A conversation yesterday with Ned Neiderlander turned (as it always does) to the GAF, it's policies, our musters and what we can do to make them better. At some point I mentioned that I had lost a fairly large sum of money hosting the 2008 Grand Muster, and that it was due in large part to the number of medals we issued that year. Ned commented that since he does not own a dress uniform he is just as happy to receive certificate to commemorate his wins as he is medals. This made me realize that I have now earned a medal for each of the places issued, that is a 1st (gold/blue), a 2nd (silver/red), and 3rd (bronze/white) and our regulations only allow for wearing 1 medal for each place, so while winning medals is nice I don't have need for any more. A certificate; on the other hand, could be displayed on my wall at work or at home. Also we use stars to denote the number of times one has won a place at a Grand Muster. In my case these could be issued in place of another medal.
What I'm suggesting is that muster hosts could save a substantial ammount of money that could be put to bettering the muster itself if they did not have to have medals engraved for each place in each category. A number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals could be produced but not engraved on the reverse. These could be used for pictures of the winners. If the winner of that place did not formerly have a medal for that place he would receive the medal and a certificate. If he had previously received a medal in that placing he would receive a certificate and a star device. If he already has the medal and a star device and the current win would not require an upgrade from , say a bronze star to a silver star, or a silver star to a gold star then he would just receive a certificate..
I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but It makes sense to me. What are your thoughts?