My two watts: Talking to hams that I run into at hamfests and other events, many are pretty happy with the way the ARRL is going at the moment, and the direction it's heading. That is NOT the issue. I believe that decreasing ARRL membership has all to do with the declining US economy and particularly, sky-high inflation.
Amateur radio is an aging demographic, and many of our members are on fixed incomes. As a retiree myself, I find myself now at the grocery store wondering if I should consider moving down to a 85% percent fat ground turkey instead of the 93% I normally buy, so I can save a couple bucks. The "Look, you spend $5.00 for a Starbucks coffee" scenario might fit a younger demographic, but I don't ever see many aging baby-boomers standing in line at a Starbucks.
Gas here on the west coast is close to $5.75 a gallon, and is routinely over $6.00 a gallon in California.
It's unfortunate that many see ARRL membership as a discretionary expense. They don't see enough value in membership to justify the cost over other expenses in their lives. We need to fix that somehow.
Did we ever look into automatic ARRL membership renewals? (Where it charges your debit or credit card automatically for renewals each year.) I think that would go a long way towards retaining members, as it takes some of that decision process out of the equation.
73;
Mike
W7VO
On 10/10/2022 12:34 PM Jairam, Ria, N2RJ (Dir, HD) <n2rj@arrl.org> wrote:
In NNJ at least the SM gets at least a few renewals at hamfests. I’ve been asking members to renew and also asking members who lapsed how we can make it better so they can renew and encouraging new hams. I go to nearly every hamfest in the division. Truth be told some look for the book offer or other retention bonus. We have to figure out a way to go beyond that so that people see value beyond the incentive.
What also works against us up here is that retirees who make up the bulk of ham radio operators are moving out, and more recently even younger people are moving out. I asked a shopkeeper in queens in a Caribbean enclave recently where all the people went because the streets which were normally bustling are now empty. She said that Georgia, metro Atlanta now has a huge Caribbean community thanks to people moving down there. I’ve often also heard that Florida has more “2” calls than NY.
I will personally be working harder to get more members, despite these realities.
Ria
N2RJ
From: arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> on behalf of Roderick, Rick, K5UR via arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 9, 2022 9:29:55 PM
To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org>
Subject: [arrl-odv:34157] September Membership Stats
Hi all:
Looking at the September membership totals, every Division showed a negative number for September compared to a year ago. The highest being -3.9%.
Please, let's work on recruiting new members and renewals for those who have let their membership lapse. Let's get those Division numbers turned around!
73,
Rick - K5UR
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