New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 - UPDATED

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (fredhoon)

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 14:25:55 GMT

So as not to clutter the payment thread I though I would continue Tony's conversation here...

TonyMR2
Has there been any decision on what membership includes, aka one car, aka a coffee mug with your name on it...
What's the value proposition to membership apart from contributing to help sustain the countries best mr2 car club where members enjoy support and activities in relation to the increasingly rare and unique mr2....

I know merchandise was discussed on the day and well supported (i.e. hat, shirt or mug). In addition to Merch, and where funds permit, I would personally like to see some form of "Advanced Driver Training" partially subsidised by the club. Some sort of cross-promotion / discount from a training provider could also assist with cost.

Ideally this benefit would be equally targeted at both new members / inexperienced drivers and long serving members by splitting attendees into groups based on their preferences to learn from an instructor or independently enjoy the skidpan. I.e. a half-day at Mt Cotton or a full day a Roadcraft Gympie with a cut-down format similar to last years Diabetes "Hot Pursuit Challenge".

Like it or not, MR2s are stuck with the "snap-oversteer" stereotype so driver training is important for new car owners to experience the handling characteristics of these cars in a safe environment. Secondly the monthly cruises that we all enjoy are only kept safe and incident free through the diligence of the drivers and thus I suggest that driver training is important to reinforce our skills and understanding of how our vehicles brake and handle in an emergency.

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (dennis the menace)

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 11:28:03 GMT

A good move forward. The increase in fee's is certainly not onerous, and reimbursement of Run Organisers costs will possibly (hopefully) encourage more members to give this a go. The clarification over late payment make sense (as in membership remains, but remains pending payment). And the proposed benefits for members looks great.

I for one will keep encouraging MR2 owners to join up, if they haven't already.

Oh, and about that prior question . . .

Groper. . .and the Treasurer is alerted to your membership renewal by BOQ.
This is the 21st century everyone. Participate. . . .

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (Eric)

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 10:08:32 GMT

dennis the menace

Is it intended that bank account details will be sent out to all members - current and lapsed - so that they can pay their dues? And what identifier will be required on the payment?

Yes, they will receive an email. Members just put their name in the comment. It comes up with their name even if they forget

And to answer your prior question, The bank does not notify me. I simply log in and check who has paid

Also first page has been updated

Thanks,

-Eric

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (Eric)

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 10:08:31 GMT

dennis the menace

Is it intended that bank account details will be sent out to all members - current and lapsed - so that they can pay their dues? And what identifier will be required on the payment?

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (dennis the menace)

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 08:17:56 GMT

The membership fee was originally set at a fairly low level basically to avoid a future situation where there may have been a large balance in the bank account and no "fair" way of using those funds. (To provide the protection of Incorporation, we needed to charge something)

Is it intended that bank account details will be sent out to all members - current and lapsed - so that they can pay their dues? And what identifier will be required on the payment?

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (Guest)

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 07:39:22 GMT

Agree with Walter.

I have no conflict with the amount, I believe it's too cheap (that's just my opinion working in the association sector and seeing what others charge). I am happy to pay, though I haven't had a running mr2 for over a year and looks like it's years off from being finished.

My framework of thoughts / feedback is more;
Structure a payment system that is clear and easy to do the first time and seemless in its renewal.
The renewal is driven by the council (Email / forum / Facebook / sms / club meetings).
Ensure there is a value proposition for the membership fee, that the articulation of the membership value is so strong that owners volunteer to pay the fee and advocate others to join (hahaha - I say these lines too often).
That the club membership is enforced, by its members and council, so that there is a protection for the system and those who abide by it.
Any activities of the membership is communicated to its members demonstrating the membership value.
That there needs to be a clear mechanism for its members to provide feedback to what they want in there membership.

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (tralfaz)

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 00:04:57 GMT

I prefer androids myself. Too many worms in apples and you have to keep buying new ones when the old ones go mouldy and fall apart. " /> The fruit does the same thing.

To put forward a possible simple scenario for discussion tomorrow we could have a $20.00 fee for 12 months payable by current and new members for example by 30 September each year (the final date on which this had to be paid by current members can be set by the Committee).
For the six months after the agreed date the amount for both renewing and new members remains $20, then for new members only for the last 6 months of the Club FY it drops to $10. A renewing member (not a new member) always pays $20 no matter when they pay. The latter rule applies because it is expected that a past/renewing member knows what their financial obligations to the Club are and we can't afford discounts just because a member forgets to pay.
There are some other tweaks to this method but these can be discussed at the AGM.

Dennis is correct about this being a not for profit Club (all Incorporated Associations in QLD are) but a healthy financial position is needed if the Club is to survive there now being no new MR2's having been produced for over ten years, the limited numbers sold when they were new, the attrition rate through accidents and the like, and the numbers of road registrable cars falling more rapidly each year.

Not wanting to sound exclusive but in the absence of Toyota reintroducing the MR2 name we could find that in a few years time MR2 ownership and membership of the Club are really something special. Four years ago QLD Transport reported in response to a request for information from the Club that there were 86 AW11's road registered in this state. Latest best information is that this has dropped by 11%. No wonder the prices seem to be going up.

Walter

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (dodgee)

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 20:02:50 GMT

I hate apple lol

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (Guest)

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 19:41:27 GMT

So leave your cash at home but bring your iPhone - that modern age....

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (dennis the menace)

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 19:07:29 GMT

I agree that discussion on these proposals should occur at the AGM. It is very easy to misinterpret a forum post - as appears to have happened here. At no point did I disagree with adding electronic banking as an option, or even question the rationale of having a members subscription. And thanks to those who pointed out this is the 21st century, at my age it is easy to forget.

What I did disagree with was the imposition of a late payment fee without member discussion, and the apparent removal of cash as a method of payment.

"and the Treasurer is alerted to your membership renewal by BOQ."

I'm also a little unsure about the bank notifying the Treasurer that a particular member has paid their membership sub, but I am willing to accept that if the Bank can provide this service it will certainly ease the work load.

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (dodgee)

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 14:04:07 GMT

Well said Walter

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (tralfaz)

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 11:36:02 GMT

Having read everyone's comments I thought it would be a good idea to clarify a few points for people before the AGM so we don't spend too much time going over old ground.

1. The Club in Queensland is an Incorporated Association under the "Associations Incorporation Act 1981" and the "Association Incorporation Regulations 1999", and has been for over four years.

2. What this means simply is that our Club is a legally separate body. It has the same powers, benefits and responsibilities as a person. These include:

owning land
signing a lease
appearing in court.

3. An incorporated association is legally separate from its members. This means that:

the committee makes decisions
the association becomes legally liable for these decisions
individuals on the committee aren’t personally liable (as long as they acted in good faith).

This was not the case when the so-called old "Club" operated prior to incorporation and just transacted its business solely via this Forum without any Club Rules.

Any person prior to incorporation who claimed a position on the "Club" Committee, organised a Run, or any other activity was personally liable for the outcome, including if anything happened like an accident. This personal liability hasn't ceased just because the Club was incorporated, and so to quote an old legal adage anyone who says that they did things better in the "good old days" should maybe put their house ownership in their wife's name.

For those who follow local news it was and is effectively the same situation as these two people in Queensland who are suing the organiser of a birthday party for not organising safety issues properly where accelerant was thrown on the fire. The amounts involved in this law suit now total 12 million dollars (that's right, 12 million dollars!!).

Think what this would possibly mean to you if you had organised an MR2 event without the protection of the incorporation legislation or you are still holding out the previous non-formal arrangements as a better way than how things are being managed now. Car accident (of course we don't have these on our Runs " />), organiser gets sued personally, huge legal bills up front, bye-bye house, bye-bye car, hello bankruptcy, possibly gaol.

Three of the huge practical benefits incorporation has also given us are firstly the ability to run events like the Nationals last year, secondly to be able to certify older cars as fit for historical registration (we have one now and expect more), and thirdly have enough funds to be able to book venues like Queensland Raceway for MR2 events in advance before money is collected from members.

4. As an incorporated association our Club must:

comply with the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 and the Associations Incorporation Regulation 1999
review its financial affairs every year
lodge copies of your rules, annual returns and financial statements with us.

5. There are certain annual costs associated with running an Incorporated Association which are mandated by government and therefore fees have to be collected. The original aim was to keep the fees as low as possible - $20.00 per year - and the intention was to make the collection and banking as simple as possible.

6. Now that the Club has been incorporated for over four years I feel that it needs to go through a growth period and possibly make some changes, just as all worthwhile organisations should.

Eric's suggestions about moving to electronic fees collection is a great example of such changes and I for one fully support it. However, the best forum for the discussion on this and other issues is the AGM at which paid-up members of the Club can vote on the motion. I would strongly recommend that members come to the AGM and be prepared to have some robust conversations about issues if they want to see change happen.

If anyone wants to comment on the finer points of what has been stated here then before electrons are released the following website contains all the answers you may need.
https://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-regulated-industries-and-accountability/queensland-laws-and-regulations/associations-charities-and-non-for-profits/incorporated-associations/set-up-an-incorporated-association/

Walter

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (5SGTE)

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 10:39:35 GMT

That guy's all talk, really a big softy.

I think the topic is clearly much bigger than simply fees so Eric, your timing is impeccable... will be good banter on the weekend. Can't see it being too difficult at the end of the day it's all about the passion we share.

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (Highlander)

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 09:21:01 GMT

Queensland Chapter appoints new membership fees collections officer. Solves all problems for Eric.

Re: New Membership Payments Scheme for 2016 (Eric)

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 08:58:58 GMT

TonyMR2
So what does $20 buy you these days... Three cups of coffee.... A DVD... What tangibles does membership provide for a member and for the club....

dodgee
If we are paying the membership fee to protect event organisers from litagation in the event of an accident my question is.
A new member wants to join after the cut off date, they are not required to pay anything until the next payment "window" opens.
If they were to be involved in an accident at a club event they would not be a paid up member and therefore not a club member as they have not paid the membership fee. Therefore able to sue,
I feel new members should be required to pay a pro rata fee the day they join. Surely this would not be too difficult to administer, how many new members does the club get a year?
If you are not a paid up member you should not be allowed to attend a club event.
Looking forward to the discussions at the AGM.
ENKEI's are the best rims LOL.

I think the above points are things we need to talk about at the AGM. We need to outline what benefits that being a club member actually entails, and I want all our current members to have their say.

Yes we don't get many new members so this is something to consider.