CUFF Winners

Candian Unity Fan Fund

Linda Ross-Mansfield

An Information Sheet for re-print by any and all interested persons and groups or clubs.
March 1995 -- This may be a one-shot if there is no response from anyone.
Please respond to: Linda Ross-Mansfield, 333 Lipton St., Winnipeg, MB, R3G 2H2

Time is Running Out

Is There A Place for C.U.F.F. ???

There has been a small amount of discussion recently about the lack of entries for C.U.F.F. in 1994 and yet there has been no one yet who has come forward to say "YES WE THINK IT SHOULD CONTINUE."

I am hoping that there are enough fans out there who DO think this, that C.U.F.F. can rise from the ashes of apathy which have been burying it recently.

One of the main difficulties with the Fund this far is, well, HOW DO WE GET THE INFORMATION OUT TO PEOPLE? There is no database nor is there the funds to mail out to each individual the nomination info. Although the info is sent to as many clubs/fanzines as the administrator has addresses for, the people who receive such a mailing don't seem to realize how important it is for them to disseminate this info to their fellow fans, and to encourage someone to enter. If a club zine doesn't print even the acknowledgement that the club had received the nomination info, how are people suppose to know even enough to ask "What is C.U.F.F., and why was this info sent to us?"

Obviously they can't. "If good people do nothing..." to paraphrase the quotation. It is just that easy for the fund to fall into oblivion. With no nominations there can be no voting ballot. With no vote, there is no C.U.F.F. candidate to send to the opposite side of the country to attend a convention, and advance communications amongst fans from both sides of the country.

At this point I have sitting in the bank, more than enough money to send a winning nominee to anywhere in Canada, and cover reasonable hotel costs.

Is there no-one who wants this opportunity? Or is it that no-one wants to carry on the responsibility as winner to administrate and raise funds for future nominees?

I am asking each person who receives this to copy it at least once and pass it along.

I am also asking you to send me a postcard, or letter and tell me: is there a place for C.U.F.F. or if not, tell me what you think should be done with the funds that I have raised and been holding.

My address is at the top of this newsletter. If you are one of those who are electronically connected, I can also be contacted at my Compuserve Number: 70324.2252 or you can send it to John's Genie connection: J.Mansfield4 and he will pass it on to me. So come on, let's here from you. Silence is a terrible thing in this case!!!

Nominations Required to Keep C.U.F.F. Alive!

Send all comments and letters to:
Linda Ross-Mansfield, 333 Lipton St., Winnipeg, MB, R3G 2H2

At this time, Nominations are open Canada Wide, since there was no response to the 1994 request for Nominees. While it has been expected in recent years that a C.U.F.F. winner should attend the CANVENTION, there were apparently no comments about this during the induction of the 1995 Canvention, at the last business meeting, and this aspect seems to be up in the air at this point. If there is no response to a call for nominations this year, and no one gives me any feedback, the fund may possibly fold. The requirements for nominating are shown below. Please diseminate this information as much as you are able to, and if possible let me know what you think.

Date: March/95

Now is the time for all good fen to stand up and be counted.

Nomination Rules

Each Candidate provides a brief written platform, with their name and address.
Provide the names and signatures of six fans, three in the east and three in the west.
Agrees to administrate the fund and race, and pass funds to the new administrator.
The Winner agrees to travel to and attend the designated convention, (Barring acts of God).

Rumour Spike
Despite assumptions to the contrary, my spouse is not adminstering or controlling CUFF, I am. Nor have I in any way folded the fund, and persons wishing to contribute may still send to me at the address above.

I have stopped doing auctions to raise mre funds until I receive some input from my fellow fen as to what to do if CUFF doesn't receive Nominees again.

Anomaly Creates Problem

While there is normally an East-West rotation, when there has been a year with no nominees, the next opportunity is open Canada-Wide.

The other small difficulty is, since I, as current administrator, was unable to attend the business meeting of Canvention in 1994, apparently no one mentioned or reminded the 1995 Canvention winner about the usual tie between CUFF and CANVENTION. As a result, there was no one set as a liason to contact me, and they have apparently announced that there will be no Fan guests at their Convention. This is a bit embarassing since one of the committee members of the 1995 Canvention, Paul Valcour, is a former CUFF Winner himself, and he was the administrator prior to my winning CUFF, (which by the way means that one automatically becomes the administrator.)

Since I for one, would not want to force any group to host the CUFF winner, I would like to suggest that IF there are nominees for 1995, that there be the following possibilities offered. If the winner lives in the West he or she could be sent to Ad Astra, and if the winner is from the East they could go to Con Versions. Since both these cons are reasonably sized, and are in the summer, it might make it easier on everyone.

There are sufficient funds to pay both airfare and accomodations, within reason. I am open to other suggestions, but we can't procrastinate too long. The only other option is to wait until 1996. If we do that, then I will continue fund-raising, to pass on a healthy fund.

( Linda Ross-Mansfield , as printed in ConTract, edited by John Mansfield .)

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