Here we go again, another public BB outcry on subjects that would best be discussed within the organization instead of out in front of the whole world. Seems like there are a few people hell bent on disrupting the up-coming convention that many of us have been working on for many months to give club members and guests something to really enjoy.

This thing about chapter versus member club and chapter member versus CC & GTCC member has been debated and re-debated at every board meeting and every public meeting for the past five years and there is still no final solution that EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND.
A "member club" (CC & GTCC to ANA) IS NOT the same as "chapter" (local organizations to CC & GTCC).
Chapters are CC & GTCC members that have localized meetings. It has been a part of CC & GTCC Bylaws ever since chapters were brought up that ONLY CC & GTCC members can belong to a chapter. This was left to each individual chapter to take care of on their own, which I now see was a mistake. Of course CC & GTCC does not want to feel they have to force anyone to comply with this. It has been strictly up to each chapter and it is now quite apparent that some have decided not to follow the rules.

Just remember one important thing right now. Any chapter member NOT being a CC & GTCC member.(1) WILL NOT be admitted to the convention free (2) WILL NOT be allowed to attend the Wed night reception/trade session or the Sat. night trade session (3) WILL NOT be allowed to bid in the Friday night auction (4)
WILL NOT be allowed be allowed to use any type of club logo in any way shape or form especially in advertising for sale items. (5) WILL NOT be entitled to have a table at the convention or to put any items in the club auction. ALL of these benefits are for CC & GTCC MEMBERS ONLY.

I, Personally, find it in very bad taste for someone to brag about "coming out of the closet" to announce publicly that they have not been following specific rules that were established in good faith.

This is the same thing as a child saying to a parent that has set the rule "in bed by 9:00" that he/she has been under the bedcovers reading with a flashlight until 11:00 every night for the past three years.

As far as Bob Orme's statement as repeated to him by Lee Bruton, there has never at any time been any agreement by the board that national membership wouldn't be a requirement for local membership. And the board, most certainly did not make any changes after the convention. This can ONLY be done by an amendment to the by-laws.

Florida may have the right answer with "associate" membership for local use only, but I'm not sure that is the right word to use.

At this time chapter status should be left as is.The new board of directors of CC & GTCC will have to put this high on their first agenda, try to come up with a workable solution, that will be acceptable to both sides, and have it ready to present in the next issue of the club magazine.
In the meantime how about EVERYONE having a great time at the upcoming convention without any more public squabbles. Remember as soon as this one is over it will be a whole long year before there is another one.

Janice O'Neal CC & GTCC Member CH-008