On the following:
>Edward Lipinski, who is thinking that the $20 membership fee charged by
>the Washington Ferret Association for the coming year 2,000, the
>pre-millinnium year, is possibly a bit too stiff.  Several have asked me
>and I in turn will ask, what do we get for the membership fee of $20.00?
>Are there other ferret organizations that charge such a high fee?
 
That figure doesn't seem at all out of line to me.  As a member and
sometime officer of the Ferret Lovers' Club of Texas, I have no problem
paying my annual membership dues.  Dues for an individual membership are
$20 annually, or $25 for all household members at a single address.
Lifetime memberships are available for $250.  In the case of this club,
money is spent on producing educational materials that are provided free of
charge to vets, petstores, shelters, and animal control agencies for no
more than a simple phoned or mailed request.  It pays for our PO box.  It
is spent in disbursements to shelters in our state that request club
endorsement and pass inspection and other requirements.  It has supported
legalization efforts.  It provides the funds to put on our annual Ferret
Olympics and members receive 50% off of all entry fees.  Assuming you enter
one ferret in 5 events at the door, that saves you $15.  It provides for
reminder/directions postcards for our monthly meetings.  It occasionally
pays for facilities or food for social meetings.  When members attend
regular topic meetings there are often veterinarians as guest speakers.  It
will be paying for our web domain hosting and mailing list hosting.  The
website has an index of some of the old newsletters that are online so that
readers can look up a subject and read about it.  It pays for merchandise
that is ordered in bulk and resold at our events, with discounted pricing
for club members.  When we had a local distributor selling TF in our area
for a while, members were offered discounted pricing when buying direct
from the distributor.  We have an information line, emergency pager, and
e-mail addresses by which officers or volunteers can be contacted for
assistance with ferret issues of any kind.  And finally, don't forget the
value of being associated with a group of folks with similar interests just
for the shared experience.
 
But as for the amount of $20 a year, that amounts to $1.67 a month.  While
I know at times spending even $20 at once can be painful for some budgets,
saving and spending on what is important to a person is part of life.
Supporting the existance of a ferret club is worth that much to me.  We
have many members that add donation amounts to their memberships, so they
must feel that providing money to the organization is worthwhile.  I know
of family who does this and has maintained a membership even though they no
longer own ferrets simply because they like ferrets and want to support the
club.  And for those who want to be involved but choose not to become
members, we're not checking cards at the door!  <wink!> The only time
membership is required for participation is when one desires to become an
officer of the club.
 
For his specific case, maybe Edward would be better served in discovering
what he gets from the WSFA (or WFA if it indeed changes) for his $20 by
asking the officers of that organization directly than on this list?
[Posted in FML issue 2896]