[Ansteorra] Fee Increase and other Business...

[Lisa Sawyer]

To be honest, I really don't have an issue with the $5 surcharge for
non-members. I think ~we~ need to change the way we view it and market it.
Instead of being a penalty for not being a member, think of it as a
temporary membership fee. If you just want to try us out, then you only have
to buy a  $5 temporary membership. If you attend more than 8 events in a
year, then it is in your best financial interest to pay for an annual
membership. If you live in a dry county, you have to pay a membership fee to
drink in a bar. I've paid plenty of membership fees at bars I'll never go to
again. The SCA isn't that much different. If you want to play, you need to
be a member to be covered by the insurance and you have to purchase a
temporary membership that is good for the event.

The NMS isn't a punishment. The odds of someone getting injured at an event
are pretty good...be it from falling into a hole or getting their bell rung
while fighting. That is why we have chirurgeons. The odds of someone suing
the Society over their injury increases if they don't have a vested interest
in the Society. If I fall in a hole and break my leg because the Steward
didn't put a big sign with caution tape around it, I'm not not going to sue
because I have been playing for too many years and love this organization.
Now, you get someone who is at their first event and falls in the hole and
breaks their leg, then they are more likely to sue because they don't have a
vested interest in the group. So, the new folks are the high risk group when
it comes to liability, not those of us who have been playing forever. By
requiring them to pay a temporary membership fee, they are covering the
extra cost that they are incurring on the Society as a whole. Someone who
knows more about the psychology of lawsuits and insurance can probably
expand on this.

When you look at the cost of going to the movies these days, you are looking
at about $20 a person for three hours of entertainment and snacks. For $20 a
person at an SCA event, you can typically get a weekend of entertainment and
a really good meal. That is including the NMS. There is a family cap and
last time I checked, the NMS doesn't apply to children. So for the average
family the additional cost would be $5-10. If they start attending enough
events that it is financial issue, then they can pay for the annual
membership. Seriously, $20-25 a person for a weekend is a bargain! I think
the current rates for TRF are about that for a day just for tickets to get
in.

I pay for my membership to support the Society. There have been times when
I've forgotten my proof of membership. Yeah, I try to talk my way out of it,
but in the end I have no problem paying the extra fee because I know that it
is going to support the Society. It is a small price pay for an organization
that I enjoy being a part of. I haven't counted it up to figure out if it is
cheaper for me to pay the NMS for each event or to pay for my
membership...but it doesn't really matter to me. It is probably pretty close
to break even, but for me the point is that I'm supporting the organization.
It is a heck of a lot cheaper than my professional organization memberships
($150 a year is the cheapest one). I don't know how it compares to similar
recreational organizations but it doesn't seem outrageous to me.

So, in summary, lets try to change the way we look at it - it is a temporary
membership not penalty. If you want a long term membership, then you can buy
one of those. It is also a way for individuals who may have a hard time
coming up with $40ish(after they raise it) to pay for an annual membership
to still contribute to the organization as a whole. When I was inactive, I
would attend maybe one event a year(?) so I didnt really want or need an
annual membership but I could still support the Society with a temporary
membership.

And, for the record, I did CC the BoD comments email address on this.

Just my two cents,
Lady Ysabeau of Prague
(who probably should have waited to have a second cup of coffee before
writing this)




On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 8:22 AM, Tega Albert <montega2 at gmail.com> wrote:

> While I certainly understand the need for prices to go up, I can't say I am
> in agreement with the non member fee being 5 dollars a person. As
> Hospitaler, trying to get new members is already a challenge. In
> Northkeep's
> officers meeting last night I proposed a membership drive to begin pushing
> up the number of members for our group and respectively Ansteorra as a
> whole. This would be accomplished the same way any other fund raiser would.
> IE: "pass the hat" and other creative ways. Each time we get enough for a
> family membership we will draw names to see who gets it. We recently had a
> donated family membership. I put out word asking for all who were in need
> of
> a membership (single or family) to enter the drawing. We were able to
> provide a family of four a membership. It was a great feeling! In today's
> economy, we need to help each other out. You never know who is struggling
> out there. This will help our kingdom as a whole. I challenge other
> Hospitalers and groups to begin a membership drive as well.
>
>  Since I am already here, I might as well mention a few other things...
> Some
> know, some don't. The last fighter practice of each month, our barony
> (Northkeep) has a gathering called Grub N Garb. We put on our garb, we all
> bring a covered dish to share. We have a venue that is such that it allows
> us to hold fighter practice on one side of the building and GNG on the
> other. To those that practice outside you can still do this. I started GNG
> in Northkeep 4 or 5 years ago and even outside it was success. On those
> nights, we have had over 60 people in attendance. This is an excellent
> opportunity to bring in new people. I urge other groups to start something
> like this. We will be adding to our GNG by having different things each
> quarter. Period cooking contests, trade days where you can get in on good
> deals and trading, also A&S competitions. (as a shameless plug, our GNG is
> next Wed)
>
>  I hope I didn't take up too much of your time, but I really wanted to get
> these ideas "out there". The bottom line is that in order to grow our
> groups
> and our Kingdom (ultimately helping our financial success) we have to put a
> little effort into it. Especially with prices going up. If anyone has
> questions, feel free to contact me. Especially other Hospitalers. By
> putting
> our ideas and thoughts together we will help each other and our great
> kingdom!
>
>
>
> Montega Blackdragon
> Hospitaler of Northkeep
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