviated to fit on one side. The postcard version also does not assume that the recipient uses the Internet, which adds a little extra text.

Greetings!
You're receiving this because you’ve been a guest of honor at Minicon. We’re continuing our tradition of granting free memberships to former guests. You are welcome and encouraged to attend! Minicon 51 is March 25-27, 2016 at the DoubleTree in Bloomington MN. Our guests of honor are Seanan McGuire and Sara Butcher Burrier. More information is available at mnstf.org/minicon51 and in our progress reports, which you should receive.

If you plan to come, please email registration@minicon51.mnstf.org or write Minicon, PO Box 8297, Mpls MN 55408. Let us know if you •would like a badge name other than your full name •could use assistance at the con (rides, room requirements...) •don’t want to appear in our list of members or •would like to give us an email address. If you’d like to participate in programming, email programming@minicon51.mnstf.org.

Regular rooms will be $92, but the room block is not yet open. More information will be in the progress reports and on our website. While we unfortunately can’t afford to reimburse former guests for expenses, we would like your con to be as pleasant as possible, so let us know at any point if we can help.

— Matthew Strait, Minicon 51 registration department