TAFF PROGRESS REPORT #1; published in the interests of the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund by Steve Stiles, 1809 Second Avenue, NYC 10028, and Thomas Schluck, 3 Hannover, Altenbekener Damm 10, Germany.
This is to announce that TAFF nominations are now open for a worthy European fan (plenty of 'em) to make the trip to the United States for the 1969 Labor Day Worldcon, Deadline for the closing of nominations is October 30th, 1968.
THE NOMINATING PROCEDURE:
To appear on the ballot, a candidate must meet the following requirements:
(a) He must be nominated by three European fans and two from the host country.
(b) He (or his nominators) must submit a 100 word nominating platform to be published on the reverse of the TAFF voting ballot.
(c) A $5.00, or £2. bond of good faith must accompany the nomination, provided by the backers.
(d) The candidate must sign a statement of willingness to travel to the host country if elected.
While in the United Kingdom, I heard considerable talk concerning the nomination of a certain fan – a deserving & talented lad; if equally promising fans can be found for the candidacy, this promises to be an interesting race. Remember, now is the time to start looking for such people; midnight, October 30th isn't all that faraway. Look around you – your Good Buddy (or worst enemy) might make an excellent candidate. Talk it over with your friends, consider the possibilities, and Good Hunting!
Assuming that all four qualifications for the candidates are in by the deadline, TAFF voting ballots will be distributed shortly thereafter, in November. The final voting deadline will be – tentatively – May 30th, 1969. Check your ballot.
VOTING:
Past TAFF voting has operated within the "Australian Ballot" system. Tom and I see no reason not to continue with this method. It works like so: on the first "ballot", only first place votes are counted; then, if of 100 votes three candidates receive 40-35-25, the third one is dropped from the second "ballot", and the second choices of his 25 supporters become first place votes distributed between the remaining two candidates. When voting, rank the candidates in the exact order in which you prefer them. If you don't rank them, and your first choice loses, you have forfeited your further voting power.
"HOLD OVER FUNDS":
This choice, similar to a "No Award" vote in the Hugo balloting, gives the voter the opportunity to vote for no TAFF trip in a given campaign in the event that either the candidates don't appeal to him, or he feels that TAFF should slow down its program of trips. "Hold Over Funds" may be listed in first, second, third, or fourth place, just like any other candidate, and the votes will be counted accordingly. If the final majority is against sending a candidate this year, funds will be held over for the next election.
TAFF FUNDS:
The TAFF fund seems to be in good shape this time around; every time I went shopping in London, store holidays were in effect. London Bridge was too dear. Therefore, we have approximately $436.86 in the kitty. Approximately, because I still haven't converted some pound notes jangling around in my pockets – I keep it there for sentimental reasons... So, the fund is off to a good start on the way to the $600.00 minimum.
oooOooo
On a more personal note, my – Steve Stiles' – trip to England was a highly enjoyable one; so much so that it exceeded my expectations. My thanks to the many, many hospitable fans over there, people who went out of their way to see that I enjoyed myself, and to the convention committee of the ThirdManCon – a terrific convention, Harry! Special thanks to my hosts, the Bentcliffes, Bill Burns, and Fred and Ella Parker.
I do expect to put out a TAFF trip report within a year, barring private difficulties. I'm a bit restricted at the moment, in the midst of the Struggling Young Artist scene, but I do want to produce a trip report, if only for the powerful selfish motivation of wanting to have my own memory book, a day-by-day account of the trip. Front and baccovers have already been produced, there will probably be a great deal of interior photos as well as illustrations, and the tentative title for this opus will be "Harrison Country". Restrain yourselves from rushing in money and orders until the thing is actually collated.
There was a bit of languor in the previous campaign. Hopefully, it will be absent in this one; TAFF needs your support,
Tom and I are grateful to those of you who have supported TAFF in the past, by voting, contributions, nominating, distributing ballots, and plugs in the fanzines.
All nominations to Thomas Schluck or myself.
– Steve Stiles –
Null-Q Press