December 2, 2016
Directors,
As we close the 2016 calendar year and begin our preparations for the 2017 competitive
season, the Winter Guard Association of Southern California would like to share with you
the financial report for the close of the 2016 fiscal year. Please allow me to personally thank
you for your continued support of our association. The staff, Executive Committee, and
Board of Directors are proud of what we do within this organization and we wholeheartedly
appreciate you and your ensembles for choosing to participate with the WGASC.
As we begin this more formal annual task of sharing our fiscal year portfolio, we begin to see
how much our organization has changed over the last 20+ years, and yet still how much of
it has stayed the same. In the 2016 season, our membership reached over three hundred
fifty registered ensembles. While we have had more members to serve, our prime objectives
of providing quality adjudication, high standards in competition, education to all, and support
services to aid in the growth of the activity, have not been compromised. We have grown
considerably in infrastructure these past five years as well. We have about eight year round
staff members now, a comprehensive website that manages both MBOS and WGASC
operations, and an operational budget of almost a quarter of a million dollars.
Membership dues, sponsorships, and profits from MBOS, Invitationals and Championships
combine to create our annual operational budget. We carefully take that revenue and budget
to support all the efforts of the WGASC. Year round staffing, state of the art technology,
education for members and judges, and an annual scholarship program of over ten thousand
dollars are a few of the priorities in which we concern ourselves with when budgeting every
year. Most of the money earned goes directly back to the guards by covering the operating
expenses of the competitive aspects of the activity. Proportionately speaking, very little goes
to cover WGASC staffing. Even with increased membership growth, we recognize that we
are at a point where we must more vigorously pursue outside sources of revenue to increase
our operational budget, rather than increasing future membership fees. With this is mind,
the membership this next season, should see an increase in sponsors and sponsorship
opportunities to help accomplish that goal.
Again, thank you for continually supporting the WGASC. We encourage you to read the
financial report and see where your membership fees are being spent. The staff, Executive
Committee, and Board of Directors believe that 2017 will be a great year for our organization,
and we look forward to updating you with our continued success.
Sincerely,
Melissa Samson
WGASC President