Membership updates for 2022

Good Evening all,

Hope you’re all well and are looking forward to the Spring just around the corner. Thank you all for renewing, we’ve had a good strong renewal figure which means the club is doing really well as always! Great to see so many of you make use of the online payments system this year too, well over 75% of you paid with bank card and Apple Pay/Google Pay this year! 

As no one at all paid by cheque or cash this year, the committee have decided to go cashless from now on. We will still be taking renewal payments online or in person at an AGM, but it’ll be by bank card or bank transfer only for now on. We have access to a chip and pin card reader to facilitate this move.

Membership cards from now on will also be digital. The committee decided each year it was an unnecessary expense and use of time printing these out for members and they were never checked or required to access the sites. Members who have left part way through the year, or been asked to leave part way though the year, didn’t return these cards which rendered the cards not very useful if ex-members continue to hold them for the remainder of that year. Having a digital version means an ex-member won’t be able to use this loophole should they so wish. You simply being able to log into the website is enough proof that you’re a member. Over the next couple of weeks, an option will appear online for you to view and download your membership card, and if you wish you may print it out. Coming in the spring, you will be able to add these cards to your Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, to have the available in your digital wallet. The committee will also be able to quickly verify any member by using a new tool that’ll be made of use to them in the next couple of weeks, so please don’t worry that you have no membership card. I will update you all when the digital card comes live, and when the digital wallet options become live. For now on, we know who our members are and who has renewed so don’t worry about needing a card.

Apologies of this news taking a little longer to come to you than I had hoped, my family and I have all had covid-19 for the past week or so and has led to delays in this system coming live. 

We are all looking forward to seeing you all down the field this year! We had a great first committee meeting with our two new committee members (Mike Strain and Tom Leonard) a couple of weeks ago, we’re looking into the possibility merchandise for our members based on your feedback in 2020. Additionally, with restrictions finally easing even more so soon, and the BMFA being 100 years old, we hope to have a lot to celebrate and some good events coming up. The UKCAA are planning a return to the field this year, and more BBQs/events are being planned for both our usual socials through the year and for the BMFA Centenary! 

Hope to see you all soon,

Sam Booton

Webmaster & Membership Secretary/Treasurer