ISSN #1055-1891

Volume 11, Number One                                             March 1998

Dear Cousins:

It's the start of a new decade for the R/RFHA. It's a nice feeling, Isn't it? For those of you not in at the beginning, we were a group of a dozen or so who exchanged info on our R/R lines, spending lots on postage and copying, until we came up with the idea of a newsletter, cheaper all around. I lost the toss and was made Editor. But now that we are so successful I have something to discuss with you about our future.

Recently a subscriber suggested the possibility of establishing a "Life Time" membership. That idea had never occurred to me but the more I thought of it, the more I believed I should present the idea to you all and ask for your input. With out large bank balance we have to do something. We would lower the subscription to $5.00 but that wouldn't cover the costs due to the increasing amount of correspondence. What started out to be a quarterly week of work on a newsletter has turned out to be a weekly effort due to the many letters we receive which require answering, sometime at length. So there are questions to be asked before a decision is made.

First of all how long is a "life time membership"? Or should we call it a "long term membership" as one subscriber suggested? I don't know how other organizations figure the length of a "life time membership". And how much do we charge? Would $50 be it? That's 6 years plus $5.00. Would 10 years be it? That's $75. Do you think we'll still be around 6 or 10 years? If not, what happens to the four filing cabinets full of R/R information ...and to the money in the treasury? Split the money among the survivors? Donate it and the material to various genealogical societies? Or should we forget the idea entirely? After all, anyone can pay the subscription rate 5 years in advance ...10 years ... just the way we've been doing up to now.

Please let me know your thoughts on this.