Note: As of 22
November there has been no response from any member of the RRCA Board
concerning this letter.
RRCA
Board,
The Huntsville Track Club (HTC) received the 2003 dues
invoice for a number of members other than the number provided to the RRCA in
the membership database five days prior to September 30, which is the date the
bylaws state membership for yearly billing must be reported. The HTC has never
sent a membership database with any number of members even close to the number
we are being billed. There is no statement in the bylaws about how any
club must define their membership and/or membership categories, or even that
all club members must be classified as RRCA members. In a section
unrelated to "Article V - Dues," the only requirement is that a club
must have no fewer than ten individual members to join the RRCA.
If the RRCA intended to increase annual dues why was it not brought to a
discussion and vote at the 2002 convention? If it was not planned at that
time, it would be reasonable to wait until the 2003 convention to implement the
change. Not to mention in accordance with the RRCA by-laws. The
wording of David Dobrynski's e-press release to State Reps. is a thinly veiled
attempt to legitimize the raising of dues without outright stating the obvious.
Dobrynski states, "While the cost per member ($2.25) has not changed, the
multiple it is applied to (individual members vs. households) will change for
some clubs." It's nothing more than a smoke and mirror attempt to
increase income. This option is being exercised because the executive
director did not raise the income he was hired to raise and he unashamedly
passes the responsibility onto the clubs when he says, "We discussed ways
in which this increase might be handled. Some of the ideas that we talked about
included: clubs increasing the entry fee slightly for their sponsored races to
cover the increase in dues and insurance premiums; and clubs raising their
membership fees when it comes time for their members to renew their
membership." It is obvious from this statement that the board was in
agreement with this proposed course of action.
We understand you obtained a legal opinion at the meeting, but you did not
consult the RRCA legal chair or members of the legal committee. Bylaws
often do not stand-alone. Was precedence discussed and its relevance to
this issue? You accepted an opinion from a single source without proper
research, evaluation or discussion. A decision that impacts the way clubs
are billed deserves careful and complete evaluation from multiple sources.
Concerning dues, the RRCA Bylaws state the following for local clubs:
"ARTICLE V – DUES A. The amount of annual dues for local road runner clubs
shall be determined by the RRCA membership. The number of members as of
September 30 shall be the total on which annual dues for the following calendar
year for local road runner clubs shall be determined."
As a result of the above bylaw requirement, a vote by the membership, as stated
in Article V - A, becomes the RRCA policy by which clubs are billed each year.
The policy would have to encompass all aspects upon which clubs are billed, not
just a fee anyone could establish post vote. Thus, any part of that policy not
amended by a vote of the membership would be required to remain the same.
That would mean the statement "amount of annual dues" does not imply
a set fee that would then be left open to interpretation. "Members" is not defined in
article V - A, and is open to interpretation.
The second sentence of Article V - A says to us that member clubs can determine
the number of members they wish to report. Both are defined in the RRCA
Billing Policy, which has been approved by the clubs, and does not reflect your
interpretation, which was based solely upon the bylaws.
The last vote by the membership to amend the amount of the annual dues, by
which the RRCA bills clubs, occurred at the 2001 RRCA Convention and became
effective for the 2002 dues billing.
The dues policy stated in the "2002 RRCA Fee Information Sheet" is as
follows for local clubs (Note: The information sheet states "local road
runner clubs" incorrectly as "regular clubs." There is no term
"regular clubs" in the bylaws.)
"Dues must be paid annually. For calculating dues and insurance rates, a
"member" can be defined as a "household." Clubs joining the
RRCA must submit a current roster of their membership. Dues and insurance fees
for renewal of membership are based on the number of members reported to the
RRCA in the fall of each calendar year. If no updated number is reported, fees
will be calculated based on the last number received. There are no additional
charges/refunds for fluctuations in membership numbers during the course of a
calendar year.
Regular Clubs: based on the number of club members
35 or fewer members = flat fee of $75
36 - 1999 = $2.25 per member
2,000+ = negotiable"
There has been no reported vote to amend that policy at the 2002 RRCA
Convention, thus the 2003 billing is required by the bylaws to remain the same.
Much of the above has been stated in respect to all RRCA member clubs.
Let us explain to you the specific concerns and the actions we will present to
the HTC Board should they vote to continue membership in the RRCA.
We won't attempt to explain here the many values of promoting family
participation in the sport, but the HTC has promoted it extremely well and now
have a very high percentage of dependent members. It has not been
promoted for financial reasons. In fact, the HTC has maintained very low
dues in order to attract the highest possible involvement in the club and
sport. Obviously numbers have a value to the HTC and RRCA in attracting
sponsors, advertisers, municipal support, public tolerance, media interest,
etc.
The HTC has a number of membership categories, including "honorary"
for which there is no dues. We have a membership category for those
living outside the county because distance restricts them from participating in
club activities as readily as local members. They receive full membership
status including membership in the RRCA, and their dues are $8 per year.
An individual can join as a "general" member for $12. Then we
have the "family" membership that is $15 regardless of number of
dependents. Yes, $3 for any number of dependents. The average is
just over 2 dependents. Thus, the HTC receives approximately $1.50 per
dependent. And now you have approved that the HTC be billed more than $4
per dependent, a loss to the
club of more than $2.50 per dependent. Dependents receive a membership
card but they are not included in HTC mailing or other individual services and
they are not included in our RRCA membership. They are the only members
in a special category. Many are spouses or children who do not even run –
we hope our interest in them will result in their participation in the future -
and many have. We have many members that no longer run but have remained
paying club members just to support the HTC, RRCA and the sport. We are
not going to turn these people off by increasing their membership fee just to
cover RRCA losses and lose their support.
Should the RRCA continue to demand payment for family dependents, that for the
most part do not receive any benefit from the RRCA, our proposal to the HTC
Board will be to drop our family membership and, thus, all dependents. We will issue individual membership cards
with just membership number and the member's last name. It will result in
only a minor income reduction for the HTC and no increased income for the RRCA.
Of course, the family values will be lost for a period while we seek an
alternative. Don't be surprised if this results in a tarnished image for
the RRCA. I think we can explain the reasons for the change
satisfactorily to our membership and the HTC will survive with minimal damage.
The HTC request for a corrected invoice from the executive director, and
copied to this Board on November 6, is valid with or without a reversal of your
Board action. We only hope you reverse the decision to minimize the
damage you will be doing to the organization and the future of the sport.
Respectfully,
David Purinton, HTC President, purinton@hiwaay.net
Harold Tinsley, HTC VP-Communications and
HTC/RRCA Liaison, harold.tinsley@gte.net