Associate Members Ask: Why Did I Get a Bill?

At the 2006 Annual Meeting the sections of the CSA bylaws pertaining to Members and Associate Members were amended, in particular making it possible for the first time in many years for new Associate Members to be approved. Because Associate Members are not authorized to vote on that kind of bylaw amendment many of you who are Associate Members may not have followed the discussion on this issue over the years.
There are two provisions in the changes, however, that directly affect all Associate Members whether new or of long standing. In the past adult members of family units were designated Associate Members if they met certain criteria and they could retain their Associate Membership either by purchasing a privilege ticket while in residence or by paying a retaining fee. In the amended bylaws Associate Membership is by individual rather than by family unit. In the place of a retaining fee, individual Associate Members are receiving a bill for an Associate Member fee each year. The exact amount will be determined by the Trustees, but it is intended to be equivalent to the cost of a two week privilege ticket. Payment will be credited to the individual and, upon registration during that summer season will be applied to the privilege ticket being purchased. (If you don’t register and purchase a privilege ticket it will be treated as your fee for being an Associate Member for that year.)

This season, 2008, is the first year that we have sent bills for Associate Member fees and we are still working out some of the kinks in the system. We used the existing list of Associate Members kept in the CSA registration system and we added to that the new Associate Members whose applications were approved in 2007. Because of the change of designation by family unit to individual Associate Membership our lists may not be complete. If only one name was on our list we only sent the invoice to that person, and you may have asked “Why did my husband/wife/adult child get one of these and I didn’t?” or “Why did I get this and no one else in the family got one?” The Membership Committee suggests in these situations that you send in the check for the person(s) named on the invoice. Then, upon registering at the office this summer, ask for an Associate Member Application to update our records. The Membership Committee meets weekly from mid-June until late August so your application will be reviewed quickly and our lists will be more accurate for 2009.

If you have any questions about this policy, you may post them on the CSA issues forum here on the website. The forum is monitored and your questions will be answered quickly.