2019 Parker Gun Foundation Hall of Fame Dinner and PGCA SXS activities in Sanford NC
 

We have reserved our location for the HOF dinner so you can hold the date and plan ahead. It will be held at 7pm on April 27th at the Flame Steakhouse. We will be limited to 75 persons.

The Southern SXS will be held April 24 to 28 in Sanford, NC. so plan ahead. Josh will update us on room reservations as the information becomes available. Mills Morrison will update us on our LC Smith Challenge. I am sure Doc Truitt will plan some exciting extra challenges for us as he has done in the past.

I will post updates to this thread as they come along. FYI the inductees are chosen in late December and early January.

For those of us who are newer... is there more information on the Parker Gun Foundation Hall of Fame somewhere? What is it? Is there a physical location that can be visited? How are folks nominated, what criteria is used? Is there a place in this forum where we can see tribute to previous inductees and their accomplishments? Thanks!

Whoa George. You are really ahead of schedule. Good job and hope to see everyone there

Put me down for 2 tickets.

Michael good questions that I am mostly unable to answer.
Bill Mullins is best able to answer the first two and last two questions.
There is no physical location but I dream of a museum someday in Meriden.

Parker Gun Foundation notice from Parker Pages 2014
 

If you go to the main web page and then into the Parker Pages section, about half way down is a link to it's index. A ctrl-f key board function will bring up a find box.... enter foundation in the box to find past foundation events. If you have those Parker Pages you can read about what took place.

Here is the initial (I think) announcement of the foundation to PGCA membership.

Robin- It would be helpful to have some text under our Awards and Recognition tab on our website.

:confused::confused:Each award is well defined with text?

Robin- I was intending to convey my position that the PGF HOF should be described under the Awards/Recognitions tab or be put on its own tab. While technically possible, PGCA members shouldn't have to do a search of PP to find out about the HOF or who has been inducted to date. That's my position.

George & Robin, thank you for answering my questions! There's so much to learn here.

I will do a search of the PP index for more information on the Parker Foundation, but my education will stop with the index. I don't have access to PP issues older than the past four years. Is it possible to obtain back issues of PP? Is there a PP digital archive somewhere? That's a tremendous chunk of knowledge that holds limited access availability.

George, I agree with you, it would be nice to have a place on the website or this forum somewhere that is dedicated to the Foundation, HOF, and inductees. Sort of a "virtual" museum/HOF. That would be a great way to pay tribute to HOFers.

If there is anything I could do to help, I'm willing.

Mike

I thought about that and had decided that because it is a completely separate organization for tax exempt purposes, that I should maintain that separation. If someone developed a Parker Gun Foundation web presence, I think a link to it would be fine. If we develop a web page or even host it from the PGCA computer, would that possibly corrupt the tax-exempt status of the Foundation? I chose to error on the side by keeping a clear separation between the taxed and tax-exempt organizations. That was my reasoning for not including it in the Awards tab.

Robin, I don't believe doing so would compromise the tax-exempt status because the Parker Gun Foundation, to the best of my knowledge, exists as a branch of the parent organization, the PGCA, but was set up with its own charter and E.I.N.

Art Wheaton, Bill Mullins, Allan Swanson, John Davis should correct me if I am mistaken.






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That is way above my pay grade. Dean-o has the right names to make that decision.

The Parker Gun Foundation is a 501 (C) (3) corporation, created for educational purposes. (The PGCA is a 501 (C) 7 corp.) As such, all donations to the Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Foundation is a sister organization to the PGCA but is a distinctly separate entity. The intent of the Hall of Fame is to honor those who have made significant contributions to the Parker collecting world and/or furthering the history of the Parker gun and Charles Parker Company. Inductees have included major collectors, authors/researchers, and dealers. Inductees are not limited to PGCA members and several have been recognized posthumously. The Foundation is run by a 3 member board. A group of trustees are appointed by the board to identify and submit candidates for induction to the HOF. There is no physical museum or HOF but the possibility of a virtual HOF and museum on this web-site is something that has been discussed and hopefully will come to fruition.

Thank you for that detail, John!

Thanks for the clarification John.





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I personally did not care for the new venue (The Flame).
Yes, it was local vs a 45 min drive, and it was “less” money (maybe not depending on how much you drink), but that is where the up sides end (in my opinion).

It was a cash bar, which adds to the cost of the night. They were understaffed for the size of the party and it was a struggle to keep waters filled during dinner. The food was so-so and the setup of the room was not good at all. Packed in like sardines at 3 long tables. It did not do much for socializing or for sight lines.

Just feedback for what it is worth. Of course i will attend in the future. For me it is about supporting the cause more than anything.

No venue is going to be perfect. They will all have +'s and -'s. Every time you put one of these events on you will see areas where you can tweak it and make it better next time. I personally thought the positives far out weighed the negatives and felt that it was a great event. And having been directly involved in putting on three of these banquets in the past, my hats off to the present Board and the job they are doing. John

I too, applaud the guy(s) who put these events together. Let's keep in mind that this is a volunteer organization and those who spend hours upon hours trying to make these events the best they can be while keeping the costs within the parameters of common sense.
Both the PGCA and the PGF operate on pretty slim budgets and it is incumbent upon the directors and officers of both organizations to be fiscally responsible... and they do just that, while making it a great event.
I think public criticism of the event is somewhat of a slap in the face to those who work so hard and receive little reward other than to know they did a terrific job (on their own time as volunteers) for the organization they are truly dedicated to.






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I have never attended this function, so I have no specific input to add and I know, and appreciate, the efforts it takes to set anything like this up. But, when I read Brian's post, I didn't read it as critical criticism. To me it sounded like constructive criticism intended to help future planners.

Exactly Robin... some make it sound like i am not greatful for those who work hard to put on the event. That is not the case at all.
I have attended the HOF dinners since the beginning (except for last year due to my 1 yo son being with me) and i will continue to support the foundation going forward.

I simply put my thoughts out there as to where things were lacking.

You can refer to me by name Brian.

Call it a critique or call it a criticism, or call it whatever it was intended to be - but emails and private conversations to those in charge of setting up the HOF venue might have served your purpose better than publicly berating the venue (which indirectly reflects on those who organized it.)

But that's just one man's opinion so take it for what it's worth. No offense intended Brian and maybe I should have sent you a PM but it was already out there so I chose to keep it out there.

Best, Dean






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Please pardon my unsolicited opinion here. In my first-hand experience organizing and hosting national conferences and meetings for work, I have found it helpful to offer a feedback survey to provide individual opportunity for attendees to comment, both positive and negative, on the event directly to the organizers. It keeps it private (anonymous if desired), candid, and constructive. Such feedback from attendees is critically important for the continued success of future events.

Selecting the perfect venue is never easy. There will always be hits and misses and the organizers don't have control over many aspects of the venue's amenities and services. You select a location and hope for the best, but realize the risk that it might not turn out as expected. That comes with the territory.

George

It looks as though you might want to add a new volunteer candidate with experience in organizing events from the State of New Hampshire as an assistant to help you with the 2019 HOF function.

Just a thought as a former organizer of the HOF dinners.

We all have views as to how an event should be handled, but putting all together, trying to satisfy all, is an entirely different program !!

Good job and thanks for your and the other Board members efforts
Allan

If I am being "voluntold", I'd be happy to volunteer in whatever capacity that I can. Let me know how I can help. I'm here to do my part and get involved with PGCA as an active member!

Mike

Moderators Note: Post deleted due to profanity.

Thanks Mike!

Is there any new information regarding PGCA preferred hotel and room reservations for the Southern SXS and PGCA HOF events in April 2019?

Also, I would like to reserve 2 tickets for the HOF dinner. Thank you!

John Bamonte

Thanks John
We haven't posted ticket prices and sales officially , but it will be in the next issue of PP and I will post here,
We have an exciting new venue.