HighburyGoon
12 Jun 2006, 04:21 PM
From ArsenalAmerica.com:
Fellow members of Arsenal America,
When the season comes to a close, it's time to turn our attention to the more business-end aspects of being a supporters club. The first step in that process is our annual membership drive, which will start today. As a board, we have come to the decision that the $3.65 a year which has been the annual dues for the past several seasons can no longer sustain an organization as ambitious as Arsenal America. We have grown quickly, and are looking to grow further. Therefore, we are announcing that the new annual dues will be $20.00 a season.
You're probably thinking to yourself, "Wow, that's quite a jump.", and you're right, it is. However, there are several reasons for the increase:
1.) Membership cards - Arsenal Football Club now require all supporters clubs to issue membership cards to their members, identifying them by name, member number, and date.
2) Tickets - As we all know, tickets are one of the major things that Arsenal America can offer its members. We have been working very hard during the first few weeks of the off season (well Rick B has, the rest of us have just been having meetings – just kidding!!).
We are proud to announce that through the help of some of our very generous members we have secured 7 season tickets for next season and onwards, together with 5 Executive Club Level seats for most games and a good number of Silver memberships for use on a match by match basis. We are going to be applying for a certain number of away games using the season tickets, which will give us priority in games that need a certain amount of away credits.
As you all know, we have to have a float in order to purchase these tickets ahead of getting back money from the attendees. This needs to be kept at a level that enables all of us to get tickets to the games we want. Basically in simple terms it means we have to have about $3500 in the account at any one time. We will also be paying for the membership renewals for the Silver Memberships that we will have use of.
3) Member gatherings - The success of events such as the match against the ManU supporters in Chicago proved that collectively we're a great bunch of people, who should spend as much time together as possible! Our founder, Rick Liebling, is pursuing a possible "Bergkamp Cup" match against AjaxUSA to take place later this summer in New York. We would love to have this type of thing happen all over the country. However, pitch rentals cost money, and to have a general fund from which to draw would help out immensely. The same is true when it comes to t-shirts, banners, etc, etc.
Something we’d like to do in the immediate future is to enter Arsenal America teams into the various “Futbolito” tournaments taking place across the country. Look for more info on those soon.
Thank you very much for your support this past season, and we look forward to a great 2006-07.
Yours in Arsenal,
Mike Kavanagh
President, Arsenal America
To sign up for Premier Membership for the 2006-07 season, click here:
Arsenal America Membership Drive (http://www.arsenalamerica.com/members/)
Fellow members of Arsenal America,
When the season comes to a close, it's time to turn our attention to the more business-end aspects of being a supporters club. The first step in that process is our annual membership drive, which will start today. As a board, we have come to the decision that the $3.65 a year which has been the annual dues for the past several seasons can no longer sustain an organization as ambitious as Arsenal America. We have grown quickly, and are looking to grow further. Therefore, we are announcing that the new annual dues will be $20.00 a season.
You're probably thinking to yourself, "Wow, that's quite a jump.", and you're right, it is. However, there are several reasons for the increase:
1.) Membership cards - Arsenal Football Club now require all supporters clubs to issue membership cards to their members, identifying them by name, member number, and date.
2) Tickets - As we all know, tickets are one of the major things that Arsenal America can offer its members. We have been working very hard during the first few weeks of the off season (well Rick B has, the rest of us have just been having meetings – just kidding!!).
We are proud to announce that through the help of some of our very generous members we have secured 7 season tickets for next season and onwards, together with 5 Executive Club Level seats for most games and a good number of Silver memberships for use on a match by match basis. We are going to be applying for a certain number of away games using the season tickets, which will give us priority in games that need a certain amount of away credits.
As you all know, we have to have a float in order to purchase these tickets ahead of getting back money from the attendees. This needs to be kept at a level that enables all of us to get tickets to the games we want. Basically in simple terms it means we have to have about $3500 in the account at any one time. We will also be paying for the membership renewals for the Silver Memberships that we will have use of.
3) Member gatherings - The success of events such as the match against the ManU supporters in Chicago proved that collectively we're a great bunch of people, who should spend as much time together as possible! Our founder, Rick Liebling, is pursuing a possible "Bergkamp Cup" match against AjaxUSA to take place later this summer in New York. We would love to have this type of thing happen all over the country. However, pitch rentals cost money, and to have a general fund from which to draw would help out immensely. The same is true when it comes to t-shirts, banners, etc, etc.
Something we’d like to do in the immediate future is to enter Arsenal America teams into the various “Futbolito” tournaments taking place across the country. Look for more info on those soon.
Thank you very much for your support this past season, and we look forward to a great 2006-07.
Yours in Arsenal,
Mike Kavanagh
President, Arsenal America
To sign up for Premier Membership for the 2006-07 season, click here:
Arsenal America Membership Drive (http://www.arsenalamerica.com/members/)