I bought my first GSD in 1987. I went to my first national in 1992. I first joined the parent club in 1994. A couple of my German Shepherd friends got together and gave me the membership as a gift (thanks Donna Sater & Syd Mailberg!). We had been to two nationals together and they thought it was important that I join the GSDCA. I had not joined before because: (1) it was expensive (I was in college and newly married and then we had all the expenses of young couples and the military doesn't make a lot!). (2) I saw no reason TO join....I didn't have a champion and didn't feel like I was "part" of that group. I did obedience & herding. After I joined the GSDCA (or "was joined" by my friends :-) ), I felt like I could be part of it "all". I showed the next year at the national in conformation with my new puppy. That conformation puppy went on to become PAM CH KIngswood's Tora Tora Tora VCD1 MX AXJ CD TD OAC OJC NGC TC BH-A. I had been to the national meeting and *I* wanted one of those dual award things! I have now been a member for 11 years. I will continue to BE a member because I feel it is the responsible thing to do as a GSD exhibitor and enthusiast. However, we need to get people to join and the way to do that is to offer incentives. I think Christine has some great ideas. I would like to add to them. I first joined the GSDCA because it was given to me. How about we offer a one year new membership as a High in Trial prize in Obedience, Herding, Agility, and WDA Schutzhund at the national? Or, if we want to target the new exhibitor, offer the membership to the highest scoring Novice A dog/handler in obedience & agility. In herding, draw one name from all the passing GSD test dogs (HT & PT) from a hat and offer it to that exhibitor. Do the same thing in Tracking. If the person earning the prize is already a member, they can donate the new membership to someone else (or maybe we just pay their membership for the next year). What does it cost the club to send the Review? That should be the amount that we need either donated OR have the membership committee write off (if that's possible). Perhaps regional clubs could offer the same new membership as a prize as well (high scoring Novice A or HIT). Have a new membership be a prize in a raffle. First we need to get people IN to the club. Incentives to being a member: Give a 10 % (or more) discount to all parent club members for seats, dinners, catalogs, etc., at the national. If this isn't practical, raise the cost of everything and THEN give a 10% discount (isn't that what Kohl's does? :-) ). Have a "Congratulations" page in the Review for all GSDCA members finishing AKC titles (not TCs, HICs, or CGCs, but TITLES). I know the Review has results of shows and the AKC titles of record, but that's everyone....let's make something SPECIAL. I would like to see more of a "Congrats/Brags" type of page. As soon as a dog finishes a title and it's listed on the AKC website, the owner (GSDCA member) sends the dog's name, their name, the title, what date it was finished, and the regional club they're associated with (if any) to the contact person (someone at the Review if they have the staff, if not, then a volunteer from the audience). If, for example, your dog finished a title in January, you would have until March 1st to submit that title/brag for inclusion in the next Review. Also, this Congrats/Brags page could be on the GSDCA website available for the whole world to see. GSDCA business and everything that is NOT an ADVERTISEMENT (such as Litter Box, brags, etc.) should be behind the membership wall on the website. All Review ads should also be placed on the GSDCA website. I like the idea of two levels of membership. I would have joined the GSDCA sooner if there had been an option for a lower cost. The people that receive the Review would STILL receive the Review, we won't be taking away revenue from there, we'll just add MORE people that don't currently belong. I like the ShowGSD list. I would also like to see a list developed just for discussion of GSDCA member topics. It doesn't have to be a high volume list (PLEASE don't let it be high volume!). We receive GSDCA official e-mailings....a list could be the same thing but with the ability to write back and forth for discussion. Some people don't read the ShowGSD list because it is so high volume. If there was a separate list just for the discussion of GSDCA business, it wouldn't get "lost" in the shuffle at ShowGSD and the board could more easily respond to member questions and issues. Julie Degen ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. 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