Reply To: Engine Rebuild Fund

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#9596
Don GrilloDon Grillo
Keymaster

    Tim wrote: $400 a year represents an almost 50% increase in dues for most people whose livelihoods and wages are impacted by a pandemic.

    Tim, this is a one-time assessment for 2021. It does not extend into any following years.

    As an instructor here I have worked very hard to earn the credits for my dues because I know the combination of graduate school and the reality of life in 2020 might make discretionary spending an untenable luxury.

    Tim, thank you for your instructional work at the club, it is truly appreciated.  Our Policy and Procedures manual stipulates in; “1.9.6 Yearly Junior Membership – no application fee or buy in required (over 13 and under 21) or enrolled in school.”

    If you are enrolled in school, you would fall under a Junior membership. Your yearly dues would drop to $250. With your instructor credits your dues would be $0.00. That means you would contribute only the $397.85 to the engine fund. That comes to $33.15 per month.

    I know of many members who just joined this year, some of whom I train. They feel that some of the maintenance problems we’ve experienced have caused too many aircraft to be unavailable. Paying $900 for broken aircraft every year has made many rethink the wisdom of joining this club, and a financial burden of this size would likely push them further in this direction away from us.

    Our club ships flew 726 flights totaling over 293 flight hours as of October. That’s a lot of up time. Yes, there were times that one or two ships were down for mx for brief periods however, there were always aircraft available to fly. No one has approached me as Mx Chair about broken aircraft other than to report items that needed repair or attention.

    For your first move as a new board to be demanding an increase in dues by almost 50% sets a strong precedent that I’m not sure you fully understand the implications of.

    The board of directors has a fiduciary responsibility to the membership and to keep this club viable.  It doesn’t matter that this is a new board of directors. We still have to make the tough decisions.  One of those decisions is funding the engine rebuild or nobody will be flying.

    Sincerely,
    Don