<VV> Re: Dues Increase

[Vairtec at optonline.net]

Listmember boB wrote that the cost of CORSA dues is not something that can 
be compared to other expenditures (such as my example or a tank of gas), 
but instead has to do with the value provided by CORSA relative to the 
price of the dues.

boB further explained that for him the value was not sufficient, by 
pointing out that the current (convention issue) of the Communique was of 
little interest to him.  This does not answer whether the other eleven 
issues per year are also of little interest to him, but it appears that we 
can safely assume that they are not.

Obviously, the perceived value is a personal matter -- everyone's sense of 
value is different.

The Communique remains the most visible and certainly the most tangible 
"benefit of membership."  And in one sense this is unfortunate, because it 
tends to obscure all the other things that people ought to see as "value 
provided by CORSA."

This forum is one.  CORSA supports it.  No, CORSA did not start it, 
individual persons did, but even before VV moved to CORSA's server there 
was a genuine relationship between VV and CORSA.  Some will argue that the 
relationship is the opposite, that VV supports CORSA, and this is true in 
the sense that VV generates interest in CORSA.  But today, without CORSA, 
VV would be hosted where?  by whom?  at what cost?

Insurance is another.  Many persons dismiss this by saying things such as 
"I don't belong to a chapter, anyway," or "I don't go to shows."  I find 
this to be a rather selfish position.  I think of CORSA not as a car club, 
but as a support group -- we all help each other by sticking 
together.  Your dues help those who do belong to chapters and go to 
shows.  Their dues support things that you may like but they don't, such as 
race track events.

Web space is another.  CORSA chapters are free to place their web sites on 
CORSA's server, a great boon to local Corvair communities.  Here again, 
some people bring up the "I'm not part of a chapter" argument, but the 
point is that CORSA is serving local interests as well as national interests.

These and similar "hidden" benefits, hidden by the high visibility of the 
Communique, are where I very much perceive value in CORSA.  CORSA of course 
cannot be all things to all people, and I am certainly not going to be one 
to argue that CORSA is perfect.  And so each must make their own judgment 
about the value of membership, as boB is doing.  But I urge all persons to 
not overlook the many facets that make the existence of CORSA worthwhile 
and the continued health of CORSA to be in the best interests of everyone.

--Other Bob


Robert W. Marlow
Vairtec at optonline.net