Good Bye

[John]

A guest said:

I like the new procedures, John. You are awesome to make it happen.

BTW, it\'s hard to justify calling something \"added value\" when in actuality you are taking something away from others.

Maybe we can come up with something new that adds value. HEY! I\'ve got an idea... ABC members can ship birds to Nationals and the \"club\" will get them shown. (I don\'t know how to actually do that, but it could increase entries and maybe even attract new members.

Anyway, add some value something like that.

Thanks for the comments.  My only problem is the guest didn\'t include a \"name\" (or even a nickname) along with a valid email address in the post, so it has been deleted.  Please include them in all posts by Guests.

[verycherry]

Have I already been \"kicked out\"?

I hope this will post.  

I just got a message from another member saying...

I sent you a reply from ABC but it says you’re no longer a member?  Do you still have your Ameraucanas?

Since this new decision, which I support by the way, I did send in my ABC membership fees for 2010, but didn\'t realise I\'d be \"cut off\" for the rest of this year.

Quote from Tailfeathers...  The dues are very reasonable and I truly believe that anyone with a serious interest in the breed will make the effort to become part of the Club.

I agree, the fees ARE reasonable, and I would have joined for this year too, but I simply have no extra money right now.  Not trying to get sympathy, but I honestly don\'t even have Christmas presents yet for my 3 kids.  Sometimes other things come first, like feeding the kids and the chickens.  

[John]

Have I already been \"kicked out\"?

Not that I know of.

I sent you a reply from ABC but it says you’re no longer a member?

I don\'t understand that question.
\"Reply from ABC\"?
\"It says\"?

[Guest]

Thanks for being flexible and working on this John.  The guest actually had a good point and an interesting idea.  If everyone would toss out at least one fresh idea on how to make ABC membership even more appealing, it would make for fruitful discussion.  We could also ask members to query their poultry friends about what they are looking for (or like) in a breed club.  What people want can change over time and the answers might surprise us.

[Anne Foley]

The last post at 7:28 pm was from Anne Foley.

[bryngyld]

I had to log in again, too.  Maybe one of the adjustments erased the \"stay logged in\" of the folks logged in.  That could be why folks are posting as guests.

Maybe they are showing solidarity to our honored guests...

[John]

Maybe one of the adjustments erased the \"stay logged in\" of the folks logged in. That could be why folks are posting as guests

I think so too.

[verycherry]

Have I already been \"kicked out\"?

Not that I know of.

I sent you a reply from ABC but it says you’re no longer a member?

I don\'t understand that question.
\"Reply from ABC\"?
\"It says\"?

I had contacted someone on the forum a while back, but they didn\'t see it until very recently.  They then tried to message me back but they got the notice or message above saying I was no longer a member.  It wouldn\'t go through.  They then contacted me through my personal email.  Just wondering why I\'d been cut off from the forum already.

[John]

why I\'d been cut off from the forum

I don\'t think you were.  
I see that you don\'t allow Personal Messages (PM) thru the forum and many of us don\'t.  Unless you are checking for PMs daily, email is much better method to contact members personally.
If you want to use the PM option you may by thru the Control Panel.

[Guest]

When I consider joining an organization , I have learned from a negative experience to find out some of the following information :

1. Is it a true club or a privately owned business owned by one or more persons .

2. What are the means used to determine the board of directors ?

3. Specificly what are the membership fees used for ? [ not to be answered by a general statement such as \" A club to promote the Ameraucana Chicken \"  etc. ]

3. Do members receive detailed financial reports of the club\'s income , expences , and assets ?

4. In what way will I benefit from paying a membership fee ? [ I have determined that by paying a relatively low fee I will be allowed access to this forum and receive a newsletter with some information that I will probably find interesting ; hopefully it can be sent by email because I no longer prefer hardcopy of articles , news , etc. . \" [ one club I\'ve been a member of offers a discount on the membership fee in return for agreeing to get the newsletter by email , saving them on publishing costs and mail expences ]

I\'m certain I\'m not the only person struggling to get by on very little income and debating with myself on paying a fee to a club I know very little about . It might help the ABC if those questions and others were addressedd on the ABC\'s website .

Thanks for reading ,
SteveH - redeemerbulldogs@hotmail.com  

[Mike Gilbert]

1. Is it a true club or a privately owned business owned by one or more persons .    The ABC has been a true club since 1978 when it was formed.  

2. What are the means used to determine the board of directors ? The board of directors are elected every two years by majority vote

3. Specificly what are the membership fees used for ? [ not to be answered by a general statement such as \" A club to promote the Ameraucana Chicken \"  etc. ]Websites, mailings, newsletters, office supplies, and awards do not pay for themselves.  The money has to come from somewhere.  Nobody receives a salary - all time is donated.

3. Do members receive detailed financial reports of the club\'s income , expences , and assets ?Summary reports of inflow and outflow of funds via the newsletter.

4. In what way will I benefit from paying a membership fee ? [ I have determined that by paying a relatively low fee I will be allowed access to this forum and receive a newsletter with some information that I will probably find interesting ; hopefully it can be sent by email because I no longer prefer hardcopy of articles , news , etc. . \" [ one club I\'ve been a member of offers a discount on the membership fee in return for agreeing to get the newsletter by email , saving them on publishing costs and mail expences ]There is one way to find out, and that is to join.   You also become eligible for ABC sponsored rosettes and awards as a member.

SteveH - redeemerbulldogs@hotmail.com  

[John]

In what way will I benefit

Steve,
Besides what you listed and Mike added...
Members can have a link on the club\'s Links page to thier poultry related site, members may have a listing in the Breeder Directory and first time members also receive an ABC Handbook.

[Guest]

Thank you both for the the information . The ABC sounds like an organization I would be happy to be a member of . Keep up the good work and hopefully I\'ll join you in 2010 .

SteveH