<VV> 100% CORSA Membership

[henry kaczmarek]

Bruce
Interesting message--DO NOT take any of my remarks as a personal shot at 
you. Not intended to be that way whatsoever.


Subject: <VV> 100% CORSA Membership


>A couple of weeks ago, when everybody was complaining about everything they 
>didn't like about CORSA and the Communique, there were some comments about 
>chapters getting all of their members to join CORSA - obtaining 100% CORSA 
>membership.

Hank sez:
Just like your neighbors to the North.  In NC,  you want to join our club?? 
OK.  (I guess) Based on the premise  that you have money  to own and restore 
a collector car, Join CORSA NC chapter for 12.00, and Join CORSA for 35.00. 
The alternative is,  don't join our club. Don't take advantage of our 
resources, assistance, the Insurance for our events that CORSA pays for, etc 
etc.

"Non Joiners" won't join the club if you kiss their tail in the Courthouse 
Square, and pay their dues for them. That's a fact of life.

And we have to remember that Cal, Lon, Larry and other vendors have lists of 
customers numbering in the THOUSANDS that don't belong to CORSA, OR a local 
club. What their problem is, I can't fathom.
>
Bruce sez:
> We gave the topic much thought. This is what we came up with.
>
. Some weren't joiners, some had belonged and just weren't
> involved enough with Corvairs to re-join.

Hank sez:
But they ARE involved enough to come to your club meetings, and take 
advantage of what your club has to offer?? They'll bring their car to a Mall 
Show, but don't feel like they should kick in for the Insurance??

 Sounds like your group got a bucket of bovine dung tossed at them.


Bruce sez:
 If we required CORSA
> membership, we would lose them.

Hank sez:
Bruce, didn't sound like you were losing much by losing them.


> Bruce sez:
> Further, we were concerned with requiring new members to join CORSA before 
> knowing how much they liked Corvairing. We've had lots of members join 
> for, perhaps, 1-3 years, then lose interest and drop out.

Hank sez:
I've belonged to 4 different CORSA chapters in 18 years due to moving about 
the country.  This phenomenon is true in all chapters, and in most clubs. 
Boy Scouting has the same problem to tackle.  Some drop after the first year 
is over, some in 2-3 years.
But when we do our annual "Save a Scout" campaign in the spring, money is 
almost NEVER the issue.

Other activities, school, moving to a new area, parents not wanting to 
assist their own child, but almost never a complaint about the money.  And 
to put a kid in a full Boy Scout uniform (which most units don't require 
until after the 1st full year of membership) costs about 60.00.  Kids grow 
out of clothes fast as we know, and uniforms can run into a pile of dough. 
more than 35.00 a year, when you add in patches and awards. Most units also 
require weekly dues of a dollar per kid (that's 52.00 a year) in addition to 
the 11 dollars that it costs to register a boy in Scouting (without the 
United Way and other donations, that figure would be around 125.00/yr).

Some of the people who refuse to pay the 35.00 would happily register their 
kid (or grandkid ) in a Scout Unit, and pay 63.00 (dues are collected in 
advance), and don't know if the kid is going to like it yet.  But as I said, 
the reasons for the boy dropping out of Scouting because of the money is in 
my experience over the years, fewer than 1 in 100. (30 years as a leader, 40 
years total experience)


> We were concerned about meeting a potential new member and telling them 
> they could join our club for $15 a year and take part in all of our fun 
> events and meetings, and oh, by the way, you also have to join CORSA for 
> $35.

These same people would get together with you for a spring ride into the 
country, and go into an eatery with their wife/husband and blow more than 
the cost of the CORSA membership on dinner, but "dig in their heels" about 
paying to join CORSA??  I wouldn't think it would take much for them to see 
their priorities aren't in the correct order.

Bruce continueth
> The solution we came up with was, first, to grandfather through current 
> members who did not belong to CORSA, with them paying a surcharge of $10, 
> because they are not CORSA members, which we sent to CORSA. Interestingly, 
> none of them seemed opposed to paying the extra $10. Originally I think we 
> had five of these non-CORSA members. Over the years, all but one has 
> dropped out of the club. I don't think the $10 had anything to do with 
> their decision, they just lost interest in Corvairs, and dropped out.

Hank sez:  Not a bad Idea Bruce, at least CORSA got something out of them. 
And we see they were about as committed to the hobby as the chicken is in a 
plate of ham and eggs.  Not nearly as committed as the hog !!!
>

Bruce sez:
> Current members must maintain their CORSA membership. This isn't easy to 
> police, but we do the best we can. We have had a few let their CORSA 
> membership lapse. When we found out about it, usually when the Chapter 
> Report was filed, we'd just remind them and they've always paid up.

Hank sez:

Sounds like your problem is solved!!!
>
> New members are required to join CORSA within a year of joining our club. 
> Actually, the next time after they've been in our club a year that dues 
> are due. So if they joined our club in June of 2000, they would have to 
> pay our dues again in January 2001 as we all pay our dues at the first of 
> the year. By the time they paid for January 2002, they must be CORSA 
> members. This gives them some time to see what Corvairing is all about.
>

 We have had some members say they didn't like being told
> that they had to join CORSA - they might do it on their own, they just 
> didn't like being forced to do something. I don't know any way around 
> this, there are just some things in life we HAVE to do! But all-in-all we 
> feel ours is a reasonable policy.

Hank sez:
I wonder what those people would say (US citizens for the example)....

Do you pay your Income Tax because you "do it on your own", or because you 
are forced to ??

>
> An alternative to our policy would be to offer the $10 surcharge to 
> members who didn't want to join CORSA after a year. That way CORSA would 
> still get the financial support, we'd keep the member, and the member 
> wouldn't have to join CORSA if they didn't want to.

Bruce--You guys had a well thought out strategery (if I might borrow from 
GWB) to fix your problem, and it worked---HUZZAH!! to you and your club.

My experience has been that the people in a chapter that won't join is 
usually some elderly person who helped found the club, or was there in the 
beginning before they became a CORSA chapter.  And they stand "on principle" 
that they just aren't going to pay CORSA.  Your surcharge idea is one that 
other chapters should copy.  I can't see anyone belonging to a group that 
gets funds from a national body that sits back and doesn't contribute to 
that national body.  Its dookie.  "principle" my big old behind!!!
Just doesn't make sense to me.  Maybe I'M the one whose screwed up?

Reminds me of the Seasoned citizen who came into the Drug Store where I 
worked in Hammond, LA.  Told the Pharmacist and I all about the new 
Mitsubishi Montero he just bought for his Grand-daughter (at the time about 
a 23K purchase).... Then had a shit fit because his Prescription had gone up 
2.00---because "HE WAS ON FIXED INCOME".
Result? The Pharmacist (owned a Medicine Shoppe Rx Parlor) told him to get 
his ass out, and go to Wal Mart for his drugs, his business was no longer 
welcomed in his store.

Hank