Hey Kevin,

I agree that apathy is a big part of the problem.  I am always surprised that there are so many abstractors who prefer to bury their head in the sand than to be proactive on an industry level. 

One of my favorite movies is "Other People's Money" with Danny DeVito.  He gives one of the best speeches I have ever heard at a stockholders meeting for the company he is trying to take over.  The company makes copper wire and he likens it to the buggy whip industry.  He says something like "the surest way to go out of business is to capture a larger share of a shrinking market.  At one time there was a company that made the best buggy whips on the market and they kept making the best buggy whips until they went out of business."  That has always stuck with me.

We have a similar problem, the demand for our product is disappearing.  We can all start fighting for a larger share of our shrinking market - or we can adapt to the changes and find other sources of revenue. 

Just to let you know... NATLEA is still doing well.  There are over 110 members, after our initial year, there were about a dozen or so that did not renew, but they have been replaced membership is still growing.  The membership committee and the public relations committee have been working on organizing a membership drive.  Hopefully it will be a successful one. 

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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