Yesterday at our All Hands Meeting, we were given some great news, that our Annual Fundraiser known as "Give 5" ,was under way.  And yes folks, the "hype" is real.  

We hold the annual fundraiser because it is how we at TAW cover our expenses.  Everything from Server Costs, to TS, Licencing and more.

Overview

2017 Total Revenue: $6,569.15

2017 Total Expense: $6,639.19

TAW 2017 Budget chart

Fundraiser will be conducted from April 29 - May 27.

Targets

If all members donated.

2,700 members @ $5 = $13,500

This would mean we would not need another fundraiser whilst current CIC

Realistically would only expect half of the the members to donate.

1,350 members @ $5 = $6,750

Would still need a fundraiser next year. if did not have one towards end of  this year.

Yup, those are some BIG numbers adding up right quick, but when broken down, it's really something so simple as donating $5 to our Community Fund......but WAIT!  There is another way my friend that YOU can qualify to GIVE 5!

That's right, there is another way.  In fact, it's a win - win way.  So first thing you have to do is go to either NA or EU Shop and go to the Fundraiser Section (being the nice guy I am, the links will take you right there...you're welcome ).So from here, you now have options.  First, choose any of the Give 5 products (2017 or 2018 Designs both qualify) and make the purchase.  Second, click on the "CREATE"  option which is found underneath the header, pick your product you want it on -> Select either Give 5 Design (choose the colors you want the design to be) -> Add you callsign/division somewhere (extra cost for this part)-> continue shopping or finalize purchase.

There you go, now you have just ...nope, wait not yet.  One more step, and that's to let us know that you did make the purchase by filling out the Give 5 Shop Verification Form.

So now you've just "Given 5", got yourself some cool swag, also filled out the normal Shop Verification Form to get your Swagster Tab issued to you for making a purchase, but the best thing is, you made the purchase between May 2-7 and ended up getting FREE SHIPPING!!!!  Yes, that's right!  From May 2nd - May 7th, our supplier is giving FREE SHIPPING on all Shop purchases.  So make sure you selected this option and saved yourself those shipping charges.

PROMO: Free Shipping (.com/.ca/au Shop)

WHEN: May 2-3

CODE: SHIP2ME

PROMO: Free Shipping (All Shops)

WHEN: May 4-6

CODE: SHIP2ME

PROMO: Free Shipping (EU Only)

WHEN: May 7

CODE: SHIP2ME

There you go, Free Shipping to save some money & you were able to "Give 5".  It's a match made in heaven. Kind of like this....

TAW Fundraiser

Overview

2017 Total Revenue: $6,569.15
2017 Total Expense: $6,639.19
TAW 2017 Budget chart
Fundraiser will be conducted from April 29 - May 27.

Targets

If all members donated.

2,600 members @ $5 = $13,000

This would mean we would not need another fundraiser whilst current CIC

Realistically would only expect half of the the members to donate.

1,350 members @ $5 = $6,500

Would still need a fundraiser next year. if did not have one towards end of  this year.

Promoting Fundraiser

Announcing at TAW all hands meeting
Discuss and promote at a TFO Round Table
Use of all Media from OC
CC/TFO to mention in meetings with their units.
Blog post an announcing each $500 increment on the fundraiser

Contribution Commendation Recognition

Creations of three tabs:-

Bronze - $5  donation
Silver - $10  donation
Gold - $20  donation

Use Volunteer  Medal for anything over $100  donation

Activities

During fundraiser period, maybe have various organised fundraising events members.

Entry fee organized tournament
Quiz night
TBA

Donate HERE

Well folks, it's that time of year again, our Annual Give 5 Fundraiser.  Where all the proceeds go to our TAW Community Fund and help keep this beautiful beast we call TAW, ALIVE.  It's Alive!!!!!!

Last year, we released our first ever "Give 5" Apparel, clothing for our members to wear.  When the Shop did that, we had the clothing limited to what it was on.  This year, we changed it.  Now, you can edit the product and add out Give 5 Design to ANYTHING in the Shop.  Now THAT is a lot of options.

And now, TAW Shop proudly give you the 2018 Give 5 clothes.

When you make a purchase, please fill out the Verification Form.  This will qualify you for the Swagster Tab.

Please also fill out our Give 5 Shop Verification Form.  This allows us to track any Give 5 Shop Purchases.

With that, we welcome you to the Shop and let's the purchasing begin.

Hey everyone!

Due to some technical issues with the submitted videos, I'd like to ask you guys to please share the videos that you want in the contest with philvptaw@gmail.com.

Please make sure you also send an email to me with the video title, a thumbnail as well as the video description.

The videos will be uploaded on Wednesday, May 2nd, the voting period will last two weeks (until May 16th), both likes and views will be counted to determine the winner.

Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience,

PhilvP [SOCOP SO]

Batten down the hatches, hoist the main sails, swap the poop deck...no really, someone's dog made a mess over there...eww.  Most importantly, SET YOUR CLOCKS!  Next Sunday, April 29th, make sure your calendar is clear because you will not want to miss this!

TAW ALL HANDS MEETING!!!!!!

I said "All Hands"Jim, not Jazz Hands....jeez.

What's on the Agenda?  

Well to start, we're going to have our very own CiC Kingcheese kick the party off right, he's giving out cookies.

The full agenda is posted in the "TAW ALL HANDS MEETING" channel, found in "TAW OPERATIONS &COMMAND", near the top of TeamSpeak. 

But some of the topics that will be covered, are worth giving a mention right now.

1. REDUCED CORPS: It's already happened, we've all adjusted, but we're going to recap on it.
2. POLICY ADJUSTMENT/PROJECTS: This is going to affect us all, so whether you're a RECRUIT or a CC/CLC, this is something worth dropping in for.
3. GUMP MEDAL STORY: Really....who doesn't like to hear about someone getting a Gump Medal?  If nothing else brightens up your day, this should.
4. FUNDRAISER: This is one of the one's I'm vibrating in my chair about.  Every year, we hold an annual fundraiser, lovingly labelled as "Give 5 Fundraiser".  Now before you explode with anticipation or roll your eyes, know that the this fundraiser is what helps ALL of TAW.  Our fundraiser helps cover the cost of stuff like our TS Server, the Private Servers that some of our games require, Licensing Fees, etc.  So if you're thinking that this doesn't affect you, it does.  Along with the announcement, Shop will be unveiling the 2018 design for our "Give 5", which will be templated onto 1 men's T-Shirt, 1 women's T-Shirt and Unisex Hoodie.  As always, you can add the design to any of our products.  A separate form will be posted in TAW Shop to fill out regarding purchasing of Give 5 Products from the Shop.  Details to be mentioned during this section.  Certainly worth showing up for.
5. MESSAGES FROM OPS & ARMY COMMAND:  Seeing as how every one of us is in one or the other, it's certainly worth attending this section.  This is where some really cool stuff happens that you won't want to miss.
6. VANGUARD:  We're having another game launch from Vanguard.  Please attend to show them support as they transition from VG to the Corps.  For anyone who's ever been in a Division while this has happened, you know it's a momentous occasion, so please show your support.
7. 10 YEARS:  We actually have Divisions that have been around 10 Years!  This is HUGE!!!! Come and celebrate this epic moment with us.
8. CORPS UPDATES: Corps 1-7 & VG will be announcing some updates.  This is always useful to know what's going on.
9. COMMENDATIONS & MEDALS:  Shiny objects shall rain from the heavens as they open up to cascade us with gold and silver objects bombarding our members like a Battlefield Artillery Strike.

So once again, the date is April 29th, and it's going to be filled with so much awesomeness.

That's right folks, Shop is pleased to announce that Construction has completed in the TAW Shop on both NA and EU sides.  The goal of the construction was to make Shopping and finding that right product so much easier for you, the consumer.  We hope that our goal was accomplished.  As always, almost every product in the TAW Shop can be edited to add callsigns, change the design logo, change the product, change the color of the product/lettering, etc.  If for some reason you have issues making one of the previously mentioned changes, use the "Create Tool" found on the respective Shop homepages.  

To do the changes that we did, we had to gut the entire Shop on both sides, strip it down to nothing and build it back up.  We made this decision for one reason and one reason only, YOU.  You, the TAW member, who wants that item you've been longing for but can never find.  Online Shopping is never easy, trying to find that specific product, but now it is.

CHANGES MADE

1. New Topic Listings: Both NA & EU Shops now have mirror channels and new categories to make shopping easier.  The Topics are as follows: Fundraiser(All Fundraiser Designs found here), Logo( Our various TAW Logos), Corps Wear(Currently only Vanguard and Operations...waiting for CC's/CLC's to submit their designs), Division Wear(Full Graphic Designs from some divisions and OG Logos for some others as not all Divisions have submitted a design), Legacy Gear (some of our old designs which we still hold dear to our hearts), Seasonal & Holiday(Valentine's, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas Ugly Sweaters and More), and Templates(See details following)
2. Same designs in each Shop: Before there were some designs not available in one Shop or another, this has been changed.  Both Shops now offer the exact same designs.
3. Unified Look: Majority of the products per design now are placed on Premium Men's T-Shirt, Premium Women's T-Shirt, Unisex Hoodie.  The designs, products and colors of MOST designs/products are able to be edited.
4. TEMPLATES: This was the most time consuming part of this project, to create a base template for EVERY product.  Shopping should never be hard.  If you found a design you really like from the Shop but don't know what product you want it on, this is definitely the section you want to head to.  We have taken the Basic TAW Logo and placed it on EVERY product our supplier has to offer.  This will allow you to now go in and see exactly what products are available.  Want a men's or women's t-shirt, click on "Templates" and then it'll open a new section listing the categories (Men's, Women's, Kids & Babies, Accessories, Cases), and then once selecting your category, you will then see the sub categories.  We will try and keep this section as up to date as possible as our supplier does not inform us when new products have been added.

We hope this makes shopping for all your TAW "needs" easier.  With a new unified look and easier way to find/create products, we're proud to say COME BUY SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!

As we mentioned in our previous post, the TAW Shop is undergoing some serious maintenance in order to make it more easy and friendly for you all.

Because the amount of work exceeded our expectations we put it on hold. The reason for it is: There is a very short promo coming up and it's great!

So please stay up to date with our progress in Rekon's thread to be up to date with the developments!

For now NA is done, and for the time of the promo period we let you purchase EU stuff as it is. Please make the best of it :)

PROMO: 20% off Everything in TAW Shop

WHEN: April 17 - 18

CODE: 20APRIL18

Make sure you do the best of this promo, as it is extremely short and won't happen for a while!

But wait, that's not all!

Once you place your order remember to fill in our form so we can verify your purchase and get you another sweet bonus - TAW Shop Swagster Tab to shine on your dossier!

Social Operations [SOCOP] is proud to announce our Video Spotlight Award Contest

The VSAC is an exciting way for Corps, Divisions, Battalions and Squads to participate in a new TAW wide event.

Here are the Rules:

• The video must be made by one or multiple TAW member(s).
• It must contain game play or a montage of game play (doesn't have to be the game of your division! As long as TAW has it, you're good to go!).
• The length should approximately vary between 10 and 30 min.
• It has to follow the Code of Ethics and thus may not contain any vulgar language.
• Video cannot violate copyright, terms of use and/or any non-disclosure agreements. If there are any violations, the video will not be uploaded and be disqualified (Please refer to our Youtube Requirements for more information).
• You are not required to use ingame replay editors. Any method to get the video recorded is acceptable (such as the console command in TF2, or programs as fraps).
• When submitting the video, it must be uploaded to Google Drive and shared with social@taw.net.
• After the deadline, videos will be uploaded to the TAW YouTube channel.
• The winner will be determined by the video with the most views, so get your friends and division mates to watch and share your video!

Video submission will be from March 25th to April 22nd. After they’ve been uploaded to YouTube, you have two weeks, including Sunday, May 6th, to get the most views. The top 5 videos will be featured in a new TAW Recruitment Video.

NOTE: On Sunday, April 1st, a new TAW intro video will be available. This intro will need to be placed at the beginning of your video (that’s not an April Fools ;)).

If you have any questions, feel free to look for PhilvP [SOCOP SO] or SOFF [SOCOP] on TS up in the SOCOP channels or send an email to social@taw.net.

UPDATE March 13th 2018: Due to medical conditions, SOFF is currently taking a break from everything and due to that will not be able to work on and finish a new TAW intro. Please refer to PhilvP for any questions as well as take the old intro for your videos. This intro can be found here:

Intro

We’re looking forward to seeing all your videos!

Hoppy Easter!

Thank you to everyone who participated in Game Reminiscing: Age of Empires II - The Age of Kings March teamspeak event! Please take a moment to give us your feedback on the events survey!

What kind of music do bunnies like? - Hip Hop.

We’ve had a huge request to have another karaoke night! That being said, I’m egg-citied to announce the next TeamSpeak event will be a Karaoke night on Saturday, 14 April @ 9pm CEST/2pm CST.

Don’t be such a chicken and fill out the song request form or arrive 15 minutes early to pick your song from our egg-cellent DJ! The invitation is open to everyone, feel free to invite a friend.😊

Hop to see you there!

SOCOP Team

Starting Wednesday April 11th, the TAW Shop will be going Under Construction. 

The Shop will still be open for members to make purchases, but we will be doing a bit of an overhaul.  We have decided to do this to make it easier to locate items and designs.  We have found there is a lot of items that are not currently shown for our members, but we also have a bunch of duplicate items which need "condensing".  This is our effort to make Shopping At TAW, easier.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rekon & SheerRoachMonkey.  We will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

This medal is being awarded to KingExotic and Nupidstoob for all their work recently and in the past assisting with support issues in Operations. A recent situation with logins not working and the significant increase in support tickets and the time and effort required to rectify all of them has proven even further to me how much their assistance is vital to TAW's ability to operate on a day to day basis. Thank you both for all the time and patience you have shown now and in the past, and for being one of the often unrecognized, silent heroes of our organization.

Everyone feel free to comment your appreciation for their work:

http://taw.net/commendation/142398.aspx

Ah Spring time, where the snow drifts away (for most of us) and the birds return as we start to get nicer weather.  

But one of the best things about spring, it ditching those bulky coats and being able to walk around in T-Shirts and sweaters again without the fear of getting pneumonia or deathly ill.  It's also a perfect time for baseball hats.  ALL of which we carry in the TAW Shop and more.  So how does our supplier kick off April for TAW?  By giving us 15% off EVERYTHING in the TAW SHOP!  That's right, we're not just going to limit it to baseball hats or hoodies, no, it's every single item in our Shop...even when you customize it.

PROMO: 15% off Everything in TAW Shop

WHEN: April 6 - 10

CODE: 15FORYOU

So crack open that Paypal or break out your Credit Card, because now is a great time to buy what you want.

The EU Meet & Greet in Belgium is getting closer - about 3 weeks to go! 

The weekend itinerary is HERE! If you are able to attend the Comic Con and want to hang out with TAW members, please fill out the Event Regsitration form as some activites require a reservation.

Don't forget to bring you TAW shirt so we can spot you easily at the convention. Shirts can be purchased in the TAW shop! 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask or pop in the SOCOP channel.

Can't wait to see everyone there :)

SOCOP

***********************************************************************************************

Greeting Everyone!

SOCOP will be having their first official EU Meet & Greet, taking place at the FACTS Belgian Comic Con from 7-8 April 2018 in Ghent, Belgium. We would like to invite you to join us in meeting members of TAW!

FACTS Belgian Comic Con, is the home of all things Fantasy, Animation, Comics, Toys, Sci-Fi, Games and Cosplay. Meet stars, watch cool contests and discover the special items you’ve always wanted. Come and join the biggest geeky family of the Benelux, with thousands of like-minded friends and hundreds of things to experience. What are you waiting for?

Tickets are now available:

• VIP Weekend Pass (Priority entry from 9AM, VIP Pack, Goodiebag) - €149.00

• VIP Pass (Priority entry from 9AM, VIP Pack) - €89.00

• Priority Pass (Priority entry from 9AM) - €30.00

• Standard Pass - €18.00

• Cosplay Pass - €13.00

• More ticket Information

For other information on the Belgian Comic Con, please click the following links:Location, Cosplay, Security, Public Transportation.

We look forward to seeing you there!

SOCOP