Date: July 10th 2008

3 MECDA Items for Summer, 2008:

~ The MECDA Guide is now ONLINE! Check it out at:
http://www.mecda.org/directory.html
We believe this is a MUCH better benefit to our members who have listings, as it is now out there and available to ACTUAL potential dance students/customers to see.
Remember that it will come up MORE in a search engine the MORE it is used and looked at, so DO have a look!
As you know, everyone is making and effort to "GO GREEN", and MECDA is, too! Think of the trees we are saving.

~ Nomination form/important financial disclosure AND what it means to YOU, our members!
For Both financial and environmental reasons, the PRINT version of the Happenings is on it's way OUT soon!
The Costs of running MECDA is more per-member than the Membership fees that MECDA has been charging!
Due to many factors this year, our annual fundraising event is not able to cover our yearly costs.
Open the "Nomination Form" here and see the details.

~ Here is a letter from our Happenings Editor, after someone asked about the benefits of belonging to MECDA:
A REASON TO BELONG TO MECDA
The reason I joined MECDA, and the point I think that everyone is forgetting, is to belong to an organization that links belly dancers together as a sister hood. The reason I give to our members to belong is that not only does MECDA strive to put on belly dance events for fellow dancers, but we also strive to work together as a unit in the belly dance world. MECDA began as a sort of "union" for belly dancers. A group that all agreed not to undercut, undermine, or hurt other dancers. It's a sister-hood. I think rather than people questioning, "what do I get?", they should be thinking, what can I *give*. How can I help support the belly dance community? How can I make working conditions better for myself and other dancers? The best reason to join MECDA, even in it's current state, is to keep the organization going that helped dancers begin to make belly dance a legitimate endeavor. They have made leaps and bounds in these areas, I think we all just forgot what the goal was.

Unfortunately, the past officers (over the long haul), paid for things blindly and didn't pay attention if we were losing money. Now, the current officers are in a constant state of flux, trying to do the best they can to keep things afloat. Yes, they have had to cut some of the freebies we were giving membership, but that is because they were freebies. Most organizations charge a lot more money to belong if they include things like publications, magazines, etc. because those things cost so much. For example, there is an art organization that I would like to join that charges $360 per year for membership and that just includes a one page newsletter via email once a month. The reason to belong to the organization is that it gets my foot in the door in places where I could not do it myself. Also, for the opportunity to purchase insurance at a group rate. MECDA offers insurance to it's chapter's events, as well as a lower cost for the facilities in some cases. Without these thin
gs, our events couldn't happen out here. Our chapter isn't in it for the money, we just want to put on an event that allows dancers the opportunity to dance on stage, shop with vendors, and have the opportunity to network with other dancers in person. If we break even, that is the goal, so that we can put it on again next year.

Sorry to give a long explanation. And I totally understand your feeling of desperation. It's hard when you don't have a lot of help. There are about 4 of us out here that run all of our events, so I get it, it's hard. For me, it's also rewarding to see that new student troupe on stage or to see a seasoned troupe inspire other dancers. I love hearing at the end, that the event was fun. Because really, for me, it's all about having fun... even if it is hard work sometimes.

This is why I would like to open up the communication between all of the chapters, so that we can help each other, inspire each other, and share ideas. I think that the lack of communication at the same time we were growing so large, was a huge mistake, but that it's also a mistake that we can all fix. We can heal if we all care about each other as dancers and want to make things work.

Thank you for your time and dedication.

~Blume Bauer