Tag Archives: Bill Wright

Hertz: 2013 DUFF Trip Begins

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By John Hertz: This year’s Down Under Fan Fund delegate Bill Wright arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday, August 17th, at 8 a.m.

His flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:30. Fortunately I was there waiting at 7:45. An electronic notice board said the flight was coming in early and was on time.

I had brought a book. A breakfast bar served Peet’s coffee.

The notice board said the flight had arrived. Various people emerged.

An hour passed.

A guard said clearing Customs could take a while.

Many pages later I asked another guard. He said it could take three hours.

At 11 a.m. another guard said I should ask at Customs. Two floors up a nice man looked up Bill Wright, who had been cleared at 8:31.

Bill didn’t need me; he had just been traveling to and from Thailand. It was just a gesture. I’d thought of it at 3:30 a.m. after dancing till midnight and then the Bread Pudding Club.

His domestic flight left for San Jose from Terminal 1 in two-and-a-half hours. I walked over from Terminal 4. It was a nice sunny day. At Terminal 1, I learned that the only paging system would require him, if he heard it, to come back throuugh the crowd and down the escalator to pick up the call. So I went home.

But I can tell you he arrived. And last night the DUFF Intelligence Service told me he was safely asleep at Spike’s house.

Hertz: Let’s Get Ready for Some Auction

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By John Hertz: The Fan Funds Auction at this year’s Worldcon, LoneStarCon 3 (28 Aug – 1 Sep, San Antonio, Texas), has been scheduled for Saturday afternoon 31 Aug. Have you anything you’d care to contribute?

If you’re attending, bring it. If you aren’t, consider sending it. A friend might bring it for you. At least one item, planned last year but only just ready, is being mailed to me so I can bring it. I’ve learned how things can be shipped to the con; call me (213) 384-6622 (land line, Pacific Daylight Time) and ask.

This traditional auction benefits our traveling-fan funds, which are maintained by various donations.

The senior fund is TAFF (Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund), sending fans in alternate directions each year between North America and the United Kingdom – Republic of Ireland – Europe since 1953. DUFF (Down Under Fan Fund) for North America – Australia & New Zealand, founded 1972, is the second side of a triangle. Third side is GUFF (between U.K. – Eire – Europe and ANZ; Going Under, or Get Up-and-over, Fan Fund, depending on the direction), founded 1978. There are sister funds, e.g. CUFF (Canadian Unity Fan Fund), FFANZ (Fan Fund of Australia & New Zealand).

The two trans-ocean funds touching the continent of LoneStarCon 3 are TAFF and DUFF. TAFF’s current NA Administrator is Jacq Monahan, visiting delegate Jim Mowatt; I’m the DUFF NA Adm’r, delegate Bill Wright. We’ll all be at the Auction. So will John Purcell who runs the Worldcon Fanzine Lounge this year. Other funds may be represented.

If your donation is labeled saying where proceeds go, they will; otherwise we’ll share them out. Consider also noting what makes your item of interest, what value it may have; we’re more diverse these days and people may not know. In the 2009 Worldcon Art Show, Jon Singer exhibited pots he’d made of clay from Neil Gaiman’s yard; everybody knows Jon Singer, but –

We’ll have to decide on the spot what order to auction things in and even whether to auction particular things at all. If your item’s not auctioned, we’ll dispose of it in our discretion unless you say otherwise (e.g. last year a rare copy of a Sam Moskowitz book didn’t arrive in time but raised money through a private donor’s putting it in a public-access university collection).

Oh, and you might want to buy things.

2013 DUFF Winner

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Bill Wright has been elected the 2013 DUFF Delegate and will attend LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio.

DUFF administrator David Cake announced the voting results on Facebook.

North America

Australasia

 Total
Bill Wright         32                34 66
Clare McDonald-Sims         18                46 64
Hold Over Funds          1                  0 1
No Preference          1                  1 2
Total        52                81 133
Update 2013/06/15: Corrected Bill Wright’s NA vote count per later information from David Cake.

2013 DUFF Race Begins

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Australian fans Bill Wright and Clare McDonald-Sims are your candidates for the 2013 Down Under Fan Fund. The winner will attend LoneStarCon 3 and boogie around North America afterwards. Copies of the ballot in various formats are available here.

Clare McDonald-Sims has been nominated by  Australasian fans Rose Mitchell, Perry Middlemiss and Janice Gelb, and by North American fans Curt Phillips and Chris Garcia. She has been a member of Austrek  for over a decade — General Secretary for a few years and President for one year. She worked on Aussiecon 4 as well.

Bill Wright’s Australasian nominators are Bruce Gillespie, Mervyn Binns, and Martin James Ditmar (Dick) Jenssen. His North American nominators are Murray Moore and John Purcell. He is a lifetime member of the Melbourne SF Club, a founding member of Anzapa, and a founding member of the Nova Mob (a Melbourne club). He was secretary for the first Aussiecon in 1975 and helped organize the Bring Bruce Bayside Fan Fund in 2004. He currently publishes Interstellar Ramjet Scoop and works for the Australian SF Foundation. (And Bill introduced me to Foster’s beer in 1972!)

Votes will be accepted until midnight June 10, 2013 and must be accompanied by a donation of at least $5 Australian, Canadian, United States, or $7 New Zealand. Anyone active in fandom on or before January 1, 2013 may vote. Electronic voting and donation is available through PayPal, see details on the ballot.

[Thanks to Irwin Hirsh for the story.]