Greetings, fellow CTRICG’ers,
The next club meeting is on October 19, 2013, at the house of John, W1XX .
During the meeting we will take up the issue of the club’s financial situation. Presently we do not have sufficient funds in our account to meet our commitments, which largely consist of plaque sponsorships. It is very likely that any discussion of finances will entail the question of membership dues. If this is an issue of importance to you, you may want to consider attending the meeting. It is vital that we decide on a plan to resolve this financial issue and get as much input from the membership as possible.
To that end I recommend that we begin the discussion here on the web site, below this post. This will give all members a chance to air their views, without time constraints and in a way that promotes thoughtful consideration and well-reasoned responses. We should be able to distill the issues into some major points upon which we can concentrate at the meeting, which will shorten discussion and allow us to advance to other issues of importance.
For your reference:
CTRICG Constitution: http://ctri.club/2010/06/15/constitution-as-amended-in-2007/
CTRICG By-Laws: http://ctri.club/2010/06/15/bylaws-as-updated-in-2007/
73,
Pat, NG1G
I, for one, have always been a proponent that CTRI will never charge dues. I have made many donations, as have most of the other members, to pay for our bills, as needed, over the years. With no raffle at Boxboro this past year, and most likely none in Hartford next year (that might be a topic of discussion), donations will be our only source of income, unless, of course, we decide to start charging dues. If that is the decision made by the majority of the group, I will gladly comply with no hard feelings whatsoever. Sometimes ya just gotta bite that bullet! If I was not currently unemployed, I would be glad to make a donation to the group. That donation will have to wait until I find a new job, though! You know how that goes!
I will support whatever decisions are made regarding dues.
73 de KB1LN Bob
I am one of the newer members, so my general thoughts are to go with the majority flow and not rock the boat. I will say that this seems to be part of the growing trend of light participation in ‘club’ activities. My fire department is at an all time low in membership. A computer club I’ve been with since 1990 has almost completely faded from existence. And most of the radio clubs in New London county are at all-time low in membership. It is tough to people to come out and even tougher to get them to participate. I think participation drives finances (even without dues). I have never made a financial contribution to CTRI, perhaps it’s time I make a donation. Sadly my money situation will also limit how much I can consider donating, but every little bit helps. I will see my best bud Chuck about putting a little more in the coffers.
Well, CTRI has always been a No(monetary) dues club. But it is far from where it was in 1992 when I first joined. I have not been very active (two little children will do that too ya) lately. But I don’t understand why there was no raffle at Boxboro? Likely I’m going to guess either Boxboro wouldnt allow it or no one wanted to put the thing on? That leaves us essentially as a No income club. Simply if we wish to continue to pay for plaques then we need an income. Not sure how this should go. But I don’t think this is the forum for my What the club looked like 10 years ago and what it looks like now. I think if we look at the history of the club as it has changed over the years we may consider dues and option? But an option for what? I wish to appollogize if any of my rambling has offended.
John Ko1h
I will not be able to make the October meeting but I do want to contribute my thoughts concerning the clubs financial situation. While I have enjoyed paying my way by helping with work parties and I have attended a few, I think that membership dues has been a discussion that is long overdue. Without a steady flow of income the club just can not afford to continue its plaque sponsorship or anything else. Whether we ask for dues or donations will have to be decided on but I for one believe that we must do one or the other if CTRI is to survive as a club. Those who can afford a donation or dues can support the club in that way and it need not be paid all at once even a few dollars paid at each club meeting is better than no income at all. To the members who are not presently employed, I suggest that they support the club in any way they feel comfortable until they find themselves in a better financial position. Participation in club meetings and activities is as important as a financial contribution.
I too will support whatever decision made on dues.
73 de K1FUG, Ken
Question – the Post says the 19th. The Calender says the 12th. Is it the 19th?
Thanks, Mike
Mike,
Thanks for bringing that to our attention. I changed the calendar to reflect the correct date, which is the 19th. John is asking folks to show up early (around 9:30) to help erect his 160M vertical.
73,
Pat, NG1G
With just two weeks until the meeting I had hoped we would have more members commenting than this but I sincerely appreciate the comments and suggestions so far. Bob, Chip, John, and Ken have all made good points and raised a few good questions.
I prefer that we remain a “no dues” club, but I also would like for us to be able to sponsor plaques as a way to give back something to the contesting community. That’s important to me. We can do both but it takes work to raise the money, and quite frankly over the last several years we haven’t put much work into raising the revenue we need in comparison to previous years. We have benefited from the generosity of some members, for which I am very thankful, but I don’t believe that’s a good way to run club finances. There’s an inherent inequity in allowing the membership to depend on that generosity, and it not only becomes expected, but it also allows the rest of us to become complacent in doing our part to support our club. I’m not saying we shouldn’t allow donations, just that we shouldn’t expect or depend on them.
Plaque sponsorship is a commitment that obligates us to raise the money to pay for it. We currently do not have enough funds to pay for the plaques to which we have committed ourselves. We need to fix that at the October meeting in a way that either provides funding for our commitments (which we can adjust) or eliminates the commitments.
I’m interested in hearing from many others very soon.
73,
Pat, NG1G
Good question about the raffle, John. We decided (I can’t remember at which meeting) that we would get more income for the club out of a flea market table than with a raffle. We have seen a sharp decline in what retailers are willing to provide for raffle prizes, which I imagine is due to the economy. We also felt that since attendance at Boxboro has been down our ticket sales would likely decline as well. I can’t remember what we took in as a result of the flea market table but it was pretty good I think. And of course there’s the problem of finding someone willing to run a raffle (getting prizes, advertising fliers, selling tickets, etc.).
73,
Pat, NG1G
Bob,
The subject of the Hartford convention has come up in the last few meetings, and I recommended that we decide whether or not we want to have a presence there as a club, and if so to what extent.
With around 9 months to go, time is running short, so there’s a lot to do if we want to be there. It’s going to be a big deal I think, one we probably shouldn’t miss. We could very well raise a lot of money for the treasury but it will take some work.
73,
Pat, NG1G
All: I would hope that at the upcoming club meeting on the 19th…..to guide our deliberations properly…, that we will be handed a paper printout of the plaques that we have sponsored in the recent past … with the cost of each listed. 73!! — John, W1XX
Your suggestion is a good one, John, and I’ll go one further. I will put this all together in printed form for our members who attend the Oct. meeting, but also want to present it here in advance so folks can ruminate on it.
From my previous post in January (“Sponsored Plaques”) here is what we agreed to sponsor. Please keep in mind this list does not necessarily mean that we actually spent money to sponsor all of these plaques each year, as you will see. I just want to show what the club agreed to sponsor:
ARRL DX Phone #181 (New England SOLP) – last sponsored in 2011 ($75)
ARRL RTTY Roundup #28 (New England SOLP) – last sponsored in 2012 ($75)
NEQP (RI SO) – currently sponsored ($40)
CQ WPX RTTY (M2 USA) – last sponsored in 2012 ($65)
ARRL SS Phone #104 (New England SOLP) – last sponsored in 2009 ($75)
NAQP January SSB (New England SOLP) – no historical info on NCJ web site, but we are not currently a sponsor ($75?)
CQ WPX SSB – I can verify that we have not sponsored this plaque since at least 2005, perhaps before then. ($65?)
CTRI Intra-Club Contest ($50 ea.)
I had asked club treasurer Chuck, KA1CQR for a list of those plaques we actually paid for and this is what he sent me (thanks, Chuck):
3/17/13 2012 NEQP RI SO Plaque- Tom Frenaye
2/6/13 2013 ARRL #31 RTTY RU- NE Div SOLP
1/4/13 2013 CQ WPX RTTY Multi-op/Two transmitter to -k4gmh- **$65.00**
4/9/12 2012 CQ WPX **$65.00**
3/20/12 2011 NEQP RI SOLP *$40.00**
1/14/12 2012 ARRL RTTY RU New England Div. SOLP **$75.00** #31
3/29/11 2011 NEQP RI SOLP **$40.00**
3/4/11 2011 ARRL DX Phone New England Div. SOLP **$75.00** #181
2/12/11 2011 ARRL RTTY RU New England Div. SOLP **$75.00** #31
1/13/11 2011 CQWW WPX RTTY **$65.00**
3/20/10 2010 NEQP RI SOLP **$40.00
1/27/10 2010 CQWW WPX RTTY **$65.00**
1/14/10 2010 ARRL DX Phone New England Div. SOLP **$75.00** #181
1/14/10 2010 ARRL RTTY RU New England Div. SOLP **$75.00** #31
11/9/09 2009 ARRL November SS New England SOLP Phone **$75.00** #104
3/18/09 2009 ARRL DX Phone New England Div. SOLP #181
3/16/09 2009 NEQP RI SOLP *$40.00**
1/30/09 2009 CQWW WPX RTTY **$60.00**
12/11/08 2009 ARRL RTTY RU New England Div. SOLP **$75.00** #31
11/3/08 2008 ARRL November SS New England SOLP Phone **$67.00** #104
4/17/08 2008 ARRL RTTY RU New England Div. SOLP **$67.00** #31
4/17/08 2008 ARRL DX Phone New England Div. SOLP **$67.00 #181
2/28/08 2008 NEQP RI SOLP **$40.00**
10/31/07 2007 ARRL November SS New England SOLP Phone **$67.00** #104
Here is what I recommend we do at the meeting:
1. Identify those plaques we wish to continue sponsoring, if any (keeping in mind those we already paid for this year).
2. Decide how we want to pay for them.
3. Maintain a list on this web site of those plaques, along with the cost of each. This list should be in a stand-alone post or file (without comments).
4. Review the list annually and make changes/approval as appropriate.
More comments from members in this post would be beneficial.
73,
Pat, NG1G