X-Message-Number: 18296 Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2002 16:12:38 -0700 From: Jessica Lemler Sikes <> Subject: This Week at Alcor The following can also be viewed on our website at http://www.alcor.org Week of December 31, 2001 through January 6, 2002 Jennifer Chapman, Membership Administrator Aside from performing my typical customer service obligations, I put some time into housekeeping this week. Mainly this refers to organizing my office, updating my task lists, and revising my standard daily routine to increase my efficiency. Most of the time I am so swamped with work that it is difficult to remember to take a break and get organized. What better time to do this than the beginning of a new quarter and a new year?In reviewing the quarterly and annual membership statistics, I am pleased with the final numbers, but I am also anticipating that 2002 will be even better! As explained in my Board Report for the upcoming meeting to be held on January 6, 2002, seventeen new memberships were approved during the fourth quarter, in addition to three reinstated memberships. However, a loss of nine members also occurred, with one membership cancellation caused by member request, four by non-payment of membership dues, and four by deficient funding. Overall, there was a net gain of eleven members between October 1 and December 31, 2001. The number of membership finalizations per month has increased approximately 22 % this year as compared to last year. With a total of 82 memberships activated (74 memberships finalized, 8 memberships reinstated) and 43 memberships inactivated, Alcor gained a net total of 39 memberships, which establishes an overall net gain of 7.5 % for 2001. This is an 11.3% increase over last year. Joe Hovey, Accounting Manager Completed the November financial statements and distributed them to all Directors and Advisors. Prepared and mailed the P.C. Trust reports for reimbursement to the Alcor General Fund. Started the 1st quarter billing. This will take about 10 days to complete barring any major interruptions. The usual meetings, briefings and phone conversations responding to members and others requests for various documents, etc. Preparing for the upcoming weekend s board meeting(s). Jessica Lemler Sikes, Administrative Associate/Webmaster Following a wonderful wedding in Laughlin, I have returned to my duties here at Alcor. On Wednesday, I spent most of the day sorting through and responding to email, returning phone calls, and, in general, trying to get caught up. Yesterday, Thursday, more catching up and preparing for Sunday's Board of Directors meeting. During Wednesday's staff meeting, I was given the assignment of posting several articles on the website, so I will begin working on that project today, as soon as I finish posting This Week at Alcor. James and I would like to thank all of you who were able to attend our wedding, as well as those of you who were not able to attend. You all helped to make a very special time for us even more special by being there with us. Thank you for your generous gifts, your love, your laughter, and your friendship. We look forward to many more great times with you all! Mike Perry, PhD., Patient Care Assistant This week I worked some on the web site. This work should continue, but we may also be engaging a professional service to deal with the graphics. There have been various suggestions regarding "This Week at Alcor," some favoring posting it in full, others just links and highlights (my own preference). Since there is no strong consensus either way, probably the current policy, posting in full, will be continued. I made progress on the material to be copied for a relative, locating a company to do the task. (This outfit, Media Architects, quickly became interested in doing other work for us too, and is the one we are considering for the web graphics.) Next week the copying should start in earnest, and the cost for the several hours' worth of movie film and video is estimated at around $300. I also spent some time on suggestions for changing Alcor's price policies to offer lower-cost options. This should be on the agenda at the public meeting Sunday, Jan. 6 (starts 1 p.m. MT). Hugh Hixon, Facilities Engineer Thursday, go to Laughlin, NV for wedding.Friday, day off for wedding. Saturday, come back from Laughlin. Monday, more work on technical problems message. Wednesday, staff meeting. Deal with air conditioner warranty. Have gardeners cut back some vegetation for the security system. Look at selection for an automatic defibrillator; no conclusion; go to an EMT member for assistance.Thursday, meeting with mortician. Some work on replies to articles in the*Forum*. Work on a proposal for a high-temperature storage demonstrator.Offload a fireproof filing cabinet (w/James Sikes). Dr. Jerry Lemler, President, CEO Just about as I was winding down from last weekend's wedding in Laughlin, it was time to prepare for our Board of Director's meeting this Sunday in Scottsdale. Several months ago our Board Members wisely decided to rotate making personal appearances at our meetings, exclusive of Hugh Hixon, who naturally attends as "Board Member in residence." The January 2002 meeting will welcome Dr. Kat Cotter to our facility. Kat and her husband Dave Kekich were among the guests at Jessica and James's wedding in Nevada-- as always, it was great to have a chance to visit with them! The marriage ceremony, by the way, was beautifully performed by clergyman Mike Perry of the Venturist Society. As usual, Mike was unflappable, Jessica has settled back into her administrative duties, and I not only gained a terrific son-in-law, but a new Alcor member, as James has turned in his membership application. Not a bad way to start the new year, is it? I hope yours will be a great one, too. Mathew Sullivan, Facility Operations Manager Facility Operations: Joe's computer continues to have script errors and I am currently waiting for Symantec to respond with a solution to the problem. I worked with Inter-Tel to fix a few errors and improve the phone system. We also set up an empty voice prompt just prior to the execution of the emergency phones so we can give the caller some information. One of the problems with our emergency number is due to the number being very similar to Merrill Lynch's business line. If we insert a short message to reaffirm who we are, maybe we will get a few less calls. All that we need to do now is figure out what we want to say and record the message. Spent some time trying to resolve some network issues. With the close of the year, I'm in the process of completing paperwork. I've finished my work log and membership growth statistics. Alcor gained 39 members in 2001, with a growth rate of 7.56 percent. Spent some time on email, and I have mostly completed my Facility Operations Report for the upcoming Board meeting. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=18296