Keep your membership cards

[crpeck]

If you've not already tossed your membership card from last year, please hang on to them for a bit.

I'm exploring the idea of printing unique renewal stickers to go on them instead of printing all new cards.

The cards are really nice this year and they were expensive.

Don't know yet if it's going to work. Am checking cost, logistics and inquiring about sponsor acceptance of the idea.

Thanks!
Cathy

 

[amandass21]

I bought mine in the early spring, will it expire in one year from date of purchase or this month?

 

[crpeck]

Look at your card please. When does it say "valid until"?

This is kind of what I'm trying to work out and we may need to vote on a policy the next meeting. I'm pulling all the dues records to put in the new system to track membership and can see that we've been inconsistent with how we've handled it.

The intention was for memberships to run from July to June each year with the month of July being a grace period with the old cards valid during the time to renew. The inconsistency is with mid year enrollments. Some people have asked for prorations and others have not so we need to all agree on how we want to do things so it is fair to everyone.

See what your card says. I'm just waiting for some information and will post back with how I recommend we do this going forward.

Thanks
Cathy

I'm putting all the membership into a software that will make it easy to track.

 

[sperry]

I like the idea of prorating renewals and keeping everyone on the same schedule. I think in the long run it would be less effort and confusion.

 

[bshumake]

Some of us gave our cards to unruly 2 and 3 year olds, who promptly fed them to the just as unruly dog.

 

[sperry]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10515270#post10515270 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bshumake
Some of us gave our cards to unruly 2 and 3 year olds, who promptly fed them to the just as unruly dog.

Maybe new cards should have

"Do not fold, spindle, mutilate or feed to dogs"

printed on them. LOL

 

[luckyfish]

Barrett's kids would not read the cards. His dog might, but the boys are like the father, shoot first ask questions later.

 

[Del123]

Don't talk bad about Barrett, he won't do the frag demo at the swap. And we all know he wants to do it.

 

[crpeck]

Okay .... here is the scoop.

We have a bunch of membership cards paid for and pay $33 every time we run a batch, regardless of the size of the batch.

Since we don't save any $ by doing the stickers right now, we might as well do cards. Anyone who renews AFTER I run the next batch of cards will just get a sticker to put on their card until I run the next group of cards. I'll come up with some form of temporary membership card to hold new members over until we accumulate enough cards needed to justify the $33.

Now we need to come up with an agreement on the proration. I've got at least 20 people who paid via PayPal throughout the year and paid the full membership price ... even if they paid in May. I've got about a dozen PMs from people asking me to prorate and figure out how much they owe to renew.

The monthly rate on a regular membership is $2.50 and a family membership is $3.333333333. I really think it is too crazy to go figure all that out and email 20 + people over such a small amount of money. I would hope people would be somewhat willing to contribute a little here and not try to prorate down to a $2.50 difference.

I propose that we agree on the following policy:

If you join the first half of the year (prior to Dec 31) you pay for a full year and your year is up with everyone else on July 1. If you join the 2nd half of the year, you pay half the regular membership and you're covered the 2nd half of the year. If you join after May 15, you just consider it paid through the next year.

The bylaws mention membership as starting the next month after payment but it doesn't say specifically how it should be prorated. We've not been following anything consistent. So for now, I'm going to email everyone who is asking for proration and ask them if this is okay for them to go along with voluntarily.

Dave at Kermits as agreed to go with a membership list to get by until we get new cards. Since we want to order just once for quite a while, let's give it one more week. I'll post a new thread to get everyone's attention that they need to get their payment in by next Friday in order to get a new card now.

Agreed?

 

[bshumake]

Also, please everyone remember that the Kermit's discount is a courtesy entended from Dave to us. Its not a right. If you go in and want something and are denied because of lack of ID or whatever take it in stride. I have not been given the discount because I didn't have my card and I knew that that was going to happen. There are rules and we have to follow them.

 

[eyebedam]

The Mtrc bunch should piggyback on your card order to replace our cards. They are nowhere as nice as yalls cards.

 

[sperry]

If you join the first half of the year (prior to Dec 31) you pay for a full year and your year is up with everyone else on July 1. If you join the 2nd half of the year, you pay half the regular membership and you're covered the 2nd half of the year. If you join after May 15, you just consider it paid through the next year.

This makes my head hurt.

You mean since the "club year" starts July1
Join July 1 ~ Dec 31 = full price
Join Jan 1 ~ May 14 = half price
Join May 15 = full price but you don't pay again until the July of next year

It seems like it would be easier and more fair if --
With the current member's that would be affected agreement. We go with this plan for the past year. Then going forward as new members join we prorate it based on your figures of $2.50 and $3.33 a month. I don't see that as a single member joins it would be much trouble to do the proration. Unless we get a HUGE influx based on the success of the Frag Swap.

 

[crpeck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10536937#post10536937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sperry
This makes my head hurt.

You mean since the "club year" starts July1
Join July 1 ~ Dec 31 = full price
Join Jan 1 ~ May 14 = half price
Join May 15 = full price but you don't pay again until the July of next year

Yep .. that's exactly what I'm suggesting. Thanks for explaining it better than I did. I really think that it is easiest and reasonable but if people aren't comfortable with it, we should probably bring it up and vote at the next meeting. If anyone feels that it's "not fair", then I'll continue to prorate everyone monthly. It's not THAT big of a deal. It's just takes a little extra time which adds up.

I think that joining should be about supporting the club and our efforts at promoting the hobby so a couple bucks difference between once month or another shouldn't matter to people. The more dues we can raise, the more we can do such as the upcoming frag swap.

Since I'm doing the bookkeeping as a volunteer, I would just appreciate it if things could be kept as simple as possible. But I certainly will take the time needed to do it right if people feel that monthly proration of dues is important.

Once the pre-purchased cards are out, it really would be easiest to just issue people a card good for a year when they join and let them renew when their time is up.

I've got all the current renewals in the system. Next, I'm going back to pick up the people who paid last year to encourage renewal and we'll see how it goes.

thanks
Cathy

 

[sperry]

And we GREATLY appreciate your work in book keeping Lord knows you guys wouldn't want me doing it. LOL So the new cards wont have the persons name on it allowing it to be given out anytime to anyone? Will your system easily show you who is due to expire when? I'm all for what ever you think is easiest on you.

It might be possible to get Guido to go and "visit" people who haven't paid to "encourage" them. :eek2:

 

[crpeck]

Yes, the software I set up can easily print a list of who is up for renewal and I can even invoice them via email.

The cards will always need a name on them. We may choose to do the same thing again when the time is up. These are really nice looking cards that we have. That decision doesn't need to be made for a while since we still have quite a supply of the existing cards. (a year or more)

Until then, we need everyone to renew as close as possible to the same time so we don't pay the $33 batch price mroe often than necessary.

Sorry to confuse things. Right now, I'm not suggesting that we change from renewing everyone on July 1. Now that I have a way to keep track, we can send emails out when its time to renew next year so it won't be so cumbersome.

 

[GreyhoundTrish]

When I called about my new pump I needed to replace, KR said they were expecting a membership list and were going to go from that with ID. Have they gotten that list now? I know that seemed like a good solution. And if I already missed the answer to this somewhere, just try not to hurt me...to much. :rolleye1:

 

[Del123]

They had it today when I was there.

 

[crpeck]

I sent one Friday and then an updated one Saturday a.m. before they opened. I haven't received any new payments since then that I know of. Will check PayPal and send another updated list Tues a.m. before they open.

 

[GreyhoundTrish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10538734#post10538734 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Del123
They had it today when I was there.

Sure, it figures, AFTER I had the emergency and needed the pump, but that was at like 5:00 or so, and they said on the phone they didn't have it. Hmm....

Are Adrian and I on the list. Just making sure. I did send the paypal for our family membership.