The wagner
society
Mike
Morgan, Treasurer
This is a gentle reminder to members that subscriptions for next year will be due for renewal on or before 1st January 2013. Renewal forms will be made available to members before the end of the year.
I should also like to take this opportunity to introduce our members to some of the changes that we intend to implement, as the Society modernises and streamlines its operations.
The ‘electronic age’ is here to stay and one of the Society’s prime objectives is to develop the website, so that it will serve as a communication centre for members and will take up much of our current manual administration workload. This will include areas such as the processing and payment of membership applications and renewals, the booking and payment of events, the ability to access Wagner News on-line and the opportunity for members to communicate openly with one another offering advice, information about Wagner and other opera events and general items of interest.
Communication with members will increasingly be by e-mail and those of you who have not already done so will be encouraged to provide us with your e-mail addresses. Eventually we shall send out all important information, including electronic copies of Wagner News by e-mail, thus significantly reducing our use of the postal service. Naturally we recognise that some members do not have access to e-mail and we can assure this minority that their needs will be accommodated.
In the future, although not for a while yet, those who do not wish to receive electronic communications will be asked to make a small contribution towards the cost of postage. The main thing we would like to emphasise at this stage is that, for 2013, membership fees will not increase for current members who renew their membership. We are going to increase the fees slightly for new members only. We will also be offering a few opt-in benefits to members at additional cost, but these will be entirely voluntary.
Benefits offered under the new structure will hopefully satisfy the demands of members and at the same time will help to attract and retain new members, in particular younger people with an interest in Wagner.
These optional benefits on offer for 2013 membership will consist of three items:
· The option to enter into a ballot to win free tickets to Wagner opera events in 2013. These events will include tickets to Bayreuth, the Longborough Ring, Wagner Society events and other opera and concert tickets. The cost of this option will be £5 per member (£10 for joint members). This option will be additional to the Bayreuth Ballot entry where members pay for tickets and which remains part of the current basic option.
· The option to become a Premium Member. Premium members will be acknowledged on the website (if they wish) and will receive an invitation to a party and recital to be held in 2013. The donations made by Premium Members will be used entirely towards the funding of our charitable remit, especially for young singers. Premium membership will cost £10. (£20 for joint members)
· Members will also be invited to make a further charitable donation, should they so wish.
We will be sending you all membership renewal forms in the next few weeks by post, as usual. Please be aware that these will look a little different this year due to the changes that are outlined above.
The development of the website will not be completed overnight, but it is our aim to have a fully operational version up and running some time in 2013. There will be many changes to the way we do things that will centre around the website and we will ensure that you are fully and clearly informed of all these changes well in advance.
In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me: treasurer@wagnersociety.org with any queries which you may have about this communication.