Dear GOAL Board of Directors and Officers, It has come to our attention, based on the 2009 Annual Report, that GOAL is spending over $82,000 dollars a year on "publications." The only publication GOAL releases, that we are aware of, is The Outdoor Message. We are using 2009 figures as, disturbingly, GOAL’s 2010 annual report to its members did NOT contain a financial accounting. We believed the Outdoor Message was an internally produced GOAL publication, however the header information of the Outdoor Message states that it is published by the Outdoor Message Cooperative. Upon investigation, The Outdoor Message Cooperative appears to be an independent entity with no direct relationship to GOAL or the GOAL Foundation. GOAL's member application advises that $7.32 of every $30.00 membership goes to the Outdoor Message. We, as members of GOAL, are concerned as to how our dues are being spent. $7.32 represents almost 25% of the annual membership fee. We would like an explanation as to the relationship between GOAL and the Outdoor Message and a full accounting of how the “publications” monies are spent. “Publications” is the single largest budget item beyond salaries – making up approximately 25% of GOAL’s annual expenses. It appears that the major expenditure for publications is the Outdoor Message. We question if a newsletter to members is the best use for what appears to be the entire publication budget for GOAL. We would like a cost/benefit analysis on the continued use of the Outdoor Message in its current form vs. using all or some of the Publications budget to spread GOAL’s message beyond an obscure monthly read by people who already support gun-rights issues. If GOAL continues with a newsletter, we, as members, demand and investigation into whether or not the newsletter can be produced in a less costly manner by utilizing a different vendor. At the very least a competitive bid process is a clear best-practice that should be instituted when selecting vendors. The Outdoor Message provides two pages for GOAL, the rest being devoted to Gun Club news; which the clubs appear to pay a fee for. $82,000 expended annually appears to be excessive for two pages in a newsletter. Separately, but equally disturbing, is the fact that the Treasurer for the Outdoor Message Cooperative who is also the publisher, appears to be associated with the Board of Directors of GOAL and the GOAL Foundation (this information was obtained from the MA Secretary of State website). Given that The Outdoor Message Cooperative appears to be a wholly independent entity and given that GOAL pays substantial monies to the Outdoor Message Cooperative as a vendor, this appears to present at the very least an appearance of impropriety and raises cause for concern amongst the undersigned members. We would like a full disclosure of who the officers of The Outdoor Message Cooperative are and what, if any, relationship they have to board members, officers and employees of GOAL or the GOAL Foundation. We hope that you, as our duly elected board of directors, will provide us with a satisfactory explanation on these matters. If you do not, we will feel bound to continue this inquiry by other means. Very Truly Yours, The Undersigned Members of GOAL