It has never made sense for OWAA to own a headquarters building. Now that we are out from under the condo, we should not go back into debt to own another building.
There were moves back in the 1970s and 1980s to purchase a headquarters building that would be a kind of “shrine” to outdoor writers. It was visualized as a place people would want to visit, a place where mementos would be displayed.
As president in 1984, I successfully quashed the idea by pointing out that the cost of the purchase would not justify a questionable dream. Who really would come to see this shrine?
Years later, as boards and officers changed, OWAA made some mistakes, and one of them was the purchase of an office.
In recent years, after the unfortunate turn of events, we found that the cost of the office was more than we could afford, but at last we are out from under it.
The justification for renting an office is the same today as it was when Ed Hanson rented in Milwaukee and Sylvia Bashline rented in State Collage [sic]. All we need is an office, not a shrine. It matters not where the office is, because the work of headquarters can be conducted as well in Fort Lauderdale as in Seattle. It’s merely an office with a mailing address.
All but one current board candidate stated that our biggest challenge is membership. We are smaller than we used to be, and we can less afford to purchase a building than anytime in our history. All we need is a rented office.
I plead with the board and the officers to rethink this idea of reinvesting in yet another building. Please keep OWAA out of another fiscal disaster.
— George Harrison Hubertus, Wisc.
Mistake to own HQs building
