American Custom Gunmakers Guild show voted to move from Reno to Dallas for 2013

I recieved this email today.

ACGG Regular Members:
On April 11 the Board and Officers of the Guild held a conference call to discuss the results of the opinion vote regarding the possible move of the Guild's exhibition.
The vote results were: 25 - for the show to continue in 2013 in Reno at the Nugget
34 - for the show to move in 2013 to Dallas
The accountant's talley and letter are attached.
After additional discussion of pros and cons:
Steve Billeb moved to move the 2013 ACGG Exhibition to Dallas inside the DSC. 2nd by Lee Helgeland. The motion carried: 9 yes, 1 no (Bruce Farman).
After discussion of the expected costs involved, Steve Billeb moved to accept that a loss is inevitable in the move to DSC and that the ACGG use up to $29,000 from the Financial Stability Policy approved in January, plus any remaining money from the Guild’s share of the joint Exhibition account to help defray costs. 2nd by Lee Helgeland. The motion carried. 9 yes, 1 no (Bruce Farman).
Michael Ullman agreed to be the point person with assistance from Glenn Fewless.
It has been confirmed that the Firearms Engravers Guild is not interested in participating in displaying inside the Dallas Safari Club convention.
Jan Billeb, Executive Director
American Custom Gunmakers Guild
acgg@acgg.org
(307) 587-4297

You tell me.

Barry Lee Hands said:

I recieved this email today.


It has been confirmed that the Firearms Engravers Guild is not interested in participating in displaying inside the Dallas Safari Club convention.

Click to expand...

has any reason been given for this decision? And is the BOD entitled to make that decision for it's members or is this a decision for the the general membership to decide by a vote?

All I can say is have some faith in the FEGA BOD. Like I've stated many times before ...................we are working very hard on it on behalf of the membership.

And that's all I'm prepared to say at this stage for 2 reasons.

1. It's FEGA business (and ACGG business) and a lot of the issues raised in Barry's post are not appropriate to talk about on an open forum such as this. There has been, and still is, a lot happening that is not contained in Barry's post. It is merely an end result but contains none of the background data. Like everything in life there are two sides to the story.

2. I've tried being open about all of this kind of thing in the past on a couple of threads that ended up being deleted by Sam simply because non members and a handful of people were not prepared to listen to any sort of reasoning when all I was doing was stating the obvious and trying to give an insight into the complex issues we faced. So now I'll just leave it to inform and consult with the members through the usual channels. Simply put ............................it will save a lot of grief.

Cheers
Andrew.

If this thread becomes a repeat of the previous thread I won't hesitate to remove it.

Allow me to add to what Andrew has written.
Yes it is true that the ACGG has elected to formally move away from Reno and exhibit within the DSC show. This decision does not come without risk and ramifications within their own guild, which will not be discussed here.
FEGA and the ACGG have been partners in a joint exhibition for many years. As in any partnership there hopefully is give and take on both side recognizing individual needs. Much like a marriage. Over time, needs and circumstances change be it real of perceived.
The FEGA BOD sees this divorce for lack of a better word, as an opportunity to do things we have not been able to easily accomplish before. There are two articles addressing this in the upcoming newsletter, which has been delayed due to an earthquake. It is forthcoming and FEGA members will have a better understanding of where we are going and what we hope to do.
Rather than follow, we plan on being leaders on what will eventually come to pass. We have a few scenarios and locations on our palette, which are extremely exciting, and I think innovating. Much of this at this time is in negotiations and investigation. As I and other officers have stated before we will not openly discuss FEGA business on an open forum.
There is nothing prohibiting FEGA members from participating in the Dallas venue. Also on the flip side, we have been informed that many ACGG members do wish to continue exhibiting with us in whatever changes we will make.
So sit back. Keep your eyes and ears open. You are going to like what you see.

sounds cool- I maintain my faith in the efforts of the FEGA BOD!

Alrighty then.....I am not sure what I missed, but, I think my question has been answered.

As a newbie engraver and a person who has wanted to attend this show for many years I am excited to see it move to Texas.

I have been a member for only a few years, but I have confidence in the BOD, having talked with them somewhat and I know they have the craft's best interest at heart, and look forward to FEGA becoming more of a leader in showcasing us and the craft in the best light possible.

Thank you Big-Un........you and about 580 members feel the same

Cheers
Andrew