would want to be a member of a local club and not the National Club?

Maybe two in a club?

Having been a Charter Member of local organization Derby City Jim Beam Bottle Club of a much much larger The International Jim Beam Bottle & Specialties Clubs, we have had the same issue 25 years ago.

The only two reasons I can think that people do not want to join the National are:

Financial and Privacy.

Both are valid but still only 2 people in our local club choose not to join the National and they are spouses of members who do belong to the National.

Unless I am missing something bigger here, we are wasting a lot of brain cells on a non event.