To me, the value one receives by being a member of the CCGTCC is obvious. I have a hard time understanding why anyone who collects chips, tokens or anything similar wouldn't jump at the chance to join the group.

On the other hand, I am a member of a VERY SMALL chapter that meets every other month in Kansas City, MO. Jim Kruse and I kicked the idea around of starting a chapter there a couple years ago, we called a few others we knew of in the area and had our first meeting. We've been having these meetings for a couple years now and if we have more than 6 or 7 people attend we feel like we had a great turnout. We are HUNGRY for people to attend these meetings. We would like our chapter to grow. It would be GREAT if we had 20 people attending each month.

I don't believe all our chapter members were CCGTCC members when we first started our little group. In fact, I'll bet more were non members than were members. We didn't care. We just wanted the people to come to the meetings so we could have a good time swapping chips and telling stories. In fact, I don't believe our little group was even a chapter at the time, but we thought of ourselves as one. In the back of my mind I assumed that after a few meetings if these non CCGTCC members were really interested in the hobby, they would realize the benefits of joining CCGTCC and that they'd do so.

I now believe that all the members of our group are CCGTCC members. What I've seen happen is that most of the ones that weren't members have quit attending our meetings. They have either lost interest in the hobby or just never really acquired enough interest in it to pursue it further.

I guess my point here is that we didn't want to lose these potential members of our group just because they weren't ready to jump in with both feet and join the CCGTCC the first couple times they attended our meetings. I suspect these feelings are what prompt other chapters to want to "bend" the rules also. It's tough to lose even one member of your group, especially when your group is so small.

I do though firmly believe that if you want your "group" of collectors to enjoy chapter status in the CCGTCC, then all the members of your group must be members of the CCGTCC. Isn't that after all the very definition of a chapter? I haven't looked it up in the dictionary, but in my mind a chapter of any group is nothing more than a subset of the members of the larger group. If that is so, then how could it even be possible for someone to belong to the chapter yet not belong to larger organization? It would be like a finger being part of the hand but not a part of the body!

So, how then do the various chapters solve the problem of enticing people to attend their group without possibly overwhelming them right off the bat with required CCGTCC membership? I think that is up to each individual chapter to solve in their own way. I think it depends largely on the size of the chapter and the extent to which that chapter is organized.

Many of the well organized and larger chapters might find it best to let newbies visit just a time or two before requiring them to either join both organizations or quit coming. Some of the smaller chapters such as ours in Kansas City would probably feel comfortable allowing a guest to attend our meetings quite a few times before they were required to make the commitment. This task would be easier if each chapter had their own guidelines spelled out in writing in the form of an information sheet that was presented to the newbie at the first meeting they attended. That way they would know what was expected from the start.

I want it understood that what I've written above is just my opinion. Everyone has an opinion and if yours differs from mine then so be it. I have lots of friends whose opinions don't always agree with mine and it in no way diminishes my respect or admiration for them. In fact, the only person who I agree with 100%, all the time, is my wife. But that's because she makes me. <g>

Greg