Through the wonders of copy-paste, this is what I had put on the Club board (got only one response; maybe more here). Incidentally, to view all the exciting posts on this issue on the Club board go to: http://www.ccgtcc.com/cgi-bin/mb/config.pl

Here are my thoughts on this national v. chapter dues issue. Basically I am trying to keep chapters from leaving and trying to make CCGTCC national-chapter club members full CCGTCC club members in every sense. (Nothing is written in stone. This is an honest compromise. It is easy to administer. We can try it for a while. No harm or excitement.):

(1) Here is what I think is a great compromise (call me Henry Clay). Let those few collectors (and I trust there are just a few) who want to "join" a chapter, but not join the national (for financial or political or whatever reasons), be called "guests" (or whatever) of the chapter. They would not be "members" of the chapter (for reasons given below). They would pay chapter dues to the chapter. They could participate in chapter meetings, trading, receiving chapter publications, etc. But they would not be allowed to advertise themselves as being a member of either the CCGTCC or the chapter.

(2) All this talk of "state's rights" and "chapters' rights," etc., is ridiculous. The national owns the name CCGTCC. The tail does not wag the dog. The national sets the rules. Those who don't like it can try to change the rules or they can form their own local club. They have the freedom to do that.

(3) Besides the legal reasons, the chapter members should be national members because of the benefits derived from the national. This has been discussed at length elsewhere. I'll cite one reason here which is pertinent to the other reasons. It is ridiculous for someone to be kicked out of the national for bad ethics, but continue to be a chapter member and advertise himself on his letterhead, business card, etc., as something like this -- John Doe, member #123, Ohio Chapter of the Casino Chip and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club. .............. The national club benefits all the members, and the members reflect on the club as a whole. Each support the other. As the national grows in size, it becomes a more effective lobbyist and spokesman for the chip collecting community. To repeat, it is ridiculous for these "members" not to join the national and pay national dues. To keep peace and give them time to reconsider, let those who refuse to join the national become mere "guests" of the chapter, pay chapter dues and participate in chapter activities, but not hold themselves out as members of the CCGTCC or a CCGTCC chapter.

Robert