I wonder what the EAA spends on renewal notices every year... Mine expired in July. I did not renew and don't plan to renew until things change. I probably recieved 8-10 renewal notices in the mail starting around Febuary.
I wonder what the EAA spends on renewal notices every year... Mine expired in July. I did not renew and don't plan to renew until things change. I probably recieved 8-10 renewal notices in the mail starting around Febuary.
Bill;as bad as I hate to say this,we{members}might as well get use to it.You have to remember,this is the "new"EAA.As I have been told on other forum pages,get use to it,things change.And I might add, not always for the better.
As I wrote, I renew every year, in person, when I go to Oshkosh. Airventure is one of the two events that I plan for all year, but last night was the first time in almost 30 years that I started to think about maybe doing without Airventure. So many of the good guys that I have known there have passed away now anyway,
You're not alone Bill. I've been a member for over 30 years. We have camped at OSH for 10 days for about 25 years. 2 years ago we camped for 3 days. Last year we drove in for 1 day. This year we stayed home. The carnival that is Oshkosh (complete with ferris wheel this year I see) just was talking a turn in a direction I wasn't comfortable with. All about the dollar. Bigger, better. Yeah, right. This year ended and they wasted no time in saying how much bigger it will be next year. And the "bigger" will mean the need for more money. $4 water maybe? I enjoyed it more with the old "metros", the down home atmosphere. Now the concern is what big name entertainment will be there. Where will the elephant ear and cotton candy stands be located? No thanks. Like some have said on this forum - if you don't like it, don't come. Well, I'll take that advise. Too bad the mismanagement of the EAA Convention at Oshkosh (sorry, you can keep your "Airventure") will probably impact the other good things about the EAA and the people that make it unique. They pretty much ran the ultralights off, what's next - homebuilts - to make way for the "affordable" $100,000+ LSA's? Sorry Rod, I'm keeping my $40. Unless THAT has already gone up.
Explain to me again what's "threatening" about a renewal notice stating that you won't be a member anymore if you don't renew? How is that not true?
And having worked a little in direct mail, you have to send tons of these notices to get people's attention. Just ignore them. If it bothers you, isn't that your fault? Of course they want you to renew.
Boy am I getting sick of the anti-EAA sentiment all over the boards here. I respect you, Bill, but you have to realize that organizations change over time. If you and others are looking for an association that caters solely to wood and fabric scratch builders and the "good 'ol days," then go find another world. Honestly. Aviation is bigger than all that. So is AirVenture. Did you expect EAA to ignore the Lancair builders? What about Vintage, I haven't heard anyone complaining that those aren't homebuilts....
If you hate the EAA that much, then just ignore them, save yourself the trouble, and go find or start another organization. Helpful comments/criticism and even complaints are fine, but this is getting out of hand, don't you guys think?
I wholeheartedly agree with WeaverJ3Cub.
Time to move on.
Marc
Weaver, don't twist my words.
I have never built a tube and fabric airplane, though I do own a Cub, a real one not a replica, and owned a Rose Parakeet homebuilt. I have been a minor partner in a Starlite homebuilt.
I fully agree that there is more to EAA than the Pitenpol days, I embrace all that, up to a point.Paul and EAA were always about more than that, ie his P-51 and Toms acro career.
My objection on this topic is to the way the marketing was handled and specifically the wording, ie the threat, just as I gave the exact wording on my first post.
If you worked in marketing, and most of what you do is to send out the same notice over and over then you are part of the problem. Why do you think people ignore so much of the junk mail? I don't even open a lot of mine, it goes straight in the garbage.
In college I did take a break from girls, football, bar b q, and water skiing, long enough to make an A in marketing which I sorely needed to graduate.
One big fundamental of marketing is to know your audience. Obviously despite my 30 years with EAA , I am nothing more than a potential customer to them.
Another principal is the simple one that you don't turn you back on your team. The center doesn't tell the quarterback, do this or I am not going to hike the ball to you anymore.
And an old time southern saying , "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar", might as well be the new saying, "More wag, less bark".
And by the way Weaver, your view is probably distorted by sitting behind that Cessna prop that someone mistakenly slapped on your Cub.
Spot on Mr, Weaver!Originally Posted by WeaverJ3Cub
On the flip side, one could ask why the people that had little to no interest in the type of aviation that the EAA was built on, did not start their own organization instead of shifting the direction of an established one.
I can understand why you see it as a threat. For those who have been in an EAA group for a long time, the "EAA community" are your friends from your local chapter and probably those you see every year at Oshkosh. So, the letter could be read as "You better renew or we'll cut you off from your friends".
It probably makes a difference on what your definition of a community is; Some view their community as a local EAA chapter, others that aren't so involved in a local chapter (or are used to the word being used to describe an online collection of people) could view the community as the webinars, forums, and other "services". My guess is that the person who wrote this form letter was thinking of the latter. It might not have even crossed their minds that someone could be offened by it, because to them it just says that unless you renew, you won't get to use their services anymore. Just a statement, not a threat. They probably just think community sounds nicer than services.
It is a good idea to bring it up, but it might have been better to just call up the EAA and let them know how you took it. Unfortunately, with 160,000+ members (on top of cuts in the marketing division of EAA) they can't write a custom letter to each person. Your input could help them to present themselves better in the standard form letters that are sent out in the future.
Give them the benefit of the doubt every once in a while.
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