Sponsor Letter, March 7th 2019

Hello All,

We're heading up to the March 31st deadline to have 300 sponsors and I'm confident we will make it.  So, thank you to all of the folks who have supported and continue to support the store!  If you haven't renewed yet this year, you're certainly welcome to do so now . . . or later if you like.  Although the deadline to make the determination about whether to continue to operate the store is March 31st, we're happy to accept sponsorship throughout the year.  You can renew on-line at https://borderlands-books.com/buysponsorship.html or you can call, mail, or visit the store in person.

Moving into our fifth year of sponsorships, I've got a couple of neat things planned for our out-of-town sponsors.  The first will be launching in April -- after talking about it for two years, we finally have a message board / forum set up for you.  It should be a nice place to chat with fellow sponsors, share information, and communicate with us at the store.  Look for details about that in the next sponsor note.

The other thing I have planned is a secret for now, but I should have the details together in a month or two.

One last piece of business: if you haven't already, or don't renew your sponsorship, this Sponsor note will be the last one that you'll get (because I'm very much against spamming people).  If you've decided not to renew this year, please don't feel any pressure to change your mind -- there are a hundred and one reasons why it might not work for you.  I'm just terribly grateful that you were willing to support us last year.  On the other hand, if it slipped your mind or something of the sort, I'll be sending out one email to everyone who didn't renew reminding them that they have not.  I hope that you won't find that intrusive.

Our sincerest thanks to all of you -- without you, we literally wouldn't be here.

All Best,
Alan

The Wee Version:

(1) Friday, March 8th (please note date change) - Meet up at FOGCon 9, Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

(2) Sunday, March 31st, 7:00 pm - Sponsors' General Meeting, Borderlands Cafe.

(3) Friday, April 26th, 8:00 pm - Roller Skating at Church of 8 Wheels, 554 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94117

The Whopping Version:

(1) Friday, March 8th (please note date change) - Meet up at FOGCon 9, Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.  FOGCon is one of the more intimate of the genre-focused conventions, but they always pull off a great weekend of talks and local vendors selling their wares.  This year's honored guests include Karen Joy Fowler and Becky Chambers.  When the Dealers' Room closes at 7 pm, we'll be meeting up in the hotel bar (because there isn't any other gin-joint in reasonable walking distance - we've checked).  It's called Atrio, and there will be live jazz until 9:00 pm.  Alan probably won't be able to make it, but the much better half of "management", Jude, will be there.  Stop by, have a beer and swap some first-day-of-the-con stories.

(2) Sunday, March 31st, 7:00 pm - Sponsors' General Meeting, Borderlands Cafe.  If you've never attended, the General Meeting is sort of like a cross between a share-holders meeting and a big advisory board.  Alan will outline where Borderlands and the Sponsor Program stand, and then ask for comments, opinions and ideas.  We hope to see as many of you there as possible, because this is where we get guidance on where we should go with the sponsor program, and Alan would love to hear your thoughts.  If you can't attend in person, feel free to email with your comments; we'll email a report on the meeting a week or two afterwards.

(3) Friday, April 26th, 8:00 pm - Roller Skating at Church of 8 Wheels, 554 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94117.  As you may have guessed, we have LOVED our past two outings to the Church of 8 Wheels.  We're back again and we'll be renting the private corner in the rear so we will have a place to congregate and leave our belongings. Housed in the 119-year-old former location of Sacred Heart Church, The Church of 8 Wheels welcomes anyone over the age of 18 to Friday night roller disco.  Admission is $10.00 and skate rentals are an additional $5.00.  Personal skates and roller blades are allowed and should weather dictate layering, there is a coat check at the door.  There is also a snack bar within the Church.  Please feel free to bring as many friends as you would like.   http://www.churchof8wheels.com/.