Re: Redwood Emp letter to AERC

[jlong@mti.net (Joe Long)]

On Sat, 28 Nov 1998 15:59:51 -0800, terre <tobytrot@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

>	I foresaw this exact scenario--unsanctioned "backyard" events for the
>"have nots" vs sanctioned event for the "haves"--several years ago, when
>this trend became apparent.  I cannot say that I am happy to be proven
>right.  If the small rides, in remote areas, can't survive under this
>system, or the cost of entry into the sport at the "newbie" level becomes
>prohibitive, where will the sport go from here? How many of us want to go
>there?

This is a major reason (along with a philisophical one) I've opposed
non-member surcharges from the beginning.  The BoD sees these fees as
a cash cow to solve the AERC's financial problems, but I've always
expected that they would prove to have diminishing returns ... in the
long run reducing the AERC's income, not raising it.  Applying it to
the LD riders was a grave mistake IMO, hastening the process.

The sanction fees should cover the AERC's per-rider administrative
costs for the ride.  If they do, there is *no* justification for the
non-member fees.  These people are not getting Endurance News, they're
not getting their mileage recorded, they are getting no direct
benefits from the AERC, and they have no vote!  What benefits they do
get, from an organized sport, is covered by the sanction fee that they
(quite properly) pay along with everyone else.

I'm planning on putting on a ride (for the first time in years) next
summer.  I need the income from the LD riders, I cannot afford to
subsidize a loss.  I even plan to have a 15 mile "fun ride" at a
modest entry fee to bring out some new folks and help make expenses.
Now the AERC is trying to even apply a large non-member fee to these
riders!  I don't know how I can make it work under those conditions --
the AERC skimming off the top and leaving me to absorb a loss.

I hope the BoD wakes up and reverses course on these fees before it is
too late.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@mti.net
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