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Project Ceres


End of the Year Ceres Project Status: Dec. 31, 2002

Dear Ceres Project Members and Prospective Participants,

The Ceres Project was started in late 2002 from an idea by Tom Knapp and L. Neil Smith. I was asked to take it over when I expressed interest in the Project, and because of my background they felt that I could do a good job with it. When I took over, The Ceres Project did not have anything more than an idea: funding through a "patron of the arts" concept the development of a new book by L. Neil Smith called "Ceres."

In just a few short months, we have made significant progress! First, L. Neil Smith has committed to bringing both a book, and a film treatment, of Ceres to life and is incredibly enthusiastic about this Project. It will be his Number One Priority in 2003! Second, we have achieved an very good level of investment - exceeding Neil's expectations, in fact.

L. Neil Smith indicated when we started with the idea, that when we reached the $25,000 level, he would commit to Ceres. This has been achieved - thanks to you individuals. Congratulations on becoming Patrons of the Arts, those of you who have.

And for those who have not, we have a solution for you, too. See below ....


Membership and Participation:

With the December 18th report, I noted that we had added John Walker to The Ceres Project at the Double-Platinum level. The paperwork has been exchanged, and John has joined the Team.

I'm pleased to report that Ron Flanagan has just joined (paperwork in progress) at the Platinum level. Both L. Neil and I would like to welcome Ron to The Ceres Project. He reports that he always wanted to be a patron-of-the-arts!

Current Membership Status (in alphabetical order by last name):

Platinum: Stephen Carville
Platinum: Ron Flanagan
Platinum: David Kinnear
Platinum: Anonymous
Double-Platinum: John Walker
Silver: Daniel Weiner
Platinum: Alan R. Weiss

Total Funds Raised So Far (Committed and Received): $36,000

  • We have outreaches in progress to a number of other people, and we expect to reach our $50,000 goal within a comfortable time-frame.

  • The experience, achievements, and skill sets of The Ceres Project membership is extremely impressive. We have two active CEO's, one former CEO, and who knows WHAT other skills and titles.

Expansion of Marketing Efforts: The Argentine Club:

  • The Argentine Club has been formed by Thomas Knapp, publisher of Rational Review. "Mission: The Argentine Club will raise a fund of $1,000 plus expenses for the purpose of investing, on behalf of its members, in the "silver level" of the Ceres Project. It will distribute the profits resulting from that investment to the club's members in proportion to their contribution to the fund, with one exception." Contact thomaslknapp@yahoo.com if some of your friends are interested at a sub-$1000 level participation. Currently The Argentine Club has a number of participants, furthering our marketing plans by creating more "vested interests in success." Tom reports that he is almost 50% of the way towards Silver Level.

First Meeting Initial Information and Request for Input:

  • The first virtual meeting of The Ceres Project will be after the New Year, and I have made arrangements with my friends at WebEx to have this hosted on their system. It will be a conference call AND an online forum (private and secure), and will include real-time video of L. Neil Smith, a presentation in Powerpoint (you will not have to buy Powerpoint - WebEx takes care of all of it), and other interesting goodies. Its a great way to meet L. Neil Smith, ask him questions, and he will present a synopsis of the book Ceres. Should be fun. NOTE: This is for Ceres Project members only.

Request for Input: Website or Yahoo Group?

At the last Status Report, I requested input on how we should communicate with each other. The vote so far is to have a Ceres Project Website with a PUBLIC section AND a PRIVATE section.

Please vote and comment on the above if you have not done so already.

The Ceres Project: Nature and Goals:

The Ceres Project is in some senses a sponsorship, or patronage, of the arts. In this case, it is also an investment club type opportunity as well, but the main focus is to bring a blockbuster libertarian / pro 2nd Amendment book, Ceres to life - and to focus on widespread distribution. With a planned film treatment as part of the Project, we believe the time is right to break out of the "libertarian science fiction" genre and "go mainstream", a la Michael Crichton.

Marketing plans are right on schedule, and L. Neil Smith reports finishing up his current assignments (including a comic book treatment of The Probability Broach with noted artist Scott Bieser) on schedule as well.

Contact Information:

Alan R. Weiss alan@ebenchmarks.com - Ceres Project items, details, administration

L. Neil Smith: lneil@lneilsmith.org - Ceres book related questions


Disclaimer

  • Alan R. Weiss is not taking a management fee for his services as Chairman / Coordinator of The Ceres Project

  • L. Neil Smith may or may not be able to answer your queries in a timely manner, based on his work schedules (we have him lashed to the yoke!). You can always try - he usually answers things in a week or less. Alan responds in a day or less, typically.

  • The Ceres Project is a private members-only investment club. If you have a person that you wish to nominate, please contact Alan and/or Neil.

Alan R. Weiss, for
The Ceres Project


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