[QCWA] QCWA - Associate Membership

[n5ge at n5ge.com]

No! No! No!

When I became a wireless operator (ham) in 1976 I dreamed of the day when I
could join QCWA.  In the early 90's I mentioned my dream to another ham and he
said, "You don't have to wait any more.  You can join as an associate member
now.".  It may seem silly to some of you, but my heart was broken, so I vowed
not to join QCWA, because being a member was no longer a challenge.

About three years ago I met one of our members at a Ham-Fest who was manning the
QCWA table.  I told him my story and he told me the ham had been wrong.  I
immediately bought a Lifetime membership.

The point of my being against Associat Memberships is that in these day of easy
license acquirement for the "Get What You Want and Get It Now Generation(s)" is
that there are few goals that really have to be waited for.  

How can one who has not been a wireless operator for twenty five years become a
member?  The very name of the organization refers to the criteria to be met
before becoming a member.  Are we going to give in to hams who want to say they
belong to a prestigious club so they can seem to be something they are not?

If allowing associate memberships is done, you will have made membership in QCWA
meaningless.

Think about it...

73,
Tom
Amateur Radio Operator N5GE
ARRL Lifetime Member
QCWA Lifetime Member


 
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:47:22 -0500, "W2AS" <w2as at earthlink.net> wrote:

>
>I have read with interest the subject of Associate Membership for National QCWA; this has come up repeatedly during my 21 years of membership.  
>
>I took a survey of our Citrus Chapter #45 yesterday at our monthly meeting and here are the results:
>
>Some general comments were how much would it cost, what benefits for those participating, etc.  Recognizing that this is only a preliminary question, the general theme seemed to be why is it needed?  There were a couple of recommendations as to cost-cutting measures to increase National revenue such as putting the "Journal" in e-mail format and charging for certificates issued by National.  
>
>Some voting members elected not to vote and you can read that any way you choose but of those who did vote the numbers were:
>
>6 voted against any change whatsoever and 3 voted for a change.
>
>73,  AL, W2AS
>President, Chapter 45
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