National Dues Increase Slated for 2008-09

By Eric Sheckleton

Sure, a dues increase is a touchy subject, kind of like the last Chicago Cubs World Series win (1908, for those keeping score), but unlike the Cubs, your investment in PSIA-AASI means many happy returns. Membership dues are a primary revenue source for the association (43.6%). While none of us wants to dig deeper into our pockets, our dues enable PSIAAASI to fulfill its mission: to support us in our personal and professional development and provide us with educational tools to create positive learning experiences and have more fun.

With that in mind, the PSIA-AASI Board of Directors has approved an increase of $10 in national dues—from $40 to $50—for the 2008–2009 season, effective July 1, 2008. As you might expect, inflation is partly to blame, but that’s only part of the story. The need for the increase is the result of a confluence of factors (more on those later). Whatever the reasons, PSIA-AASI must be able to fund its education programs sufficiently and provide much-needed services to its divisions and individual members. And it’s only fair to note that PSIAAASI dues increases at the national level are rare occurrences; in fact, there have been only two in the past 17 years. The following discussion provides more details on the issues that are forcing the increase as well as a brief refresher on the benefits these additional funds will support.

Changes in The Consolidation with NSP
After an unprecedented period of administrative consolidation with the National Ski Patrol that lasted some 17 years, that relationship is changing, requiring each organization to
absorb the infrastructural costs they formerly shared. Looking back, it’s important to note that the consolidation has been extremely beneficial to PSIA-AASI on the whole. PSIA-AASI was able to increase the professionalism of its staff, dramatically increase member services, and move from virtual bankruptcy to sound financial footing. Over time, however, each association has developed its own goals and aspirations. Eventually, PSIA-AASI and NSP may have needed to hire more staff dedicated to each association’s needs. Unfortunately,
instability was the catalyst. During the past two-and-a-half years, NSP has faced a member lawsuit, dealt with a rapid and nearly complete change in the composition of its national board, employed three executive directors (including its current director), and seen five board chairs. NSP’s governance issues began to take a toll on senior staff and significantly reduced their effectiveness in working on behalf of PSIA-AASI. Stephen Over, the longtime executive director for both associations, left NSP in December 2005. Mark Dorsey, Over’s successor and the shared executive director, resigned from NSP in January 2007 to work solely for PSIA-AASI. The board of directors was and is deeply concerned about the real and potential impact NSP’s many changes would have on PSIA-AASI if the situation were to continue. Initially, the PSIA-AASI board hoped to reach agreement with NSP on how best to manage the remaining staff while NSP filled a number of vacant NSP-only positions, including the NSP executive director. However, NSP sought more independence in specific functional areas, resulting in separate administrative, communications, marketing, and member services departments. Fortunately, experienced staff members who were formally shared with NSP came to work solely for PSIA-AASI. Accounting functions, warehouse fulfillment services, and information technology continue to be shared with NSP, at least for the foreseeable future. In the short term, this creates additional financial strain as both organizations incur the increased costs of separating specific functions. In the long term, however, the separation of this relationship allows staff to focus exclusively on key PSIA-AASI projects.

Investment in Software Upgrades
For several years the PSIA-AASI board and the divisions have been requesting services that the association cannot adequately provide without investing in a significant upgrade of
association management software. Most of the association’s divisions use the system to track membership information. Unfortunately, the software requires substantial staff time to
maintain the status quo and develop web services. Also, the current software package is nearly 10 years old and unsupported, meaning that it won’t meet the associations needs in
the near future, creating considerable problems for the divisions as well as the national office. Having postponed this expenditure for as long as possible, the board has approved the purchase of the new software. Unfortunately, due to the current situation with NSP, our association must now bear that cost on its own. On the up side is the fact that the software will enable a more seamless flow of information between divisions and with the national organization, and allow PSIA-AASI to improve membership services and accuracy of information.

Cost of Doing Business
No matter how much we may wish otherwise, the increased cost of doing business cannot be overlooked. The pressures of inflation have real effects on our organization, to the tune
of 4% annually. The $40 in national dues that PSIA-AASI members paid in 2003 (when the association passed its last increase) is worth $31.30 today. That means the organization
has to collect $50.60 to have the same buying power, assuming 4% inflation. Although PSIA-AASI raises more than $1 for every national dues dollar collected, we cannot position the association to become overly reliant on non-dues revenue. Why? Because non-dues revenue is a somewhat arbitrary source of income from year to year, forcing us to rely on factors beyond our complete control. Having unrealistic expectations about nondues sources of income would only jeopardize core services, including administrative functions necessary to a functioning central office; the management of financial data and reporting; the ability to facilitate membership communication and service; and the ability to support marketing, sponsorship, and advertising functions.

Supporting Your Division
The majority of revenue going to the national organization is spent on activities such as publishing The Professional Skier and The Pro Rider, developing and publishing education materials to support education and certification, maintaining member records and fielding member inquiries from across the country, publicizing the value of professional instruction
to the industry, international organizations, and the public, and creating web-based resources and benefits—notably member-only promotional and professional discount programs. However, tens of thousands of dollars go toward division-specific activities. The national organization funds training and development of the PSIA and AASI national teams, whose members feature prominently in division clinics. Each division also receives a subsidy each year to encourage visits by team members. These two budget items alone amount to approximately $86,000. In addition, the national organization finances annual gatherings of division presidents and executives, committee activity such as snowsports school management, and typically funds an annual examiner’s college within a discipline—all of which add up to about $28,000 a year. PSIA-AASI also provides free access to video and photo images as well as access to resources for the national marketing initiative Go With A Pro. Further, the association recently launched new member recruiting resources at no cost to the divisions, and in some cases paid for development and production of local recruiting materials. These are but a few examples of how PSIAAASI supports your division.

The Return on Your Investment
The most important rationale for the increase is the continued service improvements offered to all members. Whether it’s a national marketing campaign to heighten awareness about the value of snowsports instruction additional online services that enable you to access services from your division or the national office more readily, or even pro form availability to help you manage the costs of your profession, the value of PSIA-AASI membership continues to increase. The board has demonstrated excellent stewardship by approving the $10 increase in national dues for the 2008–2009 season. Please note that each and every national board member is either a ski or snowboard instructor him- or herself, and knows full well the importance of keeping dues as low as reasonably possible. The group does not take its responsibilities lightly and has undergone considerable deliberation on the matter for the past several years, exhausting all other viable alternatives. In the end the board is simply not willing to put the association’s infrastructure in a vulnerable, financially tenuous position.
PSIA-AASI must maintain the momentum it has developed over the years, and the dues increase is essential to that endeavor. The factors mentioned in this article are not going away, and the association must continue to make ends meet and provide the services each member deserves.“It all comes down to the value you feel you’re getting for that $50,” said Ray Allard, PSIA-AASI president. “When you pay for dinner at a restaurant or buy a ticket for a concert, you get an immediate return. But when you pay dues to PSIAAASI, you get long-term as well as immediate benefits—particularly in terms of promoting snowsports instruction and the value of instructors to the industry and the public. All in all, the benefits of membership far outweigh the cost of dues.”

We hope you agree.