Next I think we should look at our Endurance News magazines for the last month and inside
we will find a financial statement.
As we would see, the AERC lost money last year. It also stands to lose more this year unless
they increase fees somewhere.In addition we can see that the convention in Reno is the biggest
money maker for the AERC. A lot of that money comes from vendors showing at the trade show.
In 1997 the convention will be held in the East. Most vendors who regularly attend in the West
will be there. So the AERC has to hope the East wiil have a supply of vendors for the 1997
convention. I attended the 1993 convention in Atlanta and can only say as a vendor I was very
disppointed. I did not make expenses for the trip! We will not be at the 1997 convention!
The dues do not pay for the magazine only.
The $5 fee for non-members is the choice of the ride manager. If they don't get it from
the rider then they pay it out of pocket to get their ride properly recorded by AERC.
Nina has the right idea in contacting you AERC board member!
Sandy, why cancel your ads and hurt them even more? I have found it to be the best targeted
dollars spent. We get very little response from Trail Blazer adds, it costs more per ad, and
the staff there invariably has messed up our copy we send to them! In addition the ads we sent
sometimes did not get printed! AERC EN has very reasonable rates and we get the best bang
for our advertising dollar.
Yes things could be better, so let's stop swhining and start helping with ideas and
suggestions to our board of directors. If they aren't responsive to the membership, vote them
out of office!
Ray Santana
UC Davis Medical Center
Network Operations
rtsantana@ucdavis.edu
//--- forwarded letter -------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> From: linda_cowles@MENTORG.COM (Linda Cowles @ PCB x5624)
> Date: Wed, 25 Oct 95 16:56:12 -0700
> Subject: [endurance] New AERC Membership Fees
>
> I received my 1996 AERC Membership Application last night, ..
> Last year, the rate for a Single Renewal was $45, and this year it's $65.
> A significant increase.
>
> $65 is a lot of money for folks like me to spend for an AERC membership.
> Endurance is far from the only sport/activity that I have.
>
> My initial reaction was a shrugging "Drop the membership until I see
> if this new horse ends up being competitive. Play with LD rides as a
> non-member. The magazine isn't worth a $65 subscription. I devote time &
> money to organizations that purchase and maintain trails, this $65
> is better spent in those organizations if I'm not competing." But....
>
> If that's the reaction of a lot of low-ranked riders like myself, AERC
> rolls could drop significantly. Many of us haven't got 5 rides a year
> in our horses - or our butts! Maybe I over-estimate the numbers of
> "low-riders" out there!! Bottom line, I want the organization healthy,
> but won't retain a $65 membership if I'm not competing consistently.
>
> Is it just me? Maybe it's just peanuts to everyone else. > Later -
>
> Linda
> Gilroy California
>
>
>*************************************************************************
> The Endurance News subscription was what, $25. Membership was $45.
> Non-member fees at rides were $5 per ride. I figured if I did
> 4 rides (which I planned to do) I would could come out even
> by joining (than spending the extra $20 in non-member fees)
>
> But guess what? None of the ride managers at rides I have been
> at have collected the non-member $5! They refund it every time.
> So as far as attending rides, there is no benefit to being an
> AERC member. I would really like to know what gives, why aren't
> ride managers charging the extra $5?
>
>
> Leslie
>
> ------------------------------
>
> From: SandyDSA@aol.com
> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 01:31:13 -0400
> Subject: [endurance] Fee increase
>
> Tomorrow morning I will call AERC and not only cancel our ads but also inform
> them of why they will not be seeing our renewal next month. $65 is too much
> compared to other organizations, and too much for all but the weekly
> competitors. AND WHY ARE THEY NOT HOLDING TO CHARGING NON MEMBERS?? WHAT'S
> GOING ON? >
> ------------------------------
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> From: Nina Lee Gibson <GIBSONNL@k1023.a1.ornl.gov>
> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 08:58:12 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: [endurance] Re: Fees
>
> The Board of Director for AERC wanted to raise non-member fees to $15 last
> year to offset costs. But some of the directors wanted non-members to get the
> same benefits as members without having to join. They said it would lose them
> riders if we charged them a "fee" to ride. I can't think of any other sport
> that treats non-members the same. As a matter of fact, most events can't be
> entered by non-members.
> The Directors are there to be contacted! If you haven't talked to your
> regional or Director-at-large do so.
> Just my two cents.....
>
> Nina
>
> gibsonnl@ornl.gov
>