The Merchandise/Fund Raising/Patron Committee   It seems like only a few days ago that we started getting ready for PLUS2005. Time sure flies as that was four years ago and we haven't stopped yet! Chris Berglund and I, Carrie Sansing, are the Merchandise/Fund Raising/Patron Committee.  For PLUS2005 we were tasked with finding quality items to sell and of course, to find the items that we would be giving to each and every attendee. We also needed to try to find a way to raise funds; putting on a convention is not an inexpensive undertaking. How to raise the necessary funds? That became our first priority.   The first idea we had were the creation of the official PlanetChristmas membership signs. If you've visited the merchandise page on the PlanetChristmas site, you've seen them. I found a highly recommended small local sign shop and worked out the details with them. The owner of the shop turned out to be Christmas *nut* and we negotiated a very fair price. The shop itself is one of the best in the Chicago area and interestingly, they do a tremendous amount of work for Hollywood Movie studios. Have you seen the movie Groundhog Day? How about Tim Burton's Big Fish? Or The Amityville Horror, Miracle on 34th Street, Dennis the Menace, The Guardian or the latest Batman movie? If you did, keep in mind that each time you see a street sign, a store window sign, banner or just about anything with writing on it for these movies and others, they were designed, fabricated and hand painted by the same great people who make our very own PlanetChristmas signs. Its been a great relationship and one we look forward to continuing.   Our next idea was to write The PlanetChristmas Cooks! Cook Book. The Steering Committee discussed it, approved, and Chris and I found ourselves looking for a publisher. After a lot of searching, we found the perfect partner..an Internet based publisher where we could log in, type the recipes, and they would take care of the rest. We designed the layout, prepared a cover design, and then the call went out for submissions from our PC Family. Recipes poured in! It was all we could do keep up with the typing. I'm here to tell you, we have some outstanding cooks on PC and the recipes ran the gamut from favorite holiday treats like delicious Marshmallow Meltaways, Rocky Road Bars, and Key Lime Pie, to tried and true main dishes, veggies, snacks, salads, you name it..as well as a few funny ones (Wild Possum Kabobs, which uses road kill, boiled water, and toast!) The Cook Book was a lot of work, but it was well worth all the effort. We unveiled the book at PLUS and sales were brisk. It's a wonderful compilation created by and for our PC family. Anticipating a large demand, we decided to order plenty to bring back after PLUS in order to make them available on the web site. Pick one up on the merchandise page..as we approach PLUS2007, that extra funding will sure come in handy.   After we had the Signs and Cookbooks under our belts, Chris and I talked..what else could we do? Once again, we brainstormed. Chris suggested that we hold a Silent Auction, it sounded great to all of us on the Committee. Again, a call went out to our PC family looking for donations. We were not surprised at the generosity of the members, but we were amazed at the quantity of donations we received. We had beautiful hand crocheted Christmas Afghans, hand made gift baskets, Halloween dolls and trees; wireframes of various sizes; blow molds; rite time boxes; gift certificates; an original Dasher T-shirt; mini lights; rope light; net lights; Christmas trees; all kinds of indoor and outdoor decorations, candles..just about anything you could want..including a beautiful custom wooden cigar humidor!  All the items were either gently used and in excellent condition or brand new..the generosity of the members was truly staggering!  We had our work cut out for us as each item needed to be described and written up on a bid sheet. We had been given 6 tables in the vendor room initially, but more and more donations came flooding in, so we scrambled and squeezed in a few more. We still didn't have enough room, so onto the floor the biggest items went!  The attendees had a great time selecting the things they wanted to bid on. Friendly rivalries sprang up, PC members purposely trying to outbid each other. The money we raised with the Silent Auction became part of the seed money for 2007. Anyone who was at 2005 will tell you, it really was great fun. Please consider donating an item to the 2007 Auction. You don't need to attend to donate, just contact either of us and we'll make it easy for you.   What else do we do on our committee of two? From managing the databases for the Harvard Business School Club, I borrowed the idea of a Patron level. If it was good enough for Harvard, it was good enough for us!  We had hoped that the Patrons would voluntarily pay more to attend PLUS classes but would get more from us in exchange for their patronage. So, the question was what could we offer these extra generous people to make it worth their while and do it on a strict budget? We came up with concierge service.. Chris and I delivering their registration packets to their hotel rooms if they wished it. We also offered pre-registration in order to avoid having the Patrons standing in the registration line. A special Patron Reception was planned for prior to the Saturday night banquet. A selection of fruit, cheese, and wine were served while the Patrons chatted with each other, the members of the Steering Committee and Chuck, and the keynote speaker. An exclusive preview of the vendor room for Patrons was planned, and an extra special gift was provided in their giveaway bags. The Patrons were treated with special attention and although we made a few mistakes in 2005, we've learned from those mistakes and 2007 promises to be better than ever for our Patrons. If you're considering it or want to know more, drop us a PM or email.   Speaking of the *giveaways*, that portion of our duties has been ongoing adventure. Finding the right merchandise at the right price point is not as easy as it might appear. There are thousands of vendors out there, thousands of items to choose from, and we have a unique group we're buying for. We don't want to give away too much or we'll spoil the surprise, but this year, every attendee will be receiving a gift bag with some highly useful items in it. Want something extra special? Come to PLUS to see what's new this year. T-shirts are always a favorite and we'll have several to choose from as well as some other surprises.   This past fall, we ran another popular fund raiser. Hoodies! They were a huge success the first time we tried it, and this time we more than doubled our sales, offering the hoodies in three colors. Many of you bought them, but if you missed out, stay tuned! But I have to say, packing and shipping that many hoodies was a real challenge.   It's been a good amount of work that goes on year round. Whenever you click on the buy button on the merchandise page, the order is routed through the PlanetChristmas servers, is reviewed by Chuck and then forwarded onto us. We package and ship your items to you. Yes, there are little Christmas elves in Illinois and Minnesota that work year round on behalf of PLUS. Has it been worth it? You bet, its been a delight and an honor to work on PLUS2005 and 2007. Chris and I both look forward to seeing you in Gatlinburg this summer.    Carrie Sansing