A larger Bugle and an increase in dues

[Bill Stoneberg]

In the March Bugle both Bill Darrow (President of BCA) and Pete Phillips (Editor of the Bugle) brought up the fact that next week at the BOD meeting we will discuss increasing the number of pages of the Bugle.

We are discussing this because Pete has a stack of articles that he doesn't have room to publish, and they keep coming in. For Pete this is a good problem to have but if you are an author of one of those articles, you may not be so happy.

Because of the way printing works, the most economical way of adding pages is to add another 16 pages. Dont ask me why.

The club budget is based on $ 35 / person dues and most of that money goes to publishing and mailing the Bugle to the members.

So it stands to reason that an increase in the Bugle would probably mean an increase in the dues. Otherwise the club would start losing money.

So after this long explanation, my question to you is

"<span style="font-weight: bold">Would you support a increase in your dues for a Bugle with more pages ? </span>"

And by more pages, I would hope that a majority of them being are content, not more advertisements.

Please tell me what you think.

[serb]

Bill,

Count me in for the increase to get more content in an already wonderful publication.

Kudos to Pete and the staff of the <span style="font-weight: bold">BUGLE</span>.

Stevo

[jscheib]

IU agree, and it would be good to keep the due under $50. Yes, the 16 pages would make it fit their formula, and it would also increase postage, I am sure.

Again, we may lose some membership, but as long as Pete feeld worthy articles are coming in, I say yes.

John

[Matt Harwood]

Agreed. The Bugle has become a first-rate publication, and I would certainly support an increase in content, even with an increase in dues. Right now, you can't buy a high-quality subscription to some magazines for $35. I know I pay almost $60 for "Sports Car Market" and I think that "The Rodder's Journal" (while beautiful) is approaching $15 an issue ($60/year). I'd happily pay for more Bugle.

[Smartin]

No problems here with a dues increase. I know our local chapter has been toying with the idea for a couple years, now. No ones really seems to be objecting to the issue when we bring it up. But I have a feeling that the people who are against it aren't speaking up.

[JohnD1956]

The Bugle is excellent, and I'd vote to see more in it even at increased cost. Further I would not object to an increase in dues in the amount you propose. However, your proposal seems to have a very wide range for just 16 additional pages in the Bugle.

Personally I'd vote for a higher dues if the insurance policy the club allows chapters to piggyback on for shows was expanded to cover everyone at the show, participants and spectators alike, And I'd vote for an expansion of dues to help fund the awards the club hands out at National Meets.

However I would like to see the dues remain at or under $50.00 per annum.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Just so you all know, the amount is WHAT I THINK. It is not what has been proposed yet. So dont take it as gospel. We will know more next weekend.

I think I will pull the amount out of my original post so nobody get false ideas.

[michel88]

I am very happy with the Bugle since Pete Phillips has taken over as the Editor. I would be willing to pay additonal dues to get approximately 16 more pages. The Bugle was a good magazine before, but it is now outstanding!

[billbuickgs]

I agree that the additional cost will be offset by the additional pleasure we get from the Bugle.Thumbs UP !!!

Thanks,

Bill

[Guest Tri-shield]

A lot more Bugle for a little more money.

Sign us up, Bill!

[Guest Howard Purvis]

Bill,

I vote yes.

Howard Purvis

[Guest imported_Thriller]

I personally have no qualms about paying more for an expanded Bugle.

That being said, there's a couple of things that start popping into my head, such as...it would be nice to see (and by see, it wouldn't need to be my eyes - the BCA BoD would be fine) a breakdown of costs, and whether or not additional advertising in the 16 added pages could cover the cost. That would also assume that there are additional advertisers who would like to be in the Bugle / could be convinced to advertise in the Bugle.

I am very pleased with what has been accomplished with the Bugle under Pete's leadership. That being said, nothing lasts forever. Ultimately, there will come a day when Pete is either unable or unwilling to continue or the BoD of the day decides to move in another direction. Will we be able to continue the momentum of large number of article submissions? To that end, does anyone know reasons behind the improvement in submissions? Is it a chicken and egg thing with improved content leading to a better magazine leading to more desire to be published in the magazine? Is it that the monthly features have pushed aside some of the submitted content? Are chapters / regions / divisions submitting more articles / photos? Or is it something my tired brain hasn't thought of? Please don't take this the wrong way - I am not implying that Pete is ready to quit nor that the BoD is ready to dump Pete - I'm just saying there will come a day (hopefully not in the near future) that Pete will not be editor...will there be someone as skilled and energetic to fill his shoes? I hope so.

When I started this post, I'm sure I had a couple more comments / thoughts...unfortunately I got too long winded and anything else that was in my brain seems to be gone.

[riv2x4]

The following comments are not meant as a personal position against adding editorial content to the Bugle. I also agree Pete has done a wonderful job and Bigger is probably better.

A potential downside to this is attracting new members to local chapters. Right now, the best we can do at our local level is have a potential new member spend $50, $35 National + $15 Local dues to join. Some, but not all potential new members are members of the GS Club or ROA members and already pay dues to those organizations. An additional $50 to join what will probably only be a local organization can be a tough sell. A $65+??? to join, may be a deal breaker. Membership is down both locally and nationally be it from the economy, more "old car" opportunities, an aging membership or a combination of all of the above.

I would love to see a Bugle optional membership that would allow local chapters the ability to attract new members into their chapters without the potential scare factor of a $50 + $local dues cost to join. I think we should be making it easier for new members to join.

To those here that say it is only an extra $ insert your preferred figure here, and it is worth it, what is an extra $$$$$, remember many younger members may not feel it is worth all that for what is probably only a local involvement.

Any other options that would allow local membership without paying fullboat national dues would be great too.

Larry

[51dyno]

I would say 2.50 to 5.00 is ok.Not all members have a gold pot that never gets empty, just a thought.

[Dandy Dave]

The county is broke,

The housing market is bust,

And here I sit in my garage with a grand old Buick, just a pile of rust!

Dreaming one day that I'll drive her down the lane.

more for the Bugle you say, Sure, I'll bare the pain.

Especially for a gain!

Dandy Dave!

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Well here's my forty two cents worth.(since the phrase "two cents worth" came from when it use to cost two cents to mail a letter to the newpaper editor).

If for some reason I ever had to give up all my club memberships and magazine subscriptions except one, The BCA would without a doubt be the one to keep. The Bugle is a great magazine and certainly PROMOTES the BCA well and showcases what the BCA is all about.

However, I think the membership dues and what one currently gets for their buck are NOW fair and equitable. In fact I recall thinking shortly after Peter took over as Bugle Editor that "OK now I'm gettin my full 35 dollars worth". BUT I fear that an increase in membership dues to, in affect, paying for increased number of pages in the Bugle, might possibly hurt the membership numbers. Some folks ie fixed income retirees, young family guys just trying to make ends meet, simply don't have the extra $10-15 to pay for $45-50 membership in an old car club. I think it would also be shocking to those new to the antique car market that membership dues are that much and they would decline membership. AND THAT we can not chance happening. The majority of those people would just be seeing it as paying membership dues and maybe even not know about the excellant quality magazine that comes with it much less that it costs so much because there are 16 more pages than there use to be at some point of time.

Now if there is a need to increase the dues $5.00 for reasons of increased postage, increased administrative costs (as in giving Peter a raise) and general inflation then so be it. But if you can't squezze an additional 16 pages into the Bugle for that amount then MrEarl says no.

I'm just weighing it all out and I don't think adding 16 pages to an ALREADY great magazine is worth chancing lossing new or old members due to their not being able to afford it or their feeling membership is not worth it.

[Mark Shaw]

Having read the first day of this thread I believe further analysis is in order before we jump off this bridge.

1. Many of our members are retired and may not have the budget for such an increase.

2. I like the membership only option (many members can share their copies of the Bugle).

3. What are the major costs?....Postage, Publishing, etc.

4. Would we need a dues increase if membership increased?

My two cents.....

[Bill Stoneberg]

I appreciate all the comments and the different point of views, Please keep them coming.

Bill

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

OK, given the high quality of the magazine, I am surprised there aren't more business's banging on the door for advertising. I would think a couple more pages of ads would more than buy 14 more pages of good writing and glossy photos. This might have to be done through actively soliciting for it. NO I don't like some advertising but it might be an option especially if we select who to solicit from.

[Guest imported_Thriller]

Not to knock anyone's comments on this thread, but I have trouble whenever anyone suggests that someone in the old car hobby can't afford a few dollars more. If they are in those types of situations, they have likely given up BCA membership as a luxury already (granted there are likely exceptions to the above statement). With the price of fuel what it is, Barrett-Jackson and the like driving up prices for cars, restoration costs, etc., a small increase isn't out of line. This isn't the same as an increase in electrical / natural gas / water and sewer rates that you can't get around paying on a fixed income. Now, what might be interesting before speculating any further might be a bit of a demographic analysis of the membership, and possibly a look at membership numbers over the last number of years.

We have the same problem locally...the same ones who complain the loudest about the cost of the membership dues are the same ones who go on all the tours getting 10 mpg, buying accessories for their cars, getting out for weekly gatherings and meals with their circle of friends, and so on.

As was stated earlier, ignoring any of the other factors of BCA membership, it is tough to get a comparable magazine for the price of the Bugle.

I understand the difficulty of attracting members to the local chapters when BCA membership is a requirement...I've toyed with the idea of trying to start a chapter up here...there's enough Buick owners, but not enough BCA members to do that...add in that a Canadian membership starts at $53 US, it becomes an even tougher sell (possibly part of the reason I am still just toying with it).

Getting off now.

Now that I'm off the soap box, I have a (somewhat) relevant question. When was the last dues increase and how much was it?

[Guest my3buicks]

Personally I would pay more in dues, the Bugle alone is worth it NOW. In fact it's why I belong. I would worry a bit though at attracting new members with a higher dues amount. A higher amount for the national, plus, local dues if they belong to a local chapter gets pricy.

[Guest Reatta1]

Having been gone for a couple days, I came in late on this thread. I see pretty much all agreement with a dues increase. I for one would have second thoughts. I also realize adding 16 pages costs extra money and the other option to adding more articles would be to cut back on the advertising. That option, unfortunately cuts into advertising income. Therefore I would propose thinking about a small increase in the cost of an ad. Seems to me that companies advertising products and services could probably absorb an increase easier than some of us members who are on limited fixed income budgets. In my case, maintaining my cars along with membership in these clubs plus trying to attend meets, constitutes a heavy drain on resources. Anybody else in my position?

[West Peterson]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Thriller</div><div class="ubbcode-body">To that end, does anyone know reasons behind the improvement in submissions? Is it a chicken and egg thing with improved content leading to a better magazine leading to more desire to be published in the magazine?</div></div>

In my opinion, yes. I've got the same situation (I prefer not to call it a problem) with Antique Automobile right now.

[West Peterson]

Bill

Keep in mind the cost increase for postage.

[Guest BJM]

If worried about attracting new membership, hand a potential member a copy of the "new and improved Bugle"

[TexRiv_63]

Bill,

I have not been in the BCA for long but I have been in and out of a lot of clubs over the years and the Bugle is the best club magazine I've seen. It is well worth a dues increase for more content, I already pay more than $35 for some other publications that are far inferior in quality and that does not count the valuable experience of all the BCA members included in the cost!

[Guest BJM]

No, increased due for a bigger Bugle is not a good long term strategy. It appears Pete will be our editor for some time, to be sure but it seems like everything is going up in price.

I would suggest that the club should NOT have to bear the expenses of increased postage so an increase in the membership dues by $1 from time to time I can understand.

How about a 13th magazine featuring restoration articles only?

[Guest dcdpgh]

I may only be a BCA newbie, but I would not be in favor of increased dues even if it meant more Bugle content. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, some BCA members have more than one club affiliation, and multiple memberships plus local chapter dues when multiplied by something greater than one starts to add up. I realize my opinion is in the minority (nor very popular), but I still believe in one person - one vote, so thats my vote. If this does come to be I would ask that the increase be kept to the absolute minimum.

[HurstGN]

I for one am AGAINST a dues increase. It's hard enough to convince people to join the local chapters when you hit them with the $35 requirement for national membership. While you appreciate the Bugle, and I do to (Thanks Pete, for an incredible job each month), perhaps it is GOOD to have a backlog of articles. What happens if articles dry up a bit? Are we going to publish a Bugle with blank pages? Unless an article is time sensitive, it can wait a bit. When I had my car published in Hemmings Muscle Machines, I was told some people have waited up to 4 years to get in that publication. I'd rather see good articles each month like we have now instead of Pete clamoring for fill because there's now 16 pages more to fill and new articles have dried up. It wasn't too long ago when we heard pleas for more atricles because there weren't enough to fill a Bugle.

What about the loss of members due to the dues increase? Will we have a further glut of leftover Bugles due to a loss in membership? We already have plenty of leftover Bugles going into the archives for sale by the Porthole Chapter.

Has anyone looked at the economy? Gas prices are skyrocketing, and there doesn't appear to be any relief in sight. The housing market is in a record slump. Reports recently said that the average homeowners equity is now less than 50%. More and more people are in severe credit card debt. Leading economists can't decide if we're in a recession or not, but most lean more towards using the "R" word than ever. The dollar is getting weaker and the euro is getting stronger.

We're preparing for a change in leadership in the federal government. Whether it's an R or D that wins the election, I don't hear any candidate running on the "I'll maintain the status quo" ticket. Everyone is demanding change, and we're going to see some change.

Has everyone gotten the same yearly increase in salary and same bonus this year? News reports are mentioning that employers are cutting back on raises and bonuses more than ever before. Oh, not to mention the unemployment figures are rising.

Has anyone taken into account the new postal rates coming our way this spring? Rates are going up, and if the economy dips, don't be surprised to see the postal system ask for another rate increase before years end on top of the spring increase.

Plus, does anyone have any idea how much money the BCA has in the bank accounts? I know some huge figures were passed around in the past 5 years. That was just the money that didn't have a home and needed to be invested somewhere. Maybe we hold stable and wait and see. If we hit a minor short term crunch, we dip into the savings a little to stem the tide, and when things turn around, then consider an increase. But for now, I just can't think of a worse time to ask for more money.

As much as everyone would like a bigger edition of the Bugle, lets stop and think. Lets take some time to see where the economy goes over the next year. I remember the old joke, "That and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee". That joke has morphed into "That and $50 will get you a tank of gas, maybe". Lets not see it morph again into something like "That and a bar of gold will get you a membership in the Buick Club".

[JZRIV]

No I would not support a dues increase to add 16 pages. I think the Bugle offers a great value. Its a good balance of content and cost.

I see most here support an increase however that may not reflect the views of the general membership. Most who watch this message board likely have a greater enthusiasm to their car and BCA VS those who do not frequent the message board. It makes sense that those with the most enthusiasm would gladly pay more because of the enjoyment they get in return.

Maintaining memebership seems to be a fairly common concern and topic. Perhaps there is a better way to gauge what the membership loss would be if the dues were increased X amount? If information gathered indicates there would be some drop outs, then its possible new memberships would decline as well due to the increased cost.

Would the increased content attract more members than we would lose?

[NTX5467]

IF we all lived in an environment where the ONLY club we were members of was the BCA and a local chapter, then a little more for a larger and more content-laden magazine would be acceptable . . . BUT most of us are NOT in just the BCA, but spread our automotive enthusiasm across several other entities (be they other car magazines, subscribed to or purchased as desired, or other car clubs/groups where dues are paid).

In attracting new members, THE BUGLE is a great tool and "deal maker", but when you start telling these prospects that they MUST be a member of the national organization to be a member of a BCA chapter, they (many times) do not understand this as they look at things as if the chapter was a local car club rather than a part of the national group. This brings on more 'splaining and selling, typically, but the ultimate determiner is what the total cost of the national and chapter dues are. What "value" they get from this money is still not "a given" to them yet, but the total expenditure is (as lump sum).

Any new member wants to be assured that they will see articles which appeal to them, so if they don't see them, the quality of the magazine is not a real issue . . . to them . . . and can be a determiner of whether they stick around past that first membership year. Some people, whether new members or existing BCA members, have somewhat focused orientations about the particular vehicles they might like to read about and don't read any articles outside of that focus. So, in that case, they'd be paying more to read about less (percentage-wise) in the bigger magazine. It would be nice if everybody wanted to learn about Buicks other than the one they might have or like, but that doesn't always happen.

I, too, feel that $50.00/year is the tipping point level which most can justify spending for national and chapter membership dues. It might be just a little over $4.00/month, but it's paid annually and there must be that much room in the budget that month. Many more vintage members might remember when that much money was a lot of money, yet the younger members might look at that amount differently. And many have wasted more than that on some frivolous activities, too, but the fact remains that there is a certain tolerance level of what the combined annual membership dues are.

There is NO QUESTION that Pete has improved the quality and content of THE BUGLE magazine! I also remember hearing of how many BCA members howled at the mere suggestion of a national dues increase in prior times . . . for ANY reason.

Therefore, if we have to add 16 pages, might it be a good idea to designate at least 12 or so as "content pages" and the balance as "advertising pages"? Hopefully, the additional advertising revenue (from new advertisers or letting existing advertisers have larger and more expensive space in that addtional page space) would help offset the additional printing costs.

It might be advisable to not have every issue be bigger, but special issues (i.e., national meet issues) to have the additional 16 pages (with a few more advertising pages in that mix, too). Perhaps this might be a better way to ease into the situation and see how they are received?

I really feel that we need to maintain the combined national and local membership dues at current levels for as long as we can. This would mean the additional pages being supported by a few more pages of advertising to cover the additional costs. In about a year or so, it might be time to look at an incremental increase in advertising rates (given the wide acceptance of Pete's work on the magazine).

We all like the magazine which Pete has improved greatly from what it was previously -- no question about that, period. But sometimes, bigger is not always better. Still, possibly a few "blockbuster" issues might be in order to test the waters of the production operatives to see if things can work as they suspect they can with the larger number of pages. Possibly one per quarter? To see if advertisers might pay a little more to be in there, too? If it works, cost effectively, then things might be expanded a year or so later down the line.

Just some thoughts,

Willis Bell 20811

[Guest imported_65gs76limited]

With the economy the way it is and you want to raise the dues to 50.00? You guys must have rocks in your head.This is bad timming and wouldn't be well recieved.Take into consideration the local dues,ours are 30.00. That's 80.00 and it's not going to fly. My .02 Tom

[Bill Stoneberg]

Tom,

$ 50 dollars was brought up by Willis as $ 35 National dues and $15 local dues. It was not mentioned by me.

I have left a dollar amount off as I am wanting an opinion.

$ 30 for local dues seems hight to me. What do you get for it ?

[HurstGN]

As a suggestion, for those that are in local chapters, discuss the situation at your next chapter meeting and get input from all members. Then make that decision known to the board. That will help determine the feelings of more than just those logged in and posting here.

A good point is those that are members of more than one club. Most clubs want dues paid in January, the same time those bills are hitting from Christmas if you didn't buy everything with cash. And even if you have no bills from Christmas, car club dues alone can be expensive. For me, my bill each January is $185. It's not a trivial amount to be involved in the car clubs.

An idea to chew on....what does everyone think about an "associate membership" for the chapters? An associate membership would be a membership in the local chapter at the local chapter rate, and a $5 rate for the national membership. The rights of an associate would be a little different. The local chapter can publish a newsletter and whatever else, and the associate member has rights to the local items. But on the national level, the $5 is simply a stipen to cover the cost of the national office recording the associate member. There are no other rights of an associate. No voting rights, no Bugle, no eligibility to attend regional or national meets. Simply a member by name only on the books. What does this get us as a club? Well, this makes it much easier to get a member in the local chapter, and they can see how much more the full memberships get for the additional $30 (in the current case). It's a way to "try things out" a bit without spending the full $35. The stronger local chapters could then do more to convert associates into full members. I'd think you might see the local chapters increase 50% if not double in size. And for those that get "hooked" by the activities, and the other members having a Bugle, the additional money and full membership would follow easier. Asking for the full boatload of registration up front, and the prospective member hasn't experienced the benefits....it's a hard sell.

This is just an idea of a way to get more members. Possibly the economies of scale would kick in and if national membership increased enough to get a break on printing MORE Bugles as associate memberss convert to full members, then the Bugle could be increased without a national membership dues increase. Just my .42 on the subject. Anyone like it? Dislike it?

[NTX5467]

I'll admit to using the $50.00 total dues (national plus local chapter) figure, but I believe it was also used earlier as something of a dividing line of what would be tolerable. I do feel that is a reasonable figure which most could deal with.

At the chapter level, we try to keep things "cheap" as to our yearly dues. Basically, to cover newsletter costs and have a little left over. That's the way our North Texas chapter operates and also the orientation of other car clubs I've been in locally, even the ones where there is no national affiliation (but with local sponsors and supporters). This opens the door for yearly shows (or bi-annual shows) to make a little money with. So, fiscal responsibility at the local level while keeping dues easy to afford is, by observation, a good thing to do.

As in business, it's best to have a broad customer base and make a little from each one than have a smaller customer base of customers (who can be fickle!) who individually pay more. Being able to expand that customer base can also be highly influenced by whether each new customer pays less or more.

In looking at dues for other national car clubs a few years ago, it comes out that the BCA is something of a bargain as to what is provided for the membership. And that was BEFORE Pete took over the magazine! But that relative frugality tends to parallel how economical many Buicks are to own and feed!

As for an "Associate Membership" or the previously-mentioned (in a BUGLE editorial) "Member-At-Large", I am NOT in favor of those things as a selling tool to get people to consider joining the BCA. But you CAN offer complimentary 6 month memberships to these same prospective members. Such a complimentary membership would give them full benefits as a regular paid member, with the orientation that they'd want to be a full-paid member later on. The investment of this nature (a few extra magazines each month) could well be one of the best investments the BCA has ever made with respect to increasing the total membership over the long run. All it would take would be a center card in the magazine, which could be copied, to hand out to prospective members at car shows and such . . . BUT it would have to be activated to be in force--activated by the prospective member themselves.

We MIGHT have a reasonably captive customer base who would be for paying more with an expanded magazine, BUT with respct to new members, we HAVE to be cognizant of what THEIR tolerance might be for joining a new or another car club and what the total costs would be for dues and membership. And THAT TOLERANCE level is what is important!

In reality, I feel there is MUCH MORE DISCUSSION which needs to be done on this subject. If I was in charge of the committee to determine these things, I'd want to see a sample of the proposal, what the additional costs for the added pages would be, if they'd interfere with the existing color pages, what the proposed/potential article subjects would be, what additional impact of advertising revenue in these additiional pages might be (recall my comments above about using only a certain number of the 16 pages for additional advertising?), and see if the whole package could be delivered AND mailed at existing cost/profit levels or profits being modestly increased.

Unfortunately, I do NOT see this as a "simple answer" situation, but a more complex situation where EACH aspect would need to be looked at, discussed, proposed, and THEN put together a final proposal which would increase the existing high value of BCA membership at minimal additional expenses (which are desired to be passed on to the end consumer of the product) or NO increase at all as the additional pages would be self-supporting with the additional advertising revenue. I feel that this needs to be looked at as a business proposition rather than something with a lot of emotion attached to it AND consider that, although BCA membership and chapter membership might be under "what the market will bear", increasing membership dues to cover these costs is not a really good way to do it.

My thoughts and orientations.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Willis Bell 20811

[Guest imported_65gs76limited]

Bill,my mistake on our local dues.They were just raised last year to 20.00 not 30.00 dollars.I don't have a problem with 35.00 and 20.00 but 50.00 and 20.00 i still don't think will go over to well.

[JohnD1956]

The $50.00 amount may have come from my earlier post. I still stand by that amount as a <span style="text-decoration: underline">maximum</span> amount of National dues. I would not want to see National Dues over that amount.

And I agree with a lot of what's been mentioned about the cost of Membership. It is hard to sell prospective members on both BCA and Chapter membership at the same time. Dans idea above has some merit. But I think it would be harmful to relationships with members if you ever told a member they could not attend a National Meet.

Similarly, I dislike the Member at Large idea because I think it's crazy to tell people you can join the club for one day, most likely so they can put their car in a show, but you can't get an award. I don't think I would want to pay more money than others on the field and the result is I can't get any award. But that's just me.

I did like the idea earlier about doing a 13th issue each year as opposed to increasing the size of the monthly issues. And I like Willis' ideas about trying a few issues in a larger size to test the water.

[Guest imported_Thriller]

Definitely some intriguing discussion.

I currently have 3 old Buicks on the road. I don't think I can fill any of them with gas for the price of the BCA membership and Gopher State membership, although the smaller tank in the '62 may...keep in mind that my BCA membership is already over $50. I realize that we are in better shape financially than many, but honestly, if you drive / repair / restore your Buicks, is it really a question of affordability? Or is it a matter of priorities, and possibly being cheap?

Dan's idea is intriguing, but like John, I'd hate to be the one telling a group of the chapter members that they can't participate in a particular meet, especially if the chapter is hosting it.

Perhaps a different way of asking is why is anyone a BCA member? Did they join the BCA just to be able to join a chapter? I'd believe some are in that boat. Others don't even have a chapter within a distance that allows regular attendance. Is it just the Bugle? To some that are out of easy reach of a chapter, it is the BCA lifeline. Is it about the national / regional / local meets? Is it about seeing other cars like yours? Most of my Buicks, you'd have trouble seeing something similar locally, although there are a few around.

For me, I joined in time to attend the Centennial in Flint in 2003. I basically knew nobody there going in, although there were a couple of online acquaintances that I never did hook up with. We had a blast. 1700 Buicks in one place...wow...we've got some 700,000 people in our city and I frequently don't see other Buicks beyond those of a few acquaintances and some newer ones. I joined the Gopher State Chapter after the national in Rochester was announced...I figured it was as close as I was going to get to being at "home" for a national and that I ought to spend some volunteer time. This past year was my first as a BCA Judge...a fun, intriguing, and learning experience. I'm pretty sure I'm a lifer regardless of the cost of membership.

Switching gears a bit, the local chapters really are the hands and the feet of the BCA. Other than something like an online search, BCA members and BCA chapters are how any prospective members learn about the BCA.

Anyway, I've blathered enough. I hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers. This thread has been one of the best discussions here of late. I certainly don't have all the answers to the questions the club faces...heck, I'm asking a few...if I come up with ideas though, rest assured they will be relayed here, where there are a few BoD members who will see them and / or relayed directly to one or two BoD members that I know personally.

[Bhigdog]

Times are getting tough. Prices are up and the market is down. This isn't a good time to charge more for anything at the risk of losing customers (members)...........Bob

[HurstGN]

The whole idea behind the "associate membership" was to get a way for somebody to "try it before you buy it". How many times have you seen people waiting in line to buy fudge from a vendor at an event, and the event has nothing to do with food?

Hrmm, free, I'm in. Wow, that's really good fudge. I can get a half pound free if I buy a pound? That sounds like a good deal...and I liked that sample. OK, give me a half pound of that, and that, ad that...here's my ca$h.

That works because a person has at least a passing interest in the product. The offer of a free trial entices the customer in. What do I have to lose? If I don't like it, I walk away and pay nothing. If I'm really cheap, I take the sample and run with never an intent on buying the product. Yea, you get a few of those, but you make more on the ones you did sell the product to.

So, the idea is to find a way to accomplish this same process with a BCA national membership. Maybe the local chapters could have a member join the chapter and pay local dues in full, and be allowed to be a member of the local for a 1 year period without being a national member. When joining, the member info is sent to the national and the national sends them 2 Bugles, free of charge for 2 months. They can attend regionals and nationals, but cannot compete for awards or hold office unless they are a full national member. If at anytime during the 1 year period, they wish to join the national, they can do so and all rights are extended to them immediately upon payment. If after a year they decide not to join the national, then they must relinquish the chapter membership. The main reason behind this thinking is letting the arms and legs of the national do the exercise, and make the national stronger.

I'm just trying to find a way for them to get that sample taste, and the good friends, the events, and the Bugle (aka, the entire Buick family experience) will draw them in for a long term relationship.

Lets keep this discussion going on how to accomplish this. I think it would be a huge win for everyone overall.