IndianaRog
Marksman
===============================================The club can add new members any way they want.
If it was my club I wouldn't put people through all this, I'd probably start my new year on June 1st, and any membership not paid in full for the next year by May 15th would be up for grabs. I would tell applicants to send in a application postmarked between May 15 and May 25, dump them in a big box and have someone pull out the number of applicants we need plus 10% for those that can't pay. Notify the new members, give them one week to pay in full, and go from there. Any leftover runners up in that 10% pile would be given first shot at next year.
But that's just me. Feel free to run your club anyway you want.
Being a member of the Martinsville Club's all volunteer board, we have done the best we can and tried to adjust our new member process to changing times. For a number of years, until Jan 2012 we let people request a new member application by email after 12:01 AM New Year's day...I know, I emailed applications til 3 am on several Jan 1sts!. We'd take applications/checks as they came into our PO box and fill them against the number of openings, then return the rest of the applications and checks with regrets. This was a lot of paper chasing for our board and until about 4 years ago that process stretched out from Jan>April til the openings were filled. We also over the years boosted our total membership from 125 families about 10 years ago, to our current 500 familiy membership as we added ranges and expanded the facilities.
In Jan 2012 we tried something drastically different...we decided late in 2011 that we'd hold an open membership morning Jan 1, 2012 starting at 9 am til we filled the 41 openings in hand for 2012. We hit 41 about 11 AM and were quite pleased we were able to accomodate all who came to the club that day. Only complaint after the fact was that we did not communicate this new procedure very well.
We opted to change management of the club website and have been communicating for the past year that Jan 1, 2013 would be the day we take new membership applications again starting at 9 am. As existing members have til Dec. 31 to return their renewals (and some did wait til the bitter end), we did not know the total number of openings til late last nite...just 22 openings following a 95% renewal rate of existing members.
When the other directors and I arrived at the club this morning, a couple of them as early as 6:30 am...the line of cars extended well out on to Burton lane...at it's peak over 150 cars for just 22 openings. Soooooo, rather than make folks wait til 9 am when it was obvious who would get in...we handed out numbers 1-22 to those in line about 8:15 am and told the others behind them that we were once again full and posted a note on the gate to that effect. The first couple in line told us they were parked at the gate at 8:45 pm last nite. The 22nd and final person to make the cut had gotten there about 5 am. Anyone after 5 am was thus turned away.
The above is not to make excuses...just to explain some incorrect statements made by some other posters...most folks who came understood the situation, a few got ticked off.
We are always open to constructive ideas...I highlighted one above that might be worth considering, but it would drastically change our fiscal year...yet maybe there is something there we could adopt. Til then we will continue to do the best we can for zero compensation, managing a damn nice facility that has grown extremely popular. We are not planning to add to our member numbers beyond 500 families, as we feel we have it about right now...usually not crowded, almost always clean and orderly.
One message to existing members I see on this forum...NEVER let your membership expire...hundreds of others will gladly take your spot!!!
Sincerely,
Roger, VP for the Board
Martinsville Sportsman's Conservation Club
Martinsville, IN