Renew your membership online.
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Topic created by Vadim on Sun Mar 13, 2011 at 6:29 pmYou probably noticed a new express registration list today at Colliers Mills event and some of you were surprised not finding anymore youself on the list. Well, the list was generated from the online membership database and if you didn't renew your membership yet, then you are apparently not on the list.
I encorage everyone to take a few minutes and renew your membership. You have to have an account created in order to do so. The process is straight forward and should not take a lot of your time. Pay online via PayPal using your own PayPal account or any Visa, MasterCard or other credit cards. You don't need to have a PayPal account.
At some of the event we'll be posting list of current members and we might randomly double check when you claim your DVOA membership at registration/e-punch setup.
Vadim Masalkov,
President, DVOA. -
Reply by furlong47 on Sun Mar 13, 2011 at 9:58 pmMy Mom has never been a DVOA member (she's an SVO member) and we noticed today that she was off the list after being on for several years. She did attend enough events last year. Will SVO and QOC members who previously were listed on the express list no longer be allowed to use it?
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Reply by Vadim on Sun Mar 13, 2011 at 10:06 pmI can ask similar question, why DVOA members who paid their dues but not ranked for one or another reason were left off the express list in the past?
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Reply by edscott on Mon Mar 14, 2011 at 2:41 pmOverall the number of people on the express list should increase. By the old rules it had historically been about 200 people, but by making it open to the entire membership it should go to double.. hopefully triple.. that.
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Reply by dparson on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 0:14 amThis thread has a strange tone.
"we might randomly double check when you claim your DVOA membership at registration/e-punch setup"
A simple question of, "Will SVO and QOC members who previously were listed on the express list no longer be allowed to use it?" is answered with, "I can ask similar question, why DVOA members who paid their dues but not ranked for one or another reason were left off the express list in the past?"
Typically, if I didn't get to mailing my check to Mary early, I'd show up with it in hand at my first early meet, as I had planned to do tomorrow. Designing courses and directing meets got me on the express list once or twice, even if I hadn't run enough solo events the previous year. Now we are policing membership lists and letting computers run the club.
I've been in since 1991. I'm out. Going hiking on the AT tomorrow.
Dale -
Reply by kent on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 7:08 amNothing about your previous actions of bringing a check to an early event has changed. You can still do so and are most welcome to do exactly that. Yes, you can now renew online - many people find it easier and faster to do so, but it is not required to renew online.In the past there have been a number of individuals that most likely simply forgot to mail in their membershps. Vadim's wording may have sounded rather draconian, but given all the tasks an event director has on the day of the event, I can assure you there aren't going to be any "membership police" manning the registration tables.BTW, the membership list has been computerized for many years. The big difference now is that the list is available to event directors and club officials.As the guy that implemented the web-based membership list I made sure it is still possible for existing members to renew as well as for new members to join without ever going to the web. In fact in the scenario you described there is very little difference from previous years.The AT is always fun, but if I still lived in the area I sure wouldn't pass up a chance to run Ron Bortz's course at Mt Penn.
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Reply by edscott on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 8:25 amIt seems some don't understand how difficult it was to keep the express list available each year. All the data had to be entered each year without access to a current membership list. My "current" membership list is from 2006. The list had to be copied and put into each kit and hopefully the old out of date lists were discarded. Often old lists were found and copied so that different kits were stocked with different editions of the list. People who qualified for the list couldn't hope to be included until the following year. I could go on, but I'm headed to Mt Penn......
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Reply by o-maps on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 8:43 amI think I for one understand many of the difficulties involved in all we do as a club.
I do however strongly agree with Dale that the tone of this thread is at the very least unique. Having a different native language than English myself, I understand that different cultures express themselves with different sensitivities, but we are in the US now, and from that perspective, the communication from the club leadership in this thread is somewhat less than ideal.
I think it wouldn't hurt to for someone in a leadership position to take a little bit of time to clearly articulate all the work that's been done behind teh scenes in recent years to facilitate many processes and convey clearly how this will benefit the membership at large and the registration process specifically. My $.02.
Off to Mt Penn, to run and help :) -
Reply by kent on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 12:11 pmSo that it doesn't get buried way down this topic, I started a new topic in an attempt to answer John's question.
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Reply by furlong47 on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 12:22 pmYes, and we're 8 posts in now and it has been a week. No one has bothered to actually answer my simple question directly. If the makeup/purpose of the express list has changed, that isn't a problem, but people might like to know.
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Reply by bobburg on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 9:39 pmAs I see it, you can either get curious about anything you don't like and ask for clarification, or you can assume the worst. Complain or explore possible solutions.
My 12 years of experience with DVOA is that our group tries to make things easier, rather than more difficult, for its members.
We all love the sport, love getting out in the woods, appreciate those who provide events and courses and guiding policies, and are generous about problems (and misunderstandings) that inevitably come up.
Please give all us volunteers some slack, and please don't take offense at every perceived provocation.
And please don't take it out on Vadim who has provided so much service from so much distance away these past few years.
If you insist on being offended by this message, please send any further questions and responses to bobburg@verizon.net.
I will genuinely pass along your very real grievances. -
Reply by edscott on Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 11:19 pmThe change is that the old list included members that were ranked in the previous year and anyone ranked or unranked that was an event director in the previous year. Now it has been expanded to include all members regardless of whether they were ranked in the past year or not. The fact that the membership list is readily available now adds to it's accuracy. As far as I know the SVO and QOC members that initially made the list were also DVOA members. As mentioned in a previous post I've not had access to a printed membership list since the January 2006 version so since that date the only deletions were due to a lack of participation for two consecutive years.
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Reply by Trazy on Mon Mar 28, 2011 at 10:27 amHey, I haven't been on here much for a while due to circumstances, but I hope to start showing my face around here a bit more often. I still haven't gotten used to this new online format which was changed sometimes last year, so I'm still having to relearn my way around this website. I noticed something rather odd in my profile, which lists a few facts about me and my membership. What I don't understand is why I have a family member listed as Caleb Bowers in my profile, while the rest says Acuff (myself) or Acuff-Passi for my kids. My son's name is Caleb Acuff-Passi. It says to contact the committee if any changes are needed, but I don't know who is on the committee responsible to handle this. I also need to get one name deleted from my list of family members.
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Reply by kent on Mon Mar 28, 2011 at 11:58 amImporting and merging the old membership database with the one used for the eBoard was a difficult task. That's the most likely reason to explain the incorrect names.
Please contact Bob Fink and tell him the corrections that are needed. He will be able to get your record straightened out. -
Reply by Trazy on Wed Mar 30, 2011 at 8:55 amThank you so much Kent. Bob apparently saw your message first and got right to it, made the necessary changes and followed up with me. I am so impressed! What an amazing and fabulous O-organization we have. I have always felt fortunate to be a member of DVOA and still do today. You are all wonderful!!
