PRA E-Alert ready for subscribers

[PW_Plack]

The first edition of the PRA E-Alert just went out to 2314 e-mail addresses from the PRA's database. There will be a second release this weekend, and I'd encourage anyone who would like PRA's new FREE e-mail newsletter to sign up now.

( Edit: ) Guys, please sign up only as individuals. If your club or chapter has a group e-mail address, use it to send an e-mail suggesting everyone sign up, or forward the E-Alert to the list when it arrives, but please don't enter the group mailing list as the subscriber. There are several reasons for this. Among the goals of this project is to gauge how many active rotorcraft hobbyists are out there, so we need the count. The federal "Can Spam Act" requires we have the individual permission of subscribers. One overflowing Yahoo mailbox (which happens a LOT) can cause an entire Yahoo Groups mailing list to be auto-deleted by the E-Alert's software. Let's don't go there. Individuals only, please.

Click this link (http://www.voiceswest.com/policy.html) to get the rules, and procede to the sign-up form. You'll see a confirmation message appear once you submit it if it's filled out correctly.

I'll send to new subscribers again sometime this weekend.

This first issue contains info about El Mirage and ROC, and more.

Critiques are welcome after you receive it.

[Timchick]

I just checked my email. Nothing so far. How do we know if PRA has our email addresses on file? Should I fill out the form? Can you weed out duplicates if I fill out the form and my address is already on file?

[gyroplanes]

No e-alert here either.

[M. Pearce]

PW,

I didn't get one either.

Signed up for it anyway.

We thank you for your support!

[PW_Plack]

Guys,

This e-mail database comes from addresses provided PRA at the time you joined or renewed at some point. Unfortunately, there was no real mechanism for keeping the list current. Judging by the number of Compuserve and Web TV addresses, I'd guess a fair number of people have changed e-mail addresses over the years.

We knew we'd need to do some housecleaning when the list was used the first time. If you didn't get the E-Alert tonight, it means we don't have you correct on the list. Go ahead and sign back up.

[Heron]

I received mine, thanks a bunch!
I am very happy with this feature, Paul you da man!
Let me sign up now!
Go PRA!
Heron

[Chuck Roberg]

Got mine this morning. Nice format.

Keep em coming.

[RayPierce]

I've seen it!
And it is Great!!!

Good job!

THis is definitely a winner!

[SNelson]

Found mine this morning in email.

Looks great, thanks for the hard work and dedication.
Greatly appreciated.:D

Sig in San Bernardino :yo:

[Dean_Dolph]

Hey, Paul, got mine. Guess you knew that!

Great job and thanks for setting an example for others who have an idea for PRA promotion. Actually there is at least one more volunteer (no, its not me!) that is doing some good things.

PRA Volunteers rule!

[gyrogreg]

Much thanks to Paul for suggesting this and taking it on. None of us really reallize what work Paul has put into this. Hopefully the really hard part is done now. But, Paul will be trying to make improvements as we go.

You all could help Paul by sending all your scheduled events to him, any suggestions, etc. I suspect Paul would glady accept any volunteer help on anything you can help him with.

While you are keeping your chapter's events updated, send this also to the Magazine editor and the Webmaster:

Rotorcraft Magazine Editor - Rick Gilley: cra40@earthlink.net
PRA Webmaster - Tim Blackwell: tblackwell@makosurgical.com

Thanks Paul, and Thanks All - Greg Gremminger

[Udi]

Paul - I didn't get it so I went to your link and entered my info and still didn't get anything. Entered it again and still nothing...

Am I banned?

Thanks

Udi

[PW_Plack]

Udi,

Once added to the database, you'll get the next edition of the newsletter, but you won't get any already sent. The first one went out in the wee hours of Friday morning. I'll be resending to all the new subscribers by the end of the weekend.

Did you get the e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription, and click the confirmation link?

[Udi]

No, I did not get the confirmation email, that's the problem...

[Kevin_Richey]

No, I did not get the confirmation email, that's the problem...

Same deal here for me. too, Paul...

[Timchick]

I filled out the form also and never got an email asking to confirm.

[PW_Plack]

Guys,

I turned off the e-mail confirmation feature, and reset the forms to match.

The automated sign-up appears to be working. The bad news - the last couple people who signed up, since about 2am Eastern Time Saturday morning, have disappeared from the database.

Please try again. We'll make this work!

[Timchick]

OK. I just re-registered. Let's see if that works.

[Heron]

I am all signed up and confirmed!
thanks
Heron

[13brv3]

I filled out the form a couple days ago, and never got an email confirmation. I just tried it again, and still no confirmation, other than the web page message that says I'm added to the list. I guess I'll wait and see if I get the e-alert.

BTW, I did check my spam folder on Bellsouth's comm center to see if the message got intercepted. Unfortunately, all I discovered there was that I need some online drugs to enhance my "performance", and I'll never be popular with women, despite the fact that I appear to have won a number of lotteries, and have inherited lots of money from people I don't know :rolleyes:

Thanks,
Rusty


UPDATE- I got my email alert tonight, so I should be good to go. Thanks.

[Paul_in_Ohio]

Paul,
Is it still working? I only had fields for e-mail, first name & last name to fill out with out a complete or submit button to process the info.

[rgraffeo]

It took a few days but I finally got my email alert tonight.
It looks great, this will be a great tool to get news about the local chapters.

I forwarded it to 12 folks on my email list.

[PW_Plack]

Rusty, I eliminated the "double opt-in" feature, so the congrats message from IntelliContact is all you'll see. If you got that, you're in.

Paul, you should have seen fields for e-mail, first & last name, address, and a check-box for PRA membership. Only name, e-mail and zip code are required fields.

Rudy, if you use the "forward to a friend" link at the bottom, they'll be invited to join the list to get the E-Alert directly, which will help us.

Thanks, guys! There were a bunch of new sign-ups today, so the form thing must be working.

[RonK]

I checked in the to signup for the newsletter and all went well. BUT I have not yet received anything. How long does it normally take. I also joined the PRA via the website with no problems. Maybe that caused a conflict.
Regards,

[GyroRon]

I didn't get one, Paul you have my email address.

[Harry_S.]

I checked in the to signup for the newsletter and all went well. BUT I have not yet received anything. How long does it normally take. I also joined the PRA via the website with no problems. Maybe that caused a conflict.
Regards,


Ron;

I filled out the form on Thur. I think, and got my confirmation in the mail this morning.

I don't think we will get a newsletter for a couple weeks...but I'm not too sure about that.


Cheers :)

[PW_Plack]

Guys,

The newsletter doesn't fire off automatically when you sign up. You're just on the list for the next one.

Because of that, I'm going to schedule a send for late tonight, just to the new people who subscribe over the weekend.

Ron, the subscription part is not done manually, and doesn't use my e-mail address book. Just click here (http://www.voiceswest.com/policy.html) and put in your info when you get a chance.

Thanks guys!

[Dean_Dolph]

Just for the record, I found that it is easier to forward the Ealert like Rudy did by using my Outlook Express address book than typing in my 'friends' name as required by the email alert. Now, if there were some way to link to that address book, it would be a different story.

[Rotornut]

Catfish got his and he liked! Great Job Tim and any others involved.
It is Wonderful to get this Email from PRA website. Keep them Coming!
Such great Volunteer work and it Will Pay Off. I went there and things are Looking up for PRA and Chapters. MJ :)

Rusty should be Proud and happy for all the Volunteer help he is getting.
Greg and Rusty make a good Team and we will Play! MJ :)

[Dean_Dolph]

MJ, just to set the record straight; this project was Paul's creation from start to finish. He had it blessed by the PRA board and then secured the sponsors and did all the work to get it out. He is the editor and has taken the responsibility of putting this together and then sending it out. This is a great one man volunteer show!

The PRA web site isn't involved in this. I know Tim would not want to get credit for somthing he wasn't involved in.

[Rotornut]

Paul has been in touch with me, gave me lots of food for Thought.
Thanks Paul for Stepping up with your ideas and Thoughts they are Wonderful.
I have learned many things from reading your post. Thanks for Including Sunstate in your emails. We need all the Ideas and Help we can get in order to help PRA Grow. Which has been Sunstates Goal, and has been since Bud O'Neal instilled it into all of our members thoughts. God Love Bud O'neal a True Fighter for PRA and General Aviaiation Knowldege Thanks Bud we miss ya :(

Dean your help is well accepted and need keep up the Great Volunteer work you have done for all of us in the Gyro World.

We are coming along as a club and trying to encourage more to fly with us, not matter what they fly, we want their interest in aviation. MJ :)

Joe Pirres and his wife have been a big help in comminucating with other newbies that show up and we appreciate his time and help with the club.

Mike Radford is good at spreading the word to lots of different types of flying machines, and we appreciate all he does for the club. Thanks Mike :)

MJ :)

[gyroplanes]

Paul, I did receive my e-alert. I should have remembered to check my spam folder. There it was, among my millions in Nigerian money. It's in my accepted folder now. The e-alert is a great contribution to the value of the PRA.
Thanks.

[Airbike]

Hi Paul,

Clicked on the link late last week, filled it out and sent it back. Received the e-mail to register again yesterday filled it out too and sent it back. Haven't received anything else and double checked my spam folder.

Not complaining, just don't know if something is wrong. e-mail is evanpraag@yahoo.com and I do belong to PRA.

Thanks,

Eric VanPraag
Air Command CLT 582

[PW_Plack]

Eric,

I checked, and you were on the list as of Friday, but that was after the first issue was sent. We used a "starter" list from PRA, and waited to see how many of the addresses on it were obsolete before opening subscription further.

I'll send a second release out tomorrow to new subscribers who used the automated system.

When you first sign up, you will see only a screen that confirms you've been successful. You won't have anything in your e-mail until the next issue is sent.

I'm investigating a setting which may allow each new subscriber to receive the most recent back-issue automatically.

[Rotornut]

PRA has come far and is looking Good. Richard and Me both Enjoyed reading the e-mail gram. Hats Off to all who Helped in this project. MJ :)

[Airbike]

I appreciate what you’re doing for us Paul.


Thanks,

Eric VanPraag
Air Command CLT 582

[PW_Plack]

If everything works as it's supposed to, about 300 new subscribers who signed up between 1am Pacific on September 15th, and 4pm Pacific today, should just have received a re-send of the first issue of the PRA E-Alert.

From now on, new subscribers should receive the most recent issue immediately upon signing up.

I believe a handful of today's new subscribers may receive two copies, and there may have been a few new subscribers in the early morning hours of the 15th who didn't get one at all, but everything should be fixed now.

Thanks to the 300+ forum members who served as "guinea pigs" to help me work out the bugs in the automated subscription process!

[Airbike]

Got mine-thanks!


Eric VanPraag
Air Command CLT 582

[John Stahl]

Yes!!!
I got it I got it I got it !!!! :whoo:

[13brv3]

Good work Paul. I got my email today, and it looks great.

Rusty

[Timchick]

Received mine also. Thanks.

[gyromike]

Got mine too.
Pretty cool.

[Udi]

hmm... Still have not received my copy (unless you send it under the heading "zw CIALI, XANA, VIAGR, VALIU FROM $1.14/PILL similar degree"). I have signed up 4 times already, the latest 5 minutes ago... Paul, can you check if I am in the mailing list? gyroplane at bigfoot d0t com.

Udi

[PW_Plack]

Udi, I saw your name on the list, address seems correct. If you're not running aggressive spam filtering, your ISP may be.

[Rando]

What happened to the PRA E-Alerts?

[PW_Plack]

Randy, watch for the next one this coming week. Things may be a little slow through the holidays.

[Dean_Dolph]

Paul, please let us know when the next E-Alert goes out.

I didn't get the last one and it may very well be because of my ISP filtering. If I know when it goes out then I can check with the ISP if I don't get it. I got the first one so don't know what happened to the last one.

[Rando]

Randy, watch for the next one this coming week. Things may be a little slow through the holidays.What happened to the PRA E-Alerts?

[PW_Plack]

Randy,

It's a combination of very little from chapters this time of year, and I've been double-teamed by increased workload (finally!) and recovery from minor surgery.

A couple more chapters have contributed some news and meeting details, and we even have another new sponsor on-board. We'll have one out before Christmas, in time to get everyone notice of January events.

[Rando]

Any update to the E-Alerts?

[PW_Plack]

Randy,

There's enough material coming in now to resume. Just need to huddle with the sponsors for a restart.

Watch for a new one late this week, with including some important info from PRA.