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#618695 - 05/22/08 10:30 AM
JPF Donations Honor Roll
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Hi Folks,
I wanted to publicly thank those who have made donations to JPF since we recently added the Donation button (it's on the right hand side of the message boards) on the message boards.
To Donate via Pay Pal, just click the button to the right of this message. If you would like to donate via a check directly in the mail rather than Pay Pal, make it out to "Just Plain Folks" and mail it to:
Just Plain Folks
5327 Kit Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46237
We've collected $5677.99 dollars in donations from 94 generous members.
2008 Donations (in chronological order):
Perry Smith
Anthony Armenta
John Selleck
Michael Borges
Wyman Griffith
Kaley Willow
Andrew Aversa
JK Technologies, Inc
Tristan Bishop
Kay-lynn Franklin
Ricki Bellos
Lynn Orloff
Beth Williams
Mark Kaufman
Donna Dutchess
Tia Ciferno
Aaron Authier
Dean Pitchford
Ronald Ireland
Wyman Griffith (he made a second donation! Thanks Wy!)
Derek Hines
JK Technologies (Kevin E. Thanks for the second donation!)
Thomas Shea
Patrick Bryant
Scott and Gwendolyn Campbell
Kaley Willow (Also a second donation!)
David Gill
Joanne Lurgio
Bill Robinson
Ricki Bellos (a second donation! Thanks!)
Arthur J. Baker
Midnight Bob
Kevin Emmrich (a third donation!)
Ricki Bellos (a third donation and our 5th biggest in history!)
Derek Hines (a second donation)
Midnight Bob (a second donation)
Kelli Brinkert
Brenda Lowry
Linda Adams
Heidi Thompson
Jim Offerman/Mike Caro (in a special arrangement between the two of them have combined for our third largest donation ever!)
Alan David
Jack Swain
David Guy
Kristi McKeever
Leza Mesiah
Lisa Kloberdanz
Emily Sanders
Cher Klosner
Herbie Gaines
Mike Dunbar
Eileen Atkinson
Mari McCarthy
David Burtner
Pete Gallatin
Sky Hunter Records
Jeff Chenard
Bill Warrington
2009 Donations: (In Chronological Order)
Nigel Quin
John Schick
Babette
Bill Pittman
Christine Ledford
Wendy Dumond
Magne Kolstad
Michael Zaneski
Andrew Redmond
JK Technologies (Thanks Kevin!)
Michelle Chapman
Robert Seals
Jody Smith
Ricki Bellos
Craig Charles
Michelle Chapman
Halie Loren
Rebbeca Peaden
Kelly Hoffman
Donna Devine
Jessica Paige
Leo Dale
Reuben Correa
Halie Loren
Diane Lincoln
Roy/PC Projects
James Stenzel
Dean Pitchford
Andrew Redmond
2010 Donations: (In Chronological Order)
John Schick
Thomas Roche
JK Technologies
Roy and Helen Cooper
Janet Snow
Jean Bullock
Randy Gendron
Brenda Lowry
Colin Ward
Ricki Bellos
Donna Devine
Jan Petter Solheim
Albert Willis
Music Mosaic
Yann Causeret
Betty Holt
Patrick Bryant
Gail King
Joanne Lurgio
Larry Westfall
Wyman Griffith
Halie Loren
Lynman Bacolor
Newsflash Sounds
Nigel Quinn
Mark Hensel
Geoffrey Wood
James Mitchell
Sharla Shore
Golf Better Productions
Bill Pittman
Laurie & Mike Caroccia
Calvin Stewart
Harriet Schock
Herbie Gaines
Gwendolyn and Scott Campbell
Jeffrey Epstein
Jonathan Wood
Tricia Baker
Geneva Keith
We have a lot of extra expenses this time of year with the awards process going. We also are considering upgrading the message boards again to the newest version (we're way behind now) which has a lot of new features. We'll use the money collected towards that when we do it. We also are considering hiring a few folks to do some extra work promoting our sponsors and getting the new folks who joined via CD Baby involved in JPF. (Often those folks enter the awards, but never really connect with the group). So we want to reach out to them individually. To do this we may need either serious volunteers or some actual paid employees. Donations will certainly help with that.
Thanks again to the folks above and all those who have made donations in the past. Last year due to the Europe trip (and the fact that we couldn't sell Hat's and T Shirts like we do in the US to help fund the tour) we were in the Red for the first time ever. With the awards this year it will be tough to get in the black. But now we're at least $5677.99 dollars closer to do doing it.
If anyone else donates, I will update this post. Because this is a global message, you can't respond to it. But we do appreciate the support!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#635191 - 07/20/08 12:27 AM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Thanks to all who have contributed during the various drives of late. We will be purchasing and installing a new Server very soon. We'll let you know when that happens. Also, if we continue to get donations we will, after updating the server, update the message boards to the newest version which also allows things like a photo gallery and lots of other cool features. We'd also like to be able to purchase a chat room feature for the site, but we haven't figured out which one yet. With the new drive we should be able to add some video and audio content to the site and launch some additional sites around JPF that we've wanted to experiment as helpful tools.
So thanks to those who have already donated and thanks to those who are going to going forward. I will continue to update this post when new donations come in!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#647943 - 09/01/08 06:14 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Update: We purchased the server last month and had it delivered to the folks at Hostbaby. This happened at the same time that CD Baby and Hostbaby were sold to Disc Makers and with that things have been stalled a bit getting it installed and running. We may also incur unexpected expenses to maintain the server in a new and secure location which is being vastly upgraded at this time. (Hopefully it should eliminate site outages as well which have become a regular problem in the current location). Because of that new cost, we certainly can use additional donations from those who can offer support for the monthly costs that will be associated going forward.
I've updated the donations list above as of today, September 10th. Thanks again to those who have supported the website and message boards.
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#652419 - 09/15/08 11:02 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Update:
The new server is installed and our site is being tested on it right now. When we activate it, the site will be down for a bit to copy the most up to date posts over so that once we activate it, nothing is missing. We'll have a much larger hard drive (4 terrabytes) to hold stuff and the speed of the server is much faster. It's 390% faster to be exact. The bad news, as we've just learned, is that it isn't solving the search speed problem. Apparently that problem originates in the software itself. The good news is that we should stop seeing the site being down or not loading at all as has happened a lot recently. Also, we can add features and even store photos and music files for specific projects. We will also be able to add a lot of photos and archival video eventually from Roadtrip showcases and the music awards.
At the same time, we're now working with a volunteer member to redesign the site. I have no idea when this will happen, but the new server will allow us to do a lot of things that we couldn't before. The new server apparently is going to cost us money each month to host now, so that's a new expense and we'll use member donations to cover it hopefully.
I have updated this list up until today. If you made a donation but don't appear, please let me know. If you want to appear above, make a donation and we'll add your name!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#662774 - 10/25/08 12:26 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Update:
We're active on the new server (and have been for a couple weeks now). We haven't had any troubles and it's working great. Our next action will be to upgrade the message board to the newest version. It just finished beta testing. There's a LOT of new features so I hope no one freaks out when it looks a little different.
Also, behind the scenes we are finishing up the judging interface for our awards. Our tech partners have invested SERIOUS money and labor into building this for us. It will be the Rolls Royce of judging platforms when it is done. We also have another tech friendly member who has gotten his company to help in a complete website redesign that will go on our new server. It's just in the starting phase, but it will really revolutionize the site if we can pull it off. (They'll be doing it on off hours and with a variety of volunteers).
The economy is definitely having an impact on JPF. I've always worked for free and paid for most of it myself. Investments have really taken a big hit so there will be far less to draw from when we need it in the next year. So things will be very tight at best. We appreciate any and all donations to help with avoiding a loss going forward. Big thanks to all of you who have chipped in a little to keep it going!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#677597 - 12/28/08 04:50 AM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Hi Folks,
Just touching base on this topic. We've only had a couple donations in the last 3 months but I've updated them above. We're starting to experience costs associated with the music awards and they will escalate significantly as we book a venue and set up the awards show itself. So all donations are appreciated. Our new server seems to be running great. I've also corresponded with the developers of this message board and we're mulling over when to pull the trigger on updating it. There's a lot of new features, but a few bugs that I am concerned with on the newest version.
We had a company who offered to redesign our entire website but after a lot of correspondence they haven't progressed at all that I am aware of. We haven't been updating most of the sections because we expected to be on a new site. If we don't do something, we'll hopefully be updating them in 2009. We also need to refocus on the chapters in 2009 and may hire someone to help out if we are able to raise some funds.
Thanks again to all those who have donated. It's greatly appreciated!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#681354 - 01/12/09 03:23 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Hi Folks,
Okay, I just got an email that the next version of our message boards will have member blogs on them! And apparently your own personal buddy lists etc. Pretty cool eh? I don't know yet how much it will cost to upgrade, but if you've been holding off making a donation until the new year, now would be a good time!
UPDATE: They didn't include the blogs in the new version.. so I think we're going to hold off.
Thanks,
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#682930 - 01/17/09 08:42 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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We finally got our first donation of 2009. So I've started a new list above for this year's supporters. Thanks for kicking us off Nigel!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#688466 - 02/03/09 12:45 AM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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It just occurred to me that there's been over 25,000 readers of this post and only 50 of them have actually made a donation. Perhaps we should do something more for those who have stepped up to help out. This year because of the downturn in the economy, BMI has not renewed their Grassroots Initiative Outreach program that sponsored JPF in 2008. That's a big chunk of our operating income and since we are not able to be out on the road (which is our second biggest income opportunity selling Hat's and T-Shirts and taking direct donations) we need to generate more contributions from those who use the site. Most organizations charge 30-300 dollars a year every year to be members, we've never charged anything in 11 years to anyone. But we still have expenses.
So what can we do to further help those who step up and make donations so all the other JPF members can benefit for free? I am open to ideas. Send me a PM since this Global Message Feature doesn't allow replies. And I'd like to thank the 50 people above who made a major positive difference for us in 2008.
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#709294 - 04/08/09 08:12 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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Hi Folks,
Thought I would update you all: JPF Member Adrian James is creating an entirely new website (except for the boards which will stay the same) for us and we're getting close to having it for real. I am hoping it will dramatically improve our web visibility and the relevancy and usefulness of the rest of the site pages which we stopped updated at the end of last year due to this new site going up. Though he's doing it on his own time for free I recently asked him if there would be a way to speed things up so the new site was launched in time for our 2009 Nominations announcement in May, which always results in our larges web traffic days of the year. We've only gotten a few donations this calendar year (as you can see above.. thanks to those folks!!!). If you would like to make a donation (or make a new one for this year) this would be a good time in case we need some funds to pay the costs of expediting the new site.
You can donate by clicking the Donation button on the top right of this page (if you don't see it, you might have the Right Side Bar turned off in your preferences. Turn it back on and you can always turn it back off later). You can also mail a check to the address above if you don't want to use Pay Pal. By the way, you don't have to be a Pay Pal member to use it. Any credit card will work like any online purchase. It's very quick and simple.
We've been holding off updating the message boards because we don't want to have to repeat the upgrade cost when the new version with the member blogs is available. Our board is enormous and not easy to upgrade so I pay the head programmer/creator of this board to do it personally. So as soon as that next big update is available and past beta testing, we'll see a new facelift to this message board as well.
Thanks for the support!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#748925 - 08/31/09 08:32 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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The music awards process and weekend were awesome.. but they sucked money out of us like a thirsty vampire. Any/all donations are appreciated as we work to cover the healthy 5 figure deficit.
Thanks to those who give a little back!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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#786095 - 01/09/10 03:44 PM
Re: JPF Donations Honor Roll
[Re: Brian Austin Whitney]
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Brian Austin Whitney
Bard of the Boards
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 14661
Loc: Indianapolis, IN USA
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We had a fairly quiet year in terms of donations in 2009. With the JPF awards final bills still coming due we definitely appreciate all those who helped out.
We will be looking for some new partners and hopefully working with our long running partnerships to expand our chapter program and rework our music awards so they don't consume our entire lives for a year like the last ones did. (Either that or we'll wait at least until 2011 to do it again).
We'd like to continue meeting members outside of the USA and we do plan to get on the Road in the USA and Canada as well. It seems that our Hat and T-Shirt sales have slowed way down lately so I wonder if there's anything else we could sell to members to raise travel expense money during roadtrips. If anyone has an idea, please let me know. I've considered putting a book together with some of the articles I've written for the JPF newsletter or perhaps a book focusing on the quotes I put at the top which are usually popular.
I posted the first donation of 2010 (thanks John!) and we also had a couple of anonymous donations (thanks anonymous folks) as well. If you want your name added to the 2010 Honor Roll, make a donation using the Pay Pal link.
Thanks in advance!
Brian
_________________________
Brian Austin Whitney Founder Just Plain Folks http://www.jpfolks.comjpfolkspro@aol.com "Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney
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Moderator: Brian Austin Whitney, Al Alvarez
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We would like to keep the membership in Just Plain Folks FREE! Your donation helps support the many programs we offer including Road Trips and the Music Awards.
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18335 Members
118 Forums
86863 Topics
782653 Posts
Max Online: 1456 @ 04/10/08 05:00 PM
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