by Mike Godino
After convention this year in Las Vegas, the ACB MMS committee had one last drawing to complete. We had the task of choosing the grand prize winner of the iPad Air.
Throughout the year, the MMS committee comes to you at the national conference and convention, your local affiliate conventions and from “The ACB Braille Forum” requesting your participation in the program. For your participation, we provide you a trinket as a token of our appreciation while offering you the opportunity to win the grand prize. However, there is only one grand prize winner for the 2014 iPad Air, and the winner is Sheila Derrick from Fort Worth, Tex.
Similar to previous drawings, we awaited the entry of all the data so that we were sure all the eligible contestants had equal opportunity to be the lucky winner. When we were sure the data entry was complete, the winner was selected using a random number generator program. The selection technique was used to ensure total fairness and objectivity for all who participated in the 2014 MMS campaign. The program considers each eligible contributor as a number, then it selected the winning number 48: Sheila Derrick. Please join me in congratulating Sheila and thanking her for being a part of this wonderful program.
During the 2013-2014 campaign year, MMS participants increased their monthly contributions by more than $500, which amounts to an annual increase of more than $6,000. We are extremely pleased with everyone's participation. We are continuing to make slow but steady progress. I sincerely thank all of you who have made this progress possible and look forward to your continued participation and support in the future.
As chair of the MMS committee, I also want to recognize the efforts of the members of our outstanding committee: Dan Spoone, Ray Campbell, Kathy Brockman, Kenny Maddox, and George Holliday.
An important factor affecting the success of our convention campaign is the location and staffing of our MMS table. This year our table was located inside the ACB exhibit area, right next to the ACB Mini Mall, which proved to be an excellent spot. Appreciation goes to the members of our MMS program committee and the people who assisted them staffing our MMS table during the convention. This includes: Kathy Brockman and her husband, Pat; Lori Scharff; Dan and Leslie Spoone; and George Holliday. We also thank Lane Waters, Nancy Becker and the rest of our wonderful staff in our Minnesota office for their extraordinary assistance throughout the entire year and during the convention.
Once again, the campaign was very successful at bringing lots of new participants into the MMS program. We greatly appreciate everyone who contributes to the program, no matter how small or large the contribution is. All contributions are important, and they all add up to helping ACB and its affiliates.
If you want to become a participant in this excellent, painless way of supporting an affiliate of your choice and ACB national at the same time, or to increase your current contribution, you can contact our Minnesota office, 1-800-866-3242, or contact me at (516) 887-1336, and we'll take care of whatever you need. You can also go online; the form is available at www.acb.org/node/28#main-content.
Again, congratulations to Sheila Derrick for winning the iPad Air. Now, who will be the winner for 2015? In order to win, you have to participate. So sign up and be a new contributor, or increase your current contribution. You might already be the next big winner!