Jerry; My posts are meant to be constructive and/or informative, not p**ssing contests. You frequently make posts that are not accurate or misleading and then you take great exception when someone corrects you. Not every person who takes a table at the convention is going to be profitable (whether they are silver strike dealers or otherwise).

First of all, many of the 'dealers' who have had tables at past conventions come back again and again and again. Most table holders are not 'dealers' in the strict sense of the word. (They don't make a living doing this). Most are collector/dealers who may be simply disposing of inventory or of collections. Evidently they are doing something right if they come back another year. Those dealers who do not return may be marginal table holders who might not posess the material that potential customers are seeking ... or maybe their prices are not competitive with other table holders. Or maybe they blew out most of what they had to sell at the previous convention ... or maybe they return with the same unsold inventory from past conventions and have not replaced the better items that were sold at previous shows. There is no market for relatively common material that every other dealer has in inventory ... or material that collectors already have, which simply does not sell very well. A table holder who travels cross country is going to have considerable more expenses than one who lives in the area. Perhaps some folks who have taken a table in the past might want to consider sharing table expenses with someone else in order to cut their table expense cost. As far as the convention chairman's post goes ... I think that it is a very POSITIVE sign that only two tables are available with two months yet to go till 'showtime'... that's not a negative observation on our hobby which you seem to always present. Yes, you are correct ... the membership numbers are down in both clubs ... and in other hobbies as well all across the country. I have nothing to do with casinos doing away with their strike programs ... or their decision-making policies to converting strikes to clad ... and the resulting shunning of clad strikes by SS collectors who are giving up collecting. You knock my recruitment efforts for providing incentives for new members to join the club. It is my hope that perhaps through their one-year incentive membership in they will be encouraged to renew each year thereafter and grow the club instead of sitting on the sidelines. Yes, it's true Jerry, the number of life members in also has an impact on our club's finances which the officers are currently addressing. But to infer the LM's are not paying dues is not accurate. They have paid 15 years worth of dues in advance up front after 3 years of paying regular dues. As for the inceased admission charges to the convention ... I have nothing to do with that either. You can take that issue up with the club officers that the membership elects every two years. It is they who determines what admission charges the club needs to cover expenses ... and the associated costs with putting on our convention that the host hotel charges us determines that. If you'll examine the treasurer's report published in the current issue of CTN .. you will see that the club only made about $1000 on the 2008 convention last year... but at least it was in the black. Would you be happier if the club lost money on the convention?

Now you can criticize me all you want Jerry. But I don't see an abundance of others taking the time providing factual answers to your questions or concerns. You say you have the Program books from past conventions ... yet you claim that you never knew there were trade sessions held daily at the conventions. Everything with you revolves around silver strikes, silver strikes, silver strikes. Sorry if I offend you or other silver strikers, but the facts are this ... there is much more work and effort to putting on the annual conventions than just silver strikes. Thank God we have so many terrific volunteers who are willing to pitch in and help to make it all happen for the benefit of ALL convention attendee's enjoyment; no matter what their individual collecting interests are.