On 3/07/2011 9:21 AM, JR wrote:
The magazine is not free to us, you pay for it in your membership
<History lesson>
The original reason for it being compulsory came about in the early
1980's when the first GFA Incorporation was being negotiated. In the
original arrangement and under the ACT Companies Act, the organisation
had a legal obligation to communicate to its members notices of meetings
and certain financial reports etc.
The magazine was seen to an existing effective (and legal) means of
doing this and since AG was (if I recall correctly - it was last
century) already receiving a fairly wide support base; the decision to
make it a compulsory part of the GFA membership fee seemed a logical
least cost option. It was a tad messy to implement - Tim would
probably remember why, but thanks to his and the then AG committee's
efforts it was workable and legal.
<Lesson endeth>
Whether that notification requirement is still valid today is not clear
- probably not, since we receive nothing official from GFA in that sense
any more and the workings and detail of GFA machine seems somehow to be
as remote as ever, notwithstanding serious and largely effective efforts
in the past to keep us in the picture. Not that I'm complaining mind
you, I probably know as much about the workings of GFA these days as
most of my own club members would have years back when I filled in whole
weekends of great gliding weather in the meeting rooms at Essendon.
The problem with an electronic mag option is that it would almost
certainly lead to increases in the cost of the printed version. As the
progressives dumped the paper version in favour of the electronic
option, ever decreasing numbers would be printed and the cost per unit
would have to increase - probably to the degree that it would price
itself out of existence.
Personally I would prefer the hard copy, all the more so since the new
version offers much promise with it's first appearance. Others in my
family will happily browse through the paper edition of the magazine -
there is way that this would be the case with an online version.
Besides our breakfast fable is not equipped with online browsing
equipment, nor is the really serious reading room at the other end of
the house.
The new mag looks good - well done to all concerned. It was never going
to be easy picking up the inertia lost when the original AG committee
was somewhat ungraciously discarded by an earlier administration. I
wish the new group well in their endeavours; it's been a great comeback.
Regards
Terry
(honorary OFITH)
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