We talk of pulling the trigger on this or that project. We aim for a successful outcome. Who’s your target audience? Let me scope that out for you. Point and shoot. Even though I gave it my best shot, it blew up in my face. So and so is a ticking time bomb. She could go off at the slightest provocation.
There must be a reason we have so many references to things that ignite or explode...destroy. Do we get someone’s attention faster with the potential for violence? Do we need to fire the imagination? Are we going for a direct hit? Splat! Bam! Kapow! Wait; let’s try another approach:
Virginia called last week. She feels like a target of late. Appeals from every possible organization in the country have been bombarding her mailbox. She noticed that the Minnesota Senior Federation recently fired off an appeal about the state legislative session. And Virginia lamented that she couldn’t possibly respond to every appeal no matter how compelling the cause.
I tried to smooth over her dilemma and reassure her that it’s not our intent to hit up our members beyond their means to make gifts to this organization. We shoot out a variety of appeals based on our members’ interests. Some members feel more akin to the advocacy we target at the legislature on their behalf. Others aim for supporting programs of the Federation, such as the Health Plan Information Center, Senior Partners Care, or the Pension Rights Project.
In the end, I reassured Virginia that she’s not an easy mark - that her membership and her opinions were the essentials we sight on.
“So when is my membership due?” she asked.
“Uh, oh,” I replied, “your membership lapsed last October. Not to worry - we’re discharging notices about lapsed membership in a couple of weeks. We hope to hear a deafening report from that mailing. We want you back!”
You’ve heard about the benefits of membership in the Minnesota Senior Federation. What are the costs of membership? Well, that’s a moving target, depending on your point of view. Most people agree it’s a very good deal. A membership donation of $20 entitles one to all the benefits and discounts the Federation offers, including this newspaper and other helpful publications, prescription drug savings, legal referrals, pre-retirement planning and more.
If we tally the true cost of each membership, it works out to $144 per person. That’s a substantial deal for your $20, don’t you agree, Virginia? Did we hit the mark? Well, we took a shot at it. By the way, no one was harmed in the course of writing this column.
To contact me, call 651/783-5006 or 877/645-0261 or send an e-mail to .
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