TCA Dues to increase - Your thoughts

My first though was "Again" Then I saw the thread and wondered why would anyone stir this old  cow turd again, especially when the resurrecting post  added absolutely nothing to the subject.

I joined TCA last year, but will not renew this year. Just not enough scale stuff.

Ron,

So much truth in one short paragraph. I still have all of my TCA Quarterlies for the past thirty plus years for this information. The ones who complain the most do not realize a true bargain no matter what the dues.

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Actually, if you pour over the last 40 years of TCA Quarterlies, you will find a great number of research articles on Prewar and Postwar trains that you will not find in other publcations or books for that matter. I belong for York AND the National Conventions these are my priorities!!!  Enough said...well not really!  The TCA Newsletters document revenues and expenses, Annual Financial reports, etc.  But then again, how would one know if he were not a member?

Whether printed or on a web site, none of todays books and price guides would likely exist without the information amassed by TCA members and distributed by the TCA.

AMEN! 

I happily sent my dues in this very A.M.

Pretty simple folks, if you don't think it's worth it, don't renew.  If it has value, renew.  I find value in it.

Well worth it for me, the friends alone make it a great investment. And for gods sak it is only a 15.00 increase. 

Look at the date of the Original Post

July 18, 2013 9:58 AM

This is almost 2 year old info. The TCA is still around, there have been 3 Yorks since it was posted, and all is about the same

Time to lock this up and put it away, not sure why anyone decided to revisit this thread

Yep, good question...I guess some just can't swallow that $15 annual increase, for whatever reason, even after a couple of years have passed.

My dues get mailed this week, and I'll still be able to eat well, put gas in the car, and maybe even buy a train item from time to time.

I'm thinking it's not "maybe" it should be locked, it's more like definitely.

go martye............I have been a TCA member for just a short while; maybe 7 years; yet the honest camaraderie; all the stuff about model trains that your eyes could ever hope to digest; the great OGR folks who help your addiction lighten your wallet

     and more for a darn cheap price.

  I thank all you who run the TCA; and to my fellow train nuts.....good to know y'all

we  have a great hobby....er guilty pleasure

Jerry  

The only way to bring closure to this thread is to allow Dennis to have the last word.

This post is dead.  Allan, please bury it once and for all.

The forum police have spoken.  No one is entitled to an opinion that doesn't fit their agenda.

AMEN to that! No one is forcing anyone else to read these threads. If you don't care for a particular thread than just don't read it or follow it. I am sick to death of the Forum Police acting as judge, jury and executioner when it comes to deleting threads they do not like. The hypocrisy of them picking and choosing which threads meet their criteria is ridiculous and appalling.

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The forum police have spoken.  No one is entitled to an opinion that doesn't fit their agenda.

Was there a new opinion posted?

Have the dues gone up again?

The forum police have spoken.  No one is entitled to an opinion that doesn't fit their agenda.

Let's try to separate facts from opinions:

• TCA dues were last raised nearly 2 years ago.  This is a fact.
• This thread's title is written in the future tense while its content deals with something that happened almost two years ago.  This is a fact.
• I found this thread title-to-content mismatch to be misleading, which is how I arrived here earlier today.  My calling things "misleading" is me stating my opinion, but I would be interested to hear from anyone who can point out where my logic fails.
• Had the title of the thread been updated to something like "Let's Continue to Discuss the TCA Dues Increase of 2013", I would have avoided it like the plague.  However, after I realized that I had been lured in under false pretenses and that this was 1) just a re-hash of old news with 2) no new opinions being offered, and 3) that there was no forthcoming dues increase, I was 4) annoyed.  Being annoyed is a way one's opinion can manifest itself sometimes.  It happens.  
• Under the intoxicating spell of my own annoyance, I stated an opinion that this thread had run its course and should be locked down.  I based this opinion on the fact that the thread's title implies that TCA dues will be raised again which is incorrect. 

Here is a final opinion I'd like to offer: Anyone who wants to blab on and on about an issue that happened two years ago is a bit of a wanker.

You can take that last one to the bank.

So the thread didn't get locked like you demanded, so now you resort to name calling. 

Oh my. 

Edited by me.  To keep it clean. 

What purpose would locking this thread accomplish in a forum sub-category (TCA News) that has only 2 pages and approximately 36 out of a total of 55 threads locked?  Just let it age on down the line until it hits the most recent locked topic.  Just because the original post was 2 yrs. old and was brought current 1 yr. ago, then again should not make it locked.  There are numerous threads from long ago that can be brought to current day for arguably added info. or just bandwidth consumption. Ironic; so much chatter about excess forum moderation and yet it appears the majority of those posting to this thread in the last 24 hrs. want more work for the moderator.

What he said!

Jerry

Most children these days learn the word "wanker" long before they learn its literal meaning.  Better watch out the forum police might have a bar of soap.

Ok. Now that this dues increase has been revisited what has happened?

Membership is it up down? 

You know what is sad, is that since this thread was resurrected only one post  has said a thing about the subject.

That's because no one can say anything that goes against the grain.  Membership is down in the TCA and the attendance at York is dropping.  It's all on the TCA website.  People have tried to suggest ways to increase the membership, but get met with replies like there is nothing wrong as long as they can still attend and meet up with their old friends, or If you don't like it start your own show.  There are things happening behind the scene.  Membership is down, dues are up and someone takes the Auto Train to attend meetings.

I have always been against the camera rule and two signature rule, but when it comes to opening York the the public isn't going to happen, and may even lead to it's demise. However that has squat to do with an membership dues raise from 2013

That may be true but I am planning to attend York this April and I am really looking forward to it. I have made my peace with the dues increase. I wasn't crazy about it but as long as the TCA keeps it's word and doesn't have another increase in a while I can live with it. It's $16 cheaper than the NMRA (if you get their magazine) and York is a lot cheaper than going to a NMRA convention. I'm in no way knocking the NMRA or their convention but just stating a fact that it costs more. 

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People have tried to suggest ways to increase the membership

Since we are rehashing old news, I wish folks would restate their suggestions. I forget what they were.

This is an excellent point and gets to the heart of the issue.

No one really (OK, maybe a few real flinty types) gets that exercised about a dues increase.  $15 is not material to anyone unless they are very poor.  The real issue is whether the organization is being run competently and in the interest of the members, or whether it is being run in large measure as a hobby for those who are active and as a means of subsidizing their travel and entertainment for the year.  Take also the museum -- how many people attend every year?  How many people attend outside of the week or so periods that accompany York?  Those are the issues to me, and attendance at York, as cited above, is in decline.  So then the question becomes what is being done to keep the organization relevant and is it being run in the best interest of the members.

Stepping back, this issue is not unique to TCA.  I have been involved in a number of other clubs and associations, and the dynamic that I have seen develop is that there is a cadre of active people at the top of the organization, often retired so that the organization can be their sole focus, and the organization is used really as a means to further their own social interactions.  At times but not always, there is also low-level (or worse) financial improprieties due to lack of independent oversight.  And also very typically, the financial statements are published with little granularity.  (I just received a magazine for a train club with financial statements, but without notes!  Those of you who look at financial statements know you need to have the notes!!!) 

These things are what trigger the skepticism from me and others.  If I know an organization is well run, and there is a need for additional money, I open my wallet.  It can be taxes for schools, money for roads, additional money for a good charitable cause to help the poor, or whatever.  But if I have doubts about how an organization is run, and the concerns range the gamut from competency to honesty, I become more skeptical and less willing to pony up -- it becomes as if you are asking me if it's OK to "steal" another $15 from me.  Whether I can afford it is irrelevant, it's just a waste.  You see the point.  I think when you drill down, that's likely the issue that motivates the griping that animates much of the above discussion. 

None of this is to say the people who run TCA are dishonest or incompetent.  And the many volunteers at York do deserve our thanks -- that must be remembered.  (At the very least, don't argue with them when they ask you to display your badge.)  But there are at the very least communications issues that I have seen in my years with the organization that should be addressed.  Had they been properly addressed, threads and discussions such as this one would not be so long lived. 

OK so what are the ways to increase membership?  Let's hear the ideas?

This is not a York issue so don't bring up anything about York.  Pretend it doesn't exist.  What are the ideas to increase membership and revitalize the TCA (not York)?

Personally the TCA could borrow a few pages of the LCCA handbook.  IMO they do a pretty dang good job of being out there and involved.

Start with modernizing the means of communicating with the members. 

Perhaps stop publishing the sales newsletter -- costly to produce and expensive to mail -- because it looks like it is still 1978.  My wife still can't believe people buy and sell trains that way.

The other thing is that while your question is completely fair, the primary people who should be asked that question are those running TCA.  You and I haven't run for office, so we have no need to have ideas.  Although I note that, per the LCCA newsletter, you were volunteering at a recent event in your area -- that's a great way to build interest from the kids so thank you for taking the time to do that.

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You and I haven't run for office, so we have no need to have ideas.

Really?

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Personally the TCA could borrow a few pages of the LCCA handbook.  IMO they do a pretty dang good job of being out there and involved.

I'd rather not see the TCA emulate the LCCA. They are two different organizations with overlapping but different memberships. How many people only belong to the LCCA to purchase their special offerings?
Earlier in this thread, wasn't it said that the TCA has over three times the members of the LCCA?

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Take also the museum -- how many people attend every year?

As  I have written before, I am of the opinion that the museum needs to become self-supporting or close. How? My only thought would be to find corporate sponsorship.

Yes, really.

And that being said, I offered a few.

I have no desire to argue with anyone, but the plain reality is that TCA needs to be modernized in many respects.  I support the organization and am a long-time hobbyist, but that doesn't mean I have to simply agree with the way everything is done.

If you have ideas, then by all means pursue them within TCA.  You too are obviously a long-time hobbyist and an intelligent individual. They would benefit from your involvement. 

I am sure it was.  But that's the kind of exposure the hobby needs, so thank you again.

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  The real issue is whether the organization is being run competently and in the interest of the members, or whether it is being run in large measure as a hobby for those who are active and as a means of subsidizing their travel and entertainment for the year.

I guess the question is how much money is being spent on our TCA officers travel and entertainment. I think they are entitled to some perks or stipends for the work they do. I certainly do agree that there are limits.

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If you have ideas, then by all means pursue them within TCA.  You too are obviously a long-time hobbyist and an intelligent individual. They would benefit from your involvement.

Actually, I am not in favor of membership drives. I'd rather belong to a smaller, focused organization, as opposed to an organization that tries to be everything to everybody.  I'd rather see the organization cut costs. It would be fine with me if the TCA dropped the printed swap sheet (Just found out that Subaru is no longer printing car brochures), and then there is the museum.

I'd still like to reread the ideas that folks have put forth.