Step Up for the ISGB

[MarcyLamberson]

I love this concept and will get involved. Perhaps those with a blog, presence on Facebook or Twitter can add to this program by some PR?

[AngieRamey]

Great idea, Marcy!!

[MaureenKennedy]

You are right, I thought it was a joint effort of several people to donate to a membership. My primary objection was that it was only going to be advertised in the Paid part of LE. I would not have objected to it being advertised in the Family Room, where all people who visit LE are allowed access.

But I would have also thought that a thread here asking people who might like to enter the give a way as well as a thread on Wet Canvas might have been nice too, and not shown any particular favoritism to any one board.

[susan sheehan]

I find it interesting you think you can tell me how I should give my money away.

[Karen]

I hate that my post is going to be negative, but I am trying to decide whether to renew or not. We have a $75 family membership. I fully expected to go to the Gathering this year. The combination of seminars (as described) and 95 degree heat made me decide the paltry 5 hour drive wasn't worth the effort. (BTW, Louisville is one of my favorite places.)

Yesterday I read the latest GlassBead. Gee, since I am not paying $88, I'm not paying for my membership. I'm sure Marjorie meant well, but that may have been the death knell for me. The GlassBead and the privilege of voting for????? are the only benefits I get from my membership and now I found out that I am a charity case.

Anyone able to put a different spin on my attitude?

(I do like and for some reason remember my member number. So far that's the only reason I can think of to renew. At one time the ISGB meant everything in beadmaking to me.)

[Hayley]

Maureen, you are welcome to sponsor a membership or two in the Family Room on LE or on Wet Canvas but I really think where and how we want to sponsor one should be up to our discretion. It's really disheartening to see someone objecting to our wanting to give back to the organization by paying for someone to be a member just because she doesn't agree with how we go about doing it. Bottom line - it benefits the ISGB and one new member and it's our own money we are using!

Karen, I think you misunderstood Marjorie's message in the GlassBead. I believe she's saying that even though during this dire economic times each member costs the organization $88, the ISGB decided not to raise the membership fee. I think that's one of the reason some of us are planning on sponsoring a new member. . . and/or recruit a friend to join. This is one way to ensure that the financial health of the organization sustains through this trying time.

[Schermo]

Maureen, I'd like to clarify to make sure you understand: The memberships that are being sponsored are being offered by individuals who are members of the ISGB - not the organization itself - in order to help bring in new members. In some cases, the people offering to sponsor someone new will base the criteria on need. In other cases, it's based on luck of the draw - that is completely up to the individual offering to sponsor another member. In Susan's case, I believe she chose randomly from those who posted in the thread she started on LE. By offering it in the VIP section - a paid area - she was, in effect, doing something to support both the ISGB and LE, as well as the individual who is being sponsored. Those were her criteria, and I think what she did is pretty cool!

There is a small group of us who are going to go in together to sponsor a few memberships, but we've not yet discussed what our criteria for choosing will be, or on which forums we'll offer the sponsorships. This is not a "give away" in the sense that it's not a contest that you enter; It's members who want and are able to support the ISGB by essentially making a donation, and at the same time adding to our membership, as well as giving a few people the opportunity to see what the ISGB is all about. However, since the money that is being "donated" by sponsoring new member(s) is coming from individuals, I really think it's kind of up to those people to decide on the specifics of how they offer their sponsorships. "Fairness" to every lampworker on the internet may not be one of those criteria.

[Schermo]

I hate that my post is going to be negative, but I am trying to decide whether to renew or not. We have a $75 family membership. I fully expected to go to the Gathering this year. The combination of seminars (as described) and 95 degree heat made me decide the paltry 5 hour drive wasn't worth the effort. (BTW, Louisville is one of my favorite places.)

Yesterday I read the latest GlassBead. Gee, since I am not paying $88, I'm not paying for my membership. I'm sure Marjorie meant well, but that may have been the death knell for me. The GlassBead and the privilege of voting for????? are the only benefits I get from my membership and now I found out that I am a charity case.

Anyone able to put a different spin on my attitude?

(I do like and for some reason remember my member number. So far that's the only reason I can think of to renew. At one time the ISGB meant everything in beadmaking to me.)

Hi Karen,

When I read your post, I really didn't understand what you were talking about. I had just read the latest issue of the Glassbead, and I didn't remember anything about people not paying for their memberships, or being considered charity cases. So, I went and reread it to see if I could figure out what you had read that I had missed!!

I found what you're referring to - Marjorie Langston, director of membership - wrote a brief piece to update people about memberships. Here's what I took away from my second, more careful reading of the article:

1. Our membership numbers have declined slightly this year, but considering the economy, that's not bad, and speaks to how valuable the ISGB is to people.

2. All our members are equally valuable to the organization, and that the board is trying to keep costs down so that they don't have to raise membership dues in this difficult time, even if it means making cuts to the budget. And to illustrate this point, Marjorie stated that any given membership costs the ISGB $88, even if that is not the amount you are paying.

I think that you may have drawn a conclusion from that one sentence about the cost of membership that is just the opposite of what Marjorie was saying. I don't read it as chastising anyone for not paying enough in dues, or inferring that anyone at the individual or family level is a "charity case"! I believe she was simply trying to point out the fact that the board acknowledges the difficult economic times we're currently in, and even though the current dues don't always cover the cost of each membership, they are trying to do what they can to keep costs down, so they don't have to raise the dues.

I'm not sure if this puts a different spin on your attitude, but I hope you'll look at her words from a slightly different angle. As I read it, the point is that the board wants to do the best they can to keep our dues the same as they have been, because we don't want to lose loyal members due to a bad economy.

Hope that helps!

Schermo

[Karen]

Unfortunately, I did understand what the comment meant. It's another example of strange bookkeeping.

It is that attitude that makes me question my membership. Well, that and the lack of a sense of humor about all of this.

[AngieRamey]

Unfortunately, I did understand what the comment meant. It's another example of strange bookkeeping.

It is that attitude that makes me question my membership. Well, that and the lack of a sense of humor about all of this.

Sense of humor about what?