Anyone have a history of the PCA

[Titivillus]

I keep thinking I'll join the PCA and then there seems to be some sort of blowout or issue or something going on that makes me shy away from getting involved. Does anyone know all of the stuff that has happened and would be willing to share ( either public or PM) so I can decide whether to join or not.

 

Thanks,

 

Kurt

[FarmBoy]

I keep thinking I'll join the PCA and then there seems to be some sort of blowout or issue or something going on that makes me shy away from getting involved. Does anyone know all of the stuff that has happened and would be willing to share ( either public or PM) so I can decide whether to join or not.

 

Thanks,

 

Kurt

 

Same here. Just been afraid to ask. The blurb on the PCA web site is a bit sparse compared to all the things that seem to appear on various unofficial internet sites.

 

[Pendragon]

I was thinking the same thing. It seems like an organization with a lot of potential, but also a lot of infighting, pettiness and politics. Maybe it would be a good idea to join and see if things improve. If they do not then just allow the membership to lapse. Better yet, if a lot of new members join, they could have a positive influence on the leadership. That is to say vote out any leaders who let PCA fall into ruin or are confrontational and vote in more collegial and capable replacements. With an expanded membership, it stands to reason that there would be an expanded candidate list, as well as more people to volunteer for various committees.

[Bill Smith]

I posted a response on Pentrace to the whole meltdown, from what I gather it is a combination of a decision made a few years ago that has come back to bite the board of directors collectively in the ass and the personality make up of the board is as such that individuals on their own are highly regarded pen collectors in the community but put together can't play in the same sandbox.

 

They have to embark on a course of reputation management to fix the damage caused but I don't think that would happen. A harsh recommendation would be fold the PCA and start a new one Pen Collecting body for North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) hopefully with a board that has a better fit personality wise. I am not going to win friends in some corners with that recommendation but at present the annual dues of the PCA can buy you some nice stationary and/or ink.

[Titivillus]

I posted a response on Pentrace to the whole meltdown, from what I gather it is a combination of a decision made a few years ago that has come back to bite the board of directors collectively in the ass and the personality make up of the board is as such that individuals on their own are highly regarded pen collectors in the community but put together can't play in the same sandbox.

 

I withdraw my request for more information. After reading what I have so far I don't want to read anymore.

 

Kurt

 

[Bill Smith]

I considered what I have posted, speculation based on what I have read online on Pentrace and Fountain Pen Network. I am in no way involved with the PCA. I hope they sort things out and build for the future.

[Pendragon]

I posted a response on Pentrace to the whole meltdown, from what I gather it is a combination of a decision made a few years ago that has come back to bite the board of directors collectively in the ass and the personality make up of the board is as such that individuals on their own are highly regarded pen collectors in the community but put together can't play in the same sandbox.

Your post on PenTrace seems to be one of the few civil and rational posts on the subject there. OMG, what a moronic p***ing contest! IMO that place is part of the problem. Allowing discourse about controversial subjects is one thing, tolerating mud slinging and personal attacks is quite another.

 

They have to embark on a course of reputation management to fix the damage caused but I don't think that would happen. A harsh recommendation would be fold the PCA and start a new one Pen Collecting body for North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) hopefully with a board that has a better fit personality wise. I am not going to win friends in some corners with that recommendation but at present the annual dues of the PCA can buy you some nice stationary and/or ink.

I do not think that recommendation is at all harsh, but is a very good idea. If children misbehave, they need to get a timeout. The same applies to adults. Your suggestions may make you a few enemies, but I think a lot of others are thinking along the same lines as you. If something is broken and can't be fixed, why keep it around? There are a lot of local pen clubs around the world. Why not have an umbrella organization to unite them, to pool their resources and enthusiasm for the benefit of everyone? The local clubs could become chapters of a larger organization, if they so wish. A body such as this could even have its own publication, one which need not restrict itself mostly to vintage pens.

 

Fountain pen collecting and use is supposed to be fun, not a pitched battle. If certain entities wish to sow discord, or allow it to be sown, then that is their choice to make. That being said, the fountain pen community is under no obligation to let a few rotten apples (or sour grapes) spoil the whole bunch.

[dlmoak]

I have stayed out of the fray regarding the PCA, but I will offer a few comments here. I am a long time member of the PCA. First, it must be remembered that the organization is a volunteer organization, with a rotating board. Decisions made by any given board effect those made by those boards that follow. I personally think that the last two or three years have marked a big positive move on the part of the PCA. Most who join do not do so to work for the PCA or to contribute in any way (based on the evidence at present). They join for the PENnant. And that is quite alright and to be expected. The quality of the PENnant has, in my opinion and notwithstanding the fact that I have made some contributions of articles, significantly improved. If you are thinking of joining and don't feel the need or have the time to get involved in the work of the organization, join for a year and see if you think the PENnant is worth the price of membership. If you decide it isn't, then you are at least judging from your own experience and not from someone else's. You will certainly get some value for your money, even if you decide it is not enough to warrant a renewal of your memebership.

 

I think it is counterproductive to be critical or make demands of the newly-elected board. Let's evaluate their work after they've had time to do it. Organizations have to start where they are to fix things. To a large degree, the past must be forgotten. Energy spent considering past slights, significant errors, lapses in judgement, or even ignoring of rules is wasted time, other than to consider how to avoid them in the future. You work with what you have to solve problems, not with what you need. Even in a business organization, it takes skilled, dedicated leadership to make changes and progress through a governing body, and those people are paid a salary to do it and usually have a full time job to get it accomplished. If you have ever been in such a situation and tried to make a significant change in an organization, considering the personalities and agendas of the governing board, then you know how difficult it can be.

 

I have respect for the contributions of all concerned in this discussion.

 

I have recommended to the PCA that, as part of their website re-design, that there be an area for comments or complaints. I further recommended that when such an area is operational, that the PCA decline to discuss problems on other forums. This keeps any discussions in one place where anyone can see them and removes them from a hobbyist board, where I believe most readers would rather talk about pens.

 

These are my opinions and I believe I have expressed them clearly enough that they are understandable. You are free to disagree, and I'm sure many will. Since they are only my OPINONS, I do not feel the need to comment on any subsequent replies to this post. If you care to email me, I will gladly answer your email.

[Bill Smith]

I have a personal rule of thumb on what gets organizations into trouble and it involves one or more of the following, money, sex, family and ego. Well we can take sex off the table so that leaves the other three and the use of family can relate to tribes within the PCA.

 

The recent airing of dirty laundry for all to see on Pentrace and FPN is damaging the reputation of the PCA with its current members and perspective members. An online (bleep) match should have been kept to private emails or a phone conversation. I am on the board of directors of my local camera club and we had to deal with a problem board member back in the spring. We delt with it in a timely matter and since my background is public relations I took care of key messaging with affected stakeholders. It became a dead issue within a week.

 

I would have kept this all within the PCA family. If I were offering advice to the president on this matter in 20/20 hindsight, I would have suggested an email letter to the membership outlining the background of what happened, why it happened and most important what is being done to fix things. This would have diffused the situation (for lack of a better term) and the thread on Pentrace would have been much shorter if it existed at all.

 

I am just a spectator north of the border, it's a pity really and counter productive to hobby of pen collecting.

Edited December 3, 2007 by Bill Smith

[Stylo]

Well, I just glanced through the slap fest in the PCA thread on Pentrace. All I can say is .... mouaahhhahhahhah! :roflmho:

 

Glad I am not a collector. It seems like it can turn your crazy and/or make you regress into a two year old :ltcapd:

 

 

[Pendragon]

Well, I just glanced through the slap fest in the PCA thread on Pentrace. All I can say is .... mouaahhhahhahhah! :roflmho:

 

Glad I am not a collector. It seems like it can turn your crazy and/or make you regress into a two year old :ltcapd:

There are a lot of collectors here who are quite sane, behave like mature adults and contribute much to our knowledge and use of fountain pens. Let's not blame them for the acts of a few others.

 

Well, I have all the information I need. There is nothing I can get from the PCA that I can't get better here. Since this thread appears on the verge of doing a PenTrace, I am bowing out now.

Edited December 3, 2007 by Pendragon

[Stylo]

Since this thread appears on the verge of doing a PenTrace, I am bowing out now.

 

About collectors becoming insane, maybe I should have added a in addition to the :ltcapd:

[david i]

Well, I just glanced through the slap fest in the PCA thread on Pentrace. All I can say is .... mouaahhhahhahhah! :roflmho:

 

Glad I am not a collector. It seems like it can turn your crazy and/or make you regress into a two year old :ltcapd:

There are a lot of collectors here who are quite sane, behave like mature adults and contribute much to our knowledge and use of fountain pens. Let's not blame them for the acts of a few others.

 

Well, I have all the information I need. There is nothing I can get from the PCA that I can't get better here. Since this thread appears on the verge of doing a PenTrace, I am bowing out now.

 

 

Actually the final point simply is not the case for nearly anyone who likes old pens, though of course i can never say what is so for you, since each person of course has his own needs and views. But consider...

 

PCA has- i'd estimate- thousands of pages of original company catalogues, ads and memos. It is this stuff that gave me the major launch into detailed knowledge of Parker Vacumatics, lo those many years ago what i was an even hack(er)-amateur-newbie (today i am a hack-amateur-newbie still), even moreso than the helpful answers provided online by senior collectors on the Zosslist back in 1998 when there were no board-based pen websites. Detailed perusal of original materials in some (perhaps many) respects trumps reading the books that are out there (or were out there) and any of the websites for detailed learning about vintage pens.

 

I am quite fond of internet pen sites. I s'pose i myself run one (though more on the retail and NON-interactive side, LOL). But let's not substitute emotion (our fondness for our favorite sites) for fact (THOUSANDS of PAGES of old pen material available only at PCA).

 

I mean... seriously! Scan the list of data YOU can request from the Archives and whilst it is your right not to care about this sort of thing of course, realize that no pen board online has this stuff avaialable. Of course, if ya don't like old pens, well, nevermind

 

Their ancient website has no direct library link but hit this link THEN hit "library" and do peek

 

http://pencollectors.com/

 

regards

 

david

Edited December 3, 2007 by david i

[Titivillus]

I mean... seriously! Scan the list of data YOU can request from the Archives and whilst it is your right not to care about this sort of thing of course, realize that no pen board online has this stuff avaialable. Of course, if ya don't like old pens, well, nevermind

 

When it was started I guess there weren't many people collecting moderns but if they wanted to do a 'rebirth' then renaming it the VPCA (Vintage Pen Collectors...) would be a way to go.

 

 

Kurt

[Rick Propas]

What can I add to what's been said about the PCA? As far as the history, it came out of one of the early Southern California pen clubs in, if I recall correctly, the early 1990s. Perhaps someone more versed in pen club lore than I am could fill this in. Sadly, we do not seem to have an institutional history. As a national organization, in truth, the PCA has struggled to find its identity. Is it to be, narrowly, a club, or a wider membership organization? Does it exist to serve a broader membership or simply to publish a newsletter. Does it want to publish a newsletter or a magazine of broad interest? The answers to these questions have varied with the composition of different boards. And that's where things stood in the early 2000s.

 

Then, in 2003, the organization suffered a meltdown, having not maintained its tax free status, and incurred substantial Federal penalties. At that point, a group of people, including attornies and accountants, stepped in, negotiated down the penalties and reformulated the organization in 2004.

 

Since then the PCA has sought to rebuildi itself, to regain the trust of the community and to build itself into a broader more responsive organization than it has previously been.

 

Since I came onto the board in November 2006, we have begun a process, guided by a professional facilitator who deals with growing non-profit organizations, to create a rational organization that functions along the lines that modern, progressive groups do.

 

Unfortunately, this is proving to involve a lot of work that has come down on a few people. As one who is involved in the effort, I am often frustrated by how slowly we move. But often, as I have learned recently, dramatic change creates its own forms of disruption.

 

If I had a request to make to folks it would be to come off the sidelines, roll up your sleeves and help.

 

The other alternative, of course, would be to withdraw support for this organization, allow it to collapse and start over. There is certainly a case for that, as well.

 

At any rate, I've gone on long enough and have probably said enough to give offense to any number of folks.

[Roger W.]

Then, in 2003, the organization suffered a meltdown, having not maintained its tax free status, and incurred substantial Federal penalties. At that point, a group of people, including attornies and accountants, stepped in, negotiated down the penalties and reformulated the organization in 2004.

 

Rick;

 

It's not enough that you forced me out as Treasurer but now you are re-writing PCA history to suite you. There were no attorneys that stepped in - Russ helped rewrite the By-Laws after the 501c3 application was in. I negotiated down the penalties and filed several years of deliquent tax forms to settle the affairs of the PCA, Inc. and I re-incorporated the PCA as the PCA, NFP in Illinois after which I applied for the 501c3 status (must admit that Susan Worth goaded me into it as I wasn't sure we really qualified). These are historical facts. The By-Laws submitted to the IRS were initially prepared by me with input from the Board and substantial input from Joel and it is that set of By-Laws that are still on file with the IRS (you need to send them the new ones). So one licensed CPA with the help of the sitting Board in 2005 addressed many corporate shortcomings. I've let you say what you wish about my resignation but, I will not let you re-write the events that I was so instrumental in bringing about.

 

Roger E. Wooten, CPA

[wimg]

This thread is now closed, as this is not the place to discuss disagreements between PCA board members past and present.

 

If any of you would like to do so, please use email, telephone, telegraph, or any of the chat options outside of FPN, and please don't use the PM system here either.

 

Thank you for for your cooperation.

 

Regards, Wim