I am a future member of an association in France, AFB (Association Francaise de Balisong or "French Balisong Association").
The association exists since (approximatively) october 2007, the french state recognized it, papers are done, it is
legal and such. The president's pseudo is "Matnotah" and there are some other important french members such as
"Hannibal", "Cardoso5fr", "Rems", "Machaon" ...
We are still waiting for the bank account to be created and when it is done, membership will start, and people will have to
pay some fee to become a member.
(default membership costs 15 euros and lasts for a year). Members are allowed to "donate" more.
There is an existing website : www.francebalisong.com which has become international recently with the help of
www.balisongforums.com
The aim of the association is to try to show the art in using balisongs and some of our members also make/build custom
balisongs. Of course we also have a few members who love collecting balisongs.
So the association will try as much as possible (everything is limited by the budget from membership fees) to have special
events where :
1) the best "flippers" will teach beginner members tricks and such. Eye protection is required for all members and "cheap"
balisongs will be used for the lessons
2) the association will have an reserved area when there are special knives shows in France such as the SICAC
It will be possible to advertise for different brands, including Benchmade.
3) give some flyers to an adult public to recruit more members
4) some "how to make a balisong by yourself" lessons from our best members
5) some shows in public with authorization
And many others...
For the last 2 SICACs in Paris (2006 and 2007), there were around 10 members of the actual association showing their
skills. It always started as a small circle and then more people came around even people not specially interested in
balisongs. So it does show that the association will have impact on the public.
In fact, we would like to show people that a balisong is not only a weapon, but it is also an object that can be collected
(I think that almost every member of the association at least has a BM42 or a BM32), but is also an object a lot of
artistic potential.
Unfortunately, since the association is quite new, our budget is still quite limited. Which is why we are looking for sponsors.
So I humbly ask if Benchmade can sponsor us?
I do not know exactly in what way you can help us if you are willing to, but thank you very much for you interest in any
case.
Vous remarquerez que j'ai lacher le max d'arguments pour essayer de convaincre lol.
j'ai recu une petite réponse aujourd'hui
Joey,
Please call me at your convenience to talk about a sponsorship. I may be able to send you some Benchmade Banners, posters, and t-shirts to wear during your competition.
Emily DuPlessis
Public Relations Coordinator
Benchmade Knife Co.
503 655 6004 (125)
503 880 5316 (cell)
www.benchmade.com
Donc je pense qu'il est très rentable de l'appeler, ce que je ferai un soir quand j'aurai le temps.
lalala
