Flexible AMA Dues Dates to cause major issues with clubs
03-08-2016, 09:52 PM
#1
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Flexible AMA Dues Dates to cause major issues with clubs
AMA has decided that they will henceforth have each member's dues run 12 months from the date they apply. Most clubs run a Jan to Dec membership year. Anyone see a problem with this? How about the guy (or gal) that joins a club and doesn't renew their membership in, say June? How in the heck is the club supposed to monitor this... my club has over 300 members and our site contract requires us to be open to the public for viewing. We can't just lock folks out! What happens to our site insurance and AMA coverage if said same "member" has a flight issue and causes a loss?
This was not discussed with clubs in advance! This is not a good thing! PLEASE write AMA and let them know how bad an idea this is. I know of at least 5 clubs who have contacted AMA and voiced their dislike of this practice. Your club should be aware and make their displeasure know as well!
This was not discussed with clubs in advance! This is not a good thing! PLEASE write AMA and let them know how bad an idea this is. I know of at least 5 clubs who have contacted AMA and voiced their dislike of this practice. Your club should be aware and make their displeasure know as well!
03-09-2016, 05:23 AM
#2
Banned
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This isn't anything new, it was discussed 4 or 5 months ago. Writing to the AMA isn't going to make a difference, it's done. The club secretary (or however deals with this issue) is going to have more work cut out for them. It's a couple button clicks to tell who has paid their AMA and club membership.
03-09-2016, 06:46 AM
#3
Well,, yes and no, I'm club treasurer, I have to deal with it a lot this time of year, I get annoyed that I have to do the work to confirm someone else's AMA status when it's their responsibility to show me it's current. It's a pain for the 15-20% or so I have to do in our 100 member club, If I had to do that for a 300 member club, it would be a nightmare.
I see what he's saying though,,, We run March to March. I could see where are guy shows he's current in or by March, pay his club dues,,, then his AMA expires in June, then not worrying about renewing until the following March. It can happen,, but if a guy is going to be unethical in that why, what can you do?
We require members to display their current AMA card in the pin rack while flying (even on 2.4), it's easy to require,, harder to enforce, but I think it's something we'll have to be more vigilant about.
I see what he's saying though,,, We run March to March. I could see where are guy shows he's current in or by March, pay his club dues,,, then his AMA expires in June, then not worrying about renewing until the following March. It can happen,, but if a guy is going to be unethical in that why, what can you do?
We require members to display their current AMA card in the pin rack while flying (even on 2.4), it's easy to require,, harder to enforce, but I think it's something we'll have to be more vigilant about.
03-09-2016, 07:53 AM
#5
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It's not a membership thing. It's a flying field thing. I can see us ending up wearing three badges - Proof of current club membership, proof of current AMA, proof of registration with the FAA. That will be a monitoring nightmare! All so the AMA can pick up a buck or two? And, now they will have to bill each person at their own time (with supposed notices going out 90/60/30 days in advance. Surely that cost will offset the gain. The burden was dropped on the clubs without our input... The AMA show was just here and it wasn't brought up. I know the AMA says clubs are not responsible for verifying the FAA registration - but that's only AMA's "opinion". BTW the FAA has already visited our field and "unofficially" asked us about the FAA registration. He was not driving an official government car and he did show us his FAA credentials. Those of us at sanctioned AMA flying fields are the low hanging fruit for the FAA to go check out.. they know where we are. Many cities have posted no-fly zones within city limits in our neck of the woods. Popping your multi-copter up in the air is only a batmobile-like beacon that screams: Come bust me! I believe it's going to get much worse before it gets any better.
03-09-2016, 12:20 PM
#6
With an excel spread sheet it should not be to hard to keep track of. Any one who has been an AMA member for the past few years will always have a renewal date of 12/31. It is only going to be the new members who signed up after the new policy went into effect who will be an issue. Not any different than driver licenses. In hindsight the AMA should have done what most clubs do an offer a prorated membership. Bigger worry right now is the FAA and registration. You can search the AMA to confirm who has renewed and not.
03-09-2016, 02:34 PM
#8
So true, that's why we charge a late fee,, to encourage guys to join early so we have the money for rent, etc for the season. But yes many wait til the day they feel like flying to renew, Then when we ask to see their ama card they say "oh,I renewed online last night, I don't have my card yet" Duuuh, of course you don't have a card yet,, then I have to look up their status,, it's annoying and inconsiderate actually.
03-09-2016, 05:09 PM
#10
Banned
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That makes no sense whatsoever. They were busy for two months, so they decided to make this change? Wha?
They probably made it for accounting purposes or to try to save money somehow. I seem to recall an e=mail with an explanation but can't easily find it now. Although not every decision they make is run by ever member for approval, I've got to think they make changes overall that they think will benefit the membership. Obviously not everyone will agree. At a minimum an explanation for the change would be nice to see, or at least be easy to find.
They probably made it for accounting purposes or to try to save money somehow. I seem to recall an e=mail with an explanation but can't easily find it now. Although not every decision they make is run by ever member for approval, I've got to think they make changes overall that they think will benefit the membership. Obviously not everyone will agree. At a minimum an explanation for the change would be nice to see, or at least be easy to find.
03-09-2016, 06:09 PM
#11
My Feedback: (125)
With an excel spread sheet it should not be to hard to keep track of. Any one who has been an AMA member for the past few years will always have a renewal date of 12/31. It is only going to be the new members who signed up after the new policy went into effect who will be an issue. Not any different than driver licenses. In hindsight the AMA should have done what most clubs do an offer a prorated membership. Bigger worry right now is the FAA and registration. You can search the AMA to confirm who has renewed and not.
From the above, I'm guessing you've never handled membership renewals for a club. Six years as a Treasurer who also handled the membership renewals for a 150+ member club, my experiences were exactly the same as Scale_only. The person responsible for the membership has the hardest job in the club and you will hear every BS excuse under the sun. When you put them on the spot, they will MF you to anyone that will listen, just because you were doing what was expected of you and they were trying to do an end run around the rules. Seriously, the membership job is like herding cats and now the AMA renewal date is a moving target - BRILLIANT!
AMA always offered a prorated membership, but only to new members. If they offered it to current members, everyone would renew in May and pay for 8 months. An the renewal date now starts when you renew, so if you wait until May, your membership runs May to May. This is the problem as it's completely out of sync with 99% of the club's renewal cycles.
Last edited by Hemikiller; 03-15-2016 at 11:11 AM.
03-10-2016, 05:55 AM
#12
That makes no sense whatsoever. They were busy for two months, so they decided to make this change? Wha?
They probably made it for accounting purposes or to try to save money somehow. I seem to recall an e=mail with an explanation but can't easily find it now. Although not every decision they make is run by ever member for approval, I've got to think they make changes overall that they think will benefit the membership. Obviously not everyone will agree. At a minimum an explanation for the change would be nice to see, or at least be easy to find.
They probably made it for accounting purposes or to try to save money somehow. I seem to recall an e=mail with an explanation but can't easily find it now. Although not every decision they make is run by ever member for approval, I've got to think they make changes overall that they think will benefit the membership. Obviously not everyone will agree. At a minimum an explanation for the change would be nice to see, or at least be easy to find.
Prorating would make sense,, But we know the AMA big wigs are lacking in that area, they never seem to think 2-3 moves ahead,,,
I sent them a scathing email in reply to that Quad offer email a couple days ago, ya kidding me? all the problem with quads and the AMA is marketing them directly to me through email that's supposed to be for AMA/Club business,, Idiots
03-10-2016, 06:41 AM
#13
Banned
My Feedback: (8)
IDK where tailskid came up with that theory, but I know many guys when the join for the first time in the middle of the year think, why do I have to pay the full pop for 6 months?, it does discourage membership, so going start date to start date makes it "fair" I guess,,, more like your auto insurance, etc.
Prorating would make sense,, But we know the AMA big wigs are lacking in that area, they never seem to think 2-3 moves ahead,,,
I sent them a scathing email in reply to that Quad offer email a couple days ago, ya kidding me? all the problem with quads and the AMA is marketing them directly to me through email that's supposed to be for AMA/Club business,, Idiots
Prorating would make sense,, But we know the AMA big wigs are lacking in that area, they never seem to think 2-3 moves ahead,,,
I sent them a scathing email in reply to that Quad offer email a couple days ago, ya kidding me? all the problem with quads and the AMA is marketing them directly to me through email that's supposed to be for AMA/Club business,, Idiots
As for "we" knowing the big wigs lack the ability to think 2-3 moves ahead, I don't know who the "we" is....or how that conclusion has been reached. Clearly there are those here that find fault with every single move the AMA has made, or didn't make, or is thinking of making, or better yet didn't consult the entire membership prior to doing something etc etc etc. Other than the simplistic idea of "banning" drones, or better yet reversing earlier decisions they have made, I have yet to see any great insights here on what moves they should be taking on anything now (or in two or three moves) Just more of the same...ban the drones, give me more money for my field, give me money to start a club, why can't we go back to the way things were ie code for "traditional".
That being said, this move is certainly putting more work on the clubs in terms of tracking/memberships/renewals. Probably another reason for people to not get involved in club positions, as if the secretary's job wasn't tough enough.
03-10-2016, 09:22 AM
#15
Run Forrest , RUN !!! 
Hey , look at the bright side , at least ya got em out of the Sepulveda thread .
03-10-2016, 09:30 AM
#16
Banned
My Feedback: (8)
Agree to disagree I guess, carry on.
03-10-2016, 02:31 PM
#17
That makes no sense whatsoever. They were busy for two months, so they decided to make this change? Wha?
They probably made it for accounting purposes or to try to save money somehow. I seem to recall an e=mail with an explanation but can't easily find it now. Although not every decision they make is run by ever member for approval, I've got to think they make changes overall that they think will benefit the membership. Obviously not everyone will agree. At a minimum an explanation for the change would be nice to see, or at least be easy to find.
They probably made it for accounting purposes or to try to save money somehow. I seem to recall an e=mail with an explanation but can't easily find it now. Although not every decision they make is run by ever member for approval, I've got to think they make changes overall that they think will benefit the membership. Obviously not everyone will agree. At a minimum an explanation for the change would be nice to see, or at least be easy to find.
03-15-2016, 05:02 PM
#19
Senior Member
My Feedback: (13)
So how is this going to work? They will start my renewal "cycle" on the month I applied to be a member?
That was, like 30+ years ago; and I'm pretty sure I joined in the early spring time. So, having just renewed, are they gonna hit me for dues again here shortly? I don't think I'd pay full boat again, after only three months.
Sorry about my cluelessness, I haven't been on the forum in months.
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That was, like 30+ years ago; and I'm pretty sure I joined in the early spring time. So, having just renewed, are they gonna hit me for dues again here shortly? I don't think I'd pay full boat again, after only three months.
Sorry about my cluelessness, I haven't been on the forum in months.
.
03-16-2016, 04:40 AM
#21
Senior Member
My Feedback: (13)
I understand that.
I also understand that my renewal notices have been coming in late November, for as long as I can remember.
My question was about this new policy; it reads to me like AMA HQ wants to spread out the renewal process over the entire calendar year, instead of the last two months of the year and first two months of the new year.
Never mind. I'll just deal with it- or not- as things develop.
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I also understand that my renewal notices have been coming in late November, for as long as I can remember.
My question was about this new policy; it reads to me like AMA HQ wants to spread out the renewal process over the entire calendar year, instead of the last two months of the year and first two months of the new year.
Never mind. I'll just deal with it- or not- as things develop.
.
05-09-2016, 04:50 AM
#22
So processing the 100 or so club memberships over the last few months, I've seen 3 AMA cards that have the mid year expiration,, so their AMA might be active next year during the period the club takes renewals,, I'm going to propose for our club that a members with the mid year renewals, must be paid up through the year, or the following year for those who pay early in the fall,, just like the other 100 guys have to. A card that expires mid membership isn't going to cut it.. That way there is no need to check or track when a anyone's AMA expires after they re-up..
05-09-2016, 05:38 AM
#23
I remember the complaining when the AMA switched to the January to December system. Now that the billing is reverting back to the old 12 month billing, the complaints continue.
