As of mid-July, invoices over 90 days past due tallied nearly $73,000. This is believed to be primarily the result of having changed to email-only invoices about a year ago. After a mailing explaining the billing difficulties, the past due amount was reduced to around $50,000 by late-August. Incoming payments dropped off at that point, so collection calls were made to the remaining members with a balance over 90 days past due.

Alcor’s 2006 taxes have been completed. Interviews of several local firms have concluded and are final proposals and references are being collected for presentation to the board of directors, who will select the firm to conduct Alcor’s annual review and/or audit.

Probate Matters
The A-2309 last-minute case is in a state of limbo because of the lack of an executor for the estate. There is no one to carry out the decedent’s wishes. Several strategies are being discussed with our attorneys.

The A-1097 probate also continues. Renovations on the property bequeathed to Alcor are complete and the house is listed for sale at a competitive price. Our realtors recently held the first open house. Alcor was informed this month that it is the beneficiary listed on this patient’s IRA account and the funds can be distributed independent of the probate proceedings.

Paul Battista would to start a cryonics group to meet on a regular basis in the Chicago, IL area.

The primary purpose for these meetings would be to provide opportunities for like-minded people to discuss topics of interest pertaining to cryonics and related fields.

If you are interested in building a sustainable cryonics community in the Chicago, IL area please email Paul at: pbatt72@hotmail.com.

We cryopreserved a member’s dog that died last week. The member knew his dog was ill and has been making pre-payments toward the preservation for some time. The dog was shipped to us on dry ice and has been cooled. Alcor now has 32 pets in its care.

As mentioned briefly last month, I held a training session in western Canada. Ben Best was also on hand to discuss Cryonics Institute policies with regard to stabilizations. There were eight students and a couple family members dropped in for short periods. I had some interesting customs issues when crossing the border, which require additional investigation. We may wish to have the Cryonics Society of Canada formally request our presence prior to any future training sessions.

Renovations to the lab spaces continue. I’ve completed a design for renovations to our dry lab, cardiopulmonary bypass lab and old operating room. Subsequent to the renovation, we will be going through our surgical and cryopreservation supplies inventory and replacing expired items. We intend to continue our reorganization efforts until the entire facility is both tidy and functional, in the process clearing out thirteen years worth of clutter.

We are continuing our search for a new accounting firm. A meeting with Ernst and Young led to a few more leads on potential firms. We have another meeting set up for next week, and hope to have three suitable candidates soon. Our 2006 taxes have been completed by one of the candidate firms, Woods and Dwyer. We are pleased with the timeliness of their preparation, providing a significant contrast to our former firm.

A production company filming for Modern Marvels recently visited Alcor to film the facility and gather research information on the cryopreservation process for their upcoming program on the History Channel. While visiting Alcor the crew arrived just in time to film the transfer of Alcor’s latest patient from a temporary cool down dewar to a permanent dewar. The piece will also include a brief overview of the main steps of a cryopreservation process.

Modern Marvels Episode: Deep Freeze will officially be airing on the History Channel on Tuesday, September 25th at 8pm EST.

Here is a link with more info:
www.history.com
Mark your calendars and spread the word!