Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 21:14:25 -0400
To: corps@west-point.org
From: Warren Hearnes <whearnes@west-point.org>
Subject: WP-ORG: Continuous Improvement of Existing Services
WP-ORG Users:
As we enter the third week of our fund drive, I'd like to thank those of you who've donated. We're over 35% of the way to our goal and we appreciate your support. Meeting this goal allows WP-ORG to continue to provide its variety of services to grads and parents, as we've done since 1996. Not only are we bringing new items online, like the Ward Book application Jack Price discussed in last week's message, but we're also continually improving the applications and services that we currently have. In this week's message, I want to tell you about a couple of things that I've been involved with: Improving the USMA '89 web page and revamping the WP-ORG Online Store.
First, as Class Information Officer for '89, I moderate our class e-mail list and maintain our class web page. Our web page was in a strong need of improvement, especially with classmates in combat and our 15th-year reunion coming up in 2004. After WP-ORG's complete rebuild of our system last year, it now offers two items that are becoming very popular for creating interactive web sites -- the PHP programming language and a MySQL database. We've taken advantage of that and created a class web page at
http://www.west-point.org/class/usma1989/ [Links for AOL users at bottom of message.]
that allows classmates to vote on issues and log into secure areas for discussions that are limited only to the class (reunion info, names of classmates in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc.). We're glad that WP-ORG provides this service to the class for free. It will be an invaluable tool for our class in the coming year.
Second, we've totally revamped the WP-ORG Online Store. This is a web "storefront" that links directly to Amazon.com. Any sales through this storefront generate a small commission for WP-ORG paid by Amazon, but at no extra cost to the buyer. We started this as a way to provide an online library of books that might be of interest to our users. One of the most popular items is the "Books by Graduates" section. When I first started tracking this, we only had a handful of books. We are now at 230+ and have over 90 grads listed as authors. This "Books by Graduates" section is at
http://gradstore.west-point.org/booksbygrads.html
sorted alphabetically at the top of the page and by graduation year at the bottom. If you're going to buy anything through Amazon.com, buying through our storefront is a *great* way to support WP-ORG. We get the maximum level of commission if you buy using the "Buy from Amazon.com" link on any item. If you know of a grad's book that is not listed, please submit it via
http://gradstore.west-point.org/listing_request.html
or if you want to buy something that you don't see, use the search engine on the page.
If you would like to donate to WP-ORG by credit card, please go to:
https://www-secure.west-point.org/donate/
Or you may send a check made payable to WP-ORG:
WP-ORG
P.O. Box 595
Floyd, VA 24091-0595
Please be sure to indicate your affiliation and year on your check. For a report on the current fund drive's status, FD13 Donation Report, sorted by WP-ORG member group, etc., go to:
https://www-secure.west-point.org/donate/report
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Warren Hearnes '89
____________________________________________________________________
WP-ORG Inc. gratefully recognizes the Army Air Force Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA)
as sponsor of WP-ORG's Fund Drive 13. Please take a look at their homepage: http://www.aafmaa.com
AOL Links to Items Above:
<a href="http://www.west-point.org/class/usma1989/">
Class of 1989 Web Page</a>
<a href="http://gradstore.west-point.org/booksbygrads.html">
Books by Graduates</a>
<a href="http://gradstore.west-point.org/listing_request.html">
Visit WP-ORG Online Store</a>
<a href="https://www-secure.west-point.org/donate/>"
Donate to FD13 by Credit Card</a>
<a href="https://www-secure.west-point.org/donate/report">
FD13 Donation Report</a>