Lifetime Membership discussion

[A26B]

David,
I do not think revisions to the bylaws are necessary to create a membership option for paying dues,i.e. a one time,ump sum payment for dues that would last for a members lifetime. NOTE: I did not use the term "Lifetime Member," simply because there is already a "Lifetime Member" in the bylaws. The "Lifetime Member" in the bylaws is a bestowment to a Registry member who has excelled in service to the registry over a long period of time and is recognized by the Registry. (refer to the bylaws)
Instead, for the dues option referred to, I would suggest something along the line of "Perpetual Membership" or similar term.
Such a membership option could be initiated or withdrawn if it proved impractical to continue (those who opted in would of course remain as such). Memberships of the proposed type would be no more or less than "Regular Members" in accordance with the bylaws.
Done on my IPhone so please excuse errors)

[gbrtng]

If I sell my ZR-1 next year I have wasted whatever the lifetime membership costs.
As I said earlier, this has happened before in the ZR-1 community and I got scr##ed out
of a portion of a "lifetime" membership. Fool me once, shame on me ...
Go ahead and offer one, I won't bite again.

[Ronstar]

OP states he thinks ZR-1 ownership should be a requirement for lifetime membership. That makes no sense to me. Why?

[Fully Vetted]

Originally Posted by Ronstar

OP states he thinks ZR-1 ownership should be a requirement for lifetime membership. That makes no sense to me. Why?

Why not? You can buy a regular membership with no qualifiers if you so choose. That's only for Lifetime Membership and it's meant just to be another qualifier. It adds another level of commitment, that in order to be a LM you have to be an owner. To me LM needs to be something special and not something that just anyone with $350 in their pocket can purchase.

[Ronstar]

[QUOTE=Fully Vetted;161198]Why not? ....

Just a few things that come to mind
1) is someone gonna track who still has their car ( or ever had one)
2)do you have to "prove" you own one?
3) if one sells or totals their car is their membership gone forever or reinstated when they buy another
4) does an LT-5 in another car qualify, prototypes and ex-vin cars?
5) "certain number of honorary memberships" sound a lot like favoritism and politics
6) makes more sense to me to try to encourage more lifelong members not discourage them for the long term health of the group
7)sounds like you DO want to make it a status symbol

Absolutely no malice intended. Just want what's best for the club

[Fully Vetted]

QUOTE=Ronstar;161215]

Originally Posted by Fully Vetted

Why not? ....

Just a few things that come to mind
1) is someone gonna track who still has their car ( or ever had one)
It would be somewhat labor intensive to keep track of.

2)do you have to "prove" you own one?
Yes, at the time you submit your LM form. Not that difficult to do.

3) if one sells or totals their car is their membership gone forever or reinstated when they buy another
Reinstated

4) does an LT-5 in another car qualify, prototypes and ex-vin cars?
ZR-1 ownership, not LT-5 ownership

5) "certain number of honorary memberships" sound a lot like favoritism and politics
It could be if not careful. These could be voted on by other LM's.

6) makes more sense to me to try to encourage more lifelong members not discourage them for the long term health of the group
Not neccesarily. There will still be a need for Annual Membership Renewals in order to keep cash flow.

7)sounds like you DO want to make it a status symbol
Not at all. But I do think that the only ones that will pony up $1000 for a LM are the ones that are absolutely committed to the lifelong endeavor of making sure this club stays together. And I think they should be recognized for that committment.

Absolutely no malice intended. Just want what's best for the club
Absolutely none taken. In the end we all only want what's best for the club. In response to #1 and #3 - While I do like the idea of a LM being available, due to the work envolved I'm second guessing the ZR-1 ownership requirement. I like the idea but it's just too much to keep track of. Ownership requirement at the time of your purchase is a good compromise but no requirement to retain ownership during the full term of your LM.

[A26B]

If there were a lifetime membership, it must be more than $350. The Registry doesn't make much on membership. If you freeze the annual cost of membership at $350 for a lifetime, the Registry will be losing money in just a few years, due to the cost of goods and G&A expense. I think it needs to be on the order of $1,000.00 or greater.

Insofar as extra perks for a lifetime member, I don't agree. I think a lifetime member should be exactly the same as a Regular Member, only the dues are paid up forever.

I will remind all, that A Lifetime Member is already defined in the bylaws and it is much different than the concept being discussed here. Conceptually, a new name needs to be created, such as but certainly not limited to "Forever Member" or "Member for Life" to avoid any confusion with Lifetime Member as it appears in the bylaws.

[Fully Vetted]

Originally Posted by A26B

...If there were a lifetime membership, it must be more than $350. The Registry doesn't make much on membership. If you freeze the annual cost of membership at $350 for a lifetime, the Registry will be losing money in just a few years, due to the cost of goods and G&A expense. I think it needs to be on the order of $1,000.00 or greater.

I absolutely agree.

[Kevin]

the registry has always been open to anyone who loves the zr-1, having one or not has never been a requirement...

[Fully Vetted]

Originally Posted by Kevin

the registry has always been open to anyone who loves the zr-1, having one or not has never been a requirement...

And it still wouldn't be a requirement. Absolutely anyone could still join.