Who is our new President...... ???

[Bulletin Editor]

Also there are only 139  members getting their Bulletins through e-mail. I was surprised and disappointed that so few members have taken advantage of this service.

Actually, there are only 128 signed up for email Bulletins, but 2 more joined @ the National. 

FYI: you can "sample" an issue without further obligation ... send a request to: bulletin@kfclub.com 

We now have 133 on the email list.

[pnw_oldmags]

Being a life time member for twenty years ... I hate to say it but I would like to suggest expecting Qtrlys / Member Directories / and the Great Bulletin for free ... FOREVER is expecting way to much. 

My suggestion is to charge LifeTime Members $10 for their bulletin to cover mailing and printing expenses with the option to stay free if we take it as an emailed bulletin.

I would also to suggest that Canadian member be given a much reduced membership cost if they take their Bulletins via Email.

I have a collection of every paper bulletin ever printed and I am willing to start taking the Bulletin via Email. 

Barbara switch me to EMAIL ... THOUGHTS??

[pnw_oldmags]

Question - Barbara ... what does it cost to print me 12 Bulletins and mail them to me??   I would guess it is costing way more than $10 a year.

[Dragon]

I used to think it was an honor to be a life member.  At the National this year another member criticized me for being an LM and told me I was one of the members that is really hurting the club.  I got my LM in the 80s and at that time the club was anxious to take my money.  Of course at that time they were getting good interest off the life memberships.  If they are hurting the club that bad, maybe we should consider a yearly fee for publications and discontinue LM. 

[Logan]

No one should criticize you for making a wise financial choice at some point to be a lifetime member.  If the club needs funds, then yes, maybe some things will have to start costing, etc.  But for someone to criticize you just isn't right.  It seems like criticizing for not paying extra taxes.  Doesn't make sense to me.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

At the time the LM program began, interest rates on a CD were over 15%; at that rate the interest coming in more than covered publications and postage.  Nobody thought it through back then and considered the possibility that CD interest would plunge well below 4%.  Also, nobody thought it through back then to consider there would be a steady increase in the price of postage and printing.


 

[HJ-ETEX]

Jack, I have to take issue with your statement "interest rates on a CD were over 15%." The LM offer began much earlier during the time saving accounts (remember them?)  were about 5%.  So 5% on an LM investment of $200 (the single payment around 1972) paid for the publications. For quite a few years the Directors always asked the Treasurer at the Board Meeting if the interest return was sufficient to cover the LM expenses. The LM investments moved to money market accounts and then CDs over the years.
There is also an Associate LM category which for a 1 time payment of $50 which essentially enables a person to be retained on the membership list of the Club. No publications but they are full voting members and can hold office.
There are 2 types of people that opt for the LM. The most obvious are people who don't want to be troubled with missed or increased renewals (foreign members would be attracted to this aspect). The 2nd class are people who intend to continue to contribute to the Club. Only a few years ago if you were at the Board Meeting you would find that almost all the people there (not just the elected officials) were LMs. One extremely long time member who is NOT an LM is our current Treasurer and he has a compelling story why he is not one.

[HJ-ETEX]

But to get back to a previous post, I would not consider an LM as an honor - you actually paid beyond and above a regular membership. I would call it a demonstration that you are more committed than a regular member.
As an offshot of this discussion, there have been proposals to make certain people Honorary Life Members. One particular name that comes to mind is Bill Clinton. He may have been 1/5 owner of a HJ at some time (who can tell - I don't think he ever had to drive to get anywhere*) but the idea was rejected because his connection was questionable and his activities did not add anything to the Club or the cars in general.   
* Now LBJ was a President who liked to drive. He used to get up at sunrise on Sundays at the Pedernales Ranch and get into one of the White House Lincolns, drive down the dirt roads in the area with the Secret Service trying to stay close behind, and drink a warm 6 pack of Pearl beer. By 9AM he would be in church acting dignified.

[Bulletin Editor]

Question - Barbara ... what does it cost to print me 12 Bulletins and mail them to me??   I would guess it is costing way more than $10 a year.

For me, the cost for printing & postage per issue in the US is $.94 for a 12 page issue, $1.29 for a 16 page issue. For Canada, it's $1.58 & $1.67 respectively; other foreign is $1.58 & $2.47 respectively. I do not know how much it cost for the 4 issues Jim Lape did earlier this year.

[Bulletin Editor]

Barbara switch me to EMAIL

Great! Welcome to the email list

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Regarding Tom's comments on Life Members, it is my recollection that c.1980 there was a meeting in a parking lot at a KFOCI meet.  Dick Harder was among the group pushing for the club to adopt a Life Membership program with dues in the category 10 times the normal yearly rate.  At the time, Dick's family had a connection of some type with the Kilbourn State Bank of Milwaukee, WI.  Proceeds from the Life Member program would be used to open CD's at that bank which at the time offered a very good rate of return; interest was enough to cover price of publications to LM's.  The original figure, if I remember right was $250.00 and a number of members quickly jumped on board the bandwagon.

This is what I meant when I said that originally, the LM program was a good deal for the club but today, because of the extremely low interest on CD's we lose on every member.

[joefrazer]

While editor of the bulletin, I kept issues to 12 pages at a cost of $.86 per piece mailed to US addresses. The Canadian and foreign were a few within a few pennies of the current cost.

[pnw_oldmags]

So if we mail Bulletins to our LM (including ME) at $1 each times 12 = $12.  Guessing Color Calendar at $8, Member Directory at $8 and 2 Quarterlys at $6 each ... Adds up to $40 per LM... Sounds like a great way to break the bank.  Thoughts??

[BigDave LM6174]

Stop offering Life Membership so the problem doesn't get worse?

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The suggestion to end the LM program came up at more than one recent National Convention.  The resolution was to grandfather in the existing LM's and announce a cut-off date a couple months after first publication to allow any last-minute joiners. 

Each time it was proposed it was not recommended for acceptance and the membership voted it down even after the costs to the club were explained to them.

For those interested there were less than 100 voting members at the 2013 National Convention based on vote tally for the Weidinger change to the Constitution and By-Laws.  This came to less than 10% of the entire membership deciding who would be an officer and votes on policy changes.