As many of you know, the club has many life members. While the club was formed in 1947, Life memberships were not offered until September of 1980. Here is a timeline and some interesting history all of which is derived from AARC newsletter archives:
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September 5, 1980 General Membership Meeting:
Herb Rosenthal, AL7G, proposed that the club make available a Life Membership for approximately $100 to be paid either in a lump sum or in a series of payments. Sufficient interest was noted to refer the matter to the Board which will come up with a plan.
September 17, 1980 Board of Directors Meeting:
The Board moved to approve the concept of a regular or associate Life Membership in the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club, to be offered to individual members for $100 to be paid in a lump sum or over a period not to exceed ten consecutive months, the payment records to be kept in whatever manner the Treasurer sees fit; upon receip of the entire $100, members to receive a certificate of lifetime membership, with names to be published in the newsletter; and in the event of default of entire payment, yearly dues to be prorated at prevailing rates. The proposal will be presented as an amendment to the Rules of Procedure at a General Meeting for vote of the membership. Wilse Morgan, KL7CQ, purchased Life Membership No. 1 and Herb Rosenthal, AL7G, put up partial payment on his.
October 3, 1980 General Meeting:
It was moved and seconded that the club institute a new classification for Life Memberships at a cost of $100 payable either at one time or over a period of ten months, individual memberships to be subject to approval of the general membership. The motion was carried. The group then proceeded to vote individually to accept the following for Life Membership:
1. KL7CQ Wilse Morgan
2. KL7GNP John Bierman
3. KL7AM Bob Hisamoto
4. KL7ITI Bill Reiter
5. KL7FS Art Chase
6. KL7EB Dave Stevens
7. KL7IW Walt Burkevich
8. KL7JIG Herb Brasseur
9. AL7G Herb Rosenthal
November 7, 1980 General Meeting:
Life Membership certificates were presented to the first ten Life Members. The club voted to approve the following Life Members: Roy Hansen, KL7GQ, Les Callison, KL7GRT, and Steve Wilcox, KL7JIM.
November 19, 1980 Board of Directors Meeting:
Marian Arlin asked about the status of Faye Johnstone with respect to Life Membership. The four honorary Life Members will be presented with certificates bearing the word “Honorary” in lieu of a number. A heated discussion dealt with the issue of the numbering system and the question of whether general membership voting on Life Membership was necessary. A motion to substitute Board of Directors for general membership voting was defeated. A motion proposed by Steve Norrell, seconded and carried, read as follows: “Life members will be numbered sequentially on the basis of when the $100 is paid in full. Life Membership will be voted on at the earliest regular meeting after the $100 is paid.”
January 1981 Newsletter:
The following is a list of new lifers voted on by the general membership with their respective life numbers. These memberships are still proving to be quite popular. If you have started paying on an installment basis, please remember that the $100 has to be paid up by the end of 10 months or be forfeited and reapportioned as regular membership.
LIFE MEMBERS VOTED NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER
10. Ed Tucker, KL7DU
11. Lloyd Fuller, KL7JGN
12. Roy Hansen, KL7GQ
13. Harley Steward, KL7IZZ
14. Lee Callison, KL7GRT
15. Steve Wilcox, KL7JIM
16. Betty Rhodes, KL7AP
17. Jim Moody, NL7C
January 2, 1981 General Meeting:
Three new life members were voted upon:
18. Hal DeVoe, KL7NF
19. Pat Beaugard, KL7EJ
20. Tim Pettis, KL7WE
Following newsletters list additional Life Members added each month. Yes, the record suggests that our Board of Directors needs to address our current process relative to Life Membership applications and processing.
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The “OLD” Life Membership database I have includes 183 Life Members, plus 2 Honorary Life members. We have many new life members in a “current database”, but those “New” Life Members haven’t been assigned “Life Member” numbers. My effort now is to reconcile the old database with the new database, assign Life Member numbers to the “New” Life Members, and to secure good contact information for all Life Members. Hence the numerous e-mails many of you have received from me asking for information about legacy Life Members that we have lost track of.
There are a few things I am working on to help everyone know their Life Membership status and to give anyone a way to let us know of changes to member data and to report Silent Keys, etc. There are 2 specific things we will do:
1. We will post our Life Member roster on the website. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIFE MEMBER ROSTER [1]
2. We will provide a way to report contact info, Silent Keys, etc. via an online form. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FORM [2]
This is certainly not a full-proof solution to the challenge of keeping up with everyone, but it should indeed help.
I ask that everyone please do their best to help with this effort. Together we can get our membership database up to speed and establish continuity with our members.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
