They *are *paying. This program that is being provided is funded by NACHI. They provide your instructor, free. Learning materials, free. They pay his transportation and his hotel expenses. They advertise for you. None of it is paid by your chapter and the costs of the food, room, etc can be equally shared among NACHI members in attendance, as is done in every other chapter.
You are asking NACHI members who do not belong to your chapter to pay a “tax” to you to attend a NACHI program. This is wrong. Collect it from the non-members in attendance who do not belong to NACHI.
I will go as far as to say this*…any provider of education that participates in your chapter’s fund raising programs at the additional and inequitable expense of other NACHI members will not be invited to teach at any of my chapter meetings*. I urge other chapters to do the same thing. This kind of crap needs to be nipped in the bud. If you guys need the money, have your wives sell candy to their co-workers or something.
I have one question for you. How would you feel if someone from Chicago wanted to tell you how to run your chapter? Please let the people who run their own chapter make their own rules for it. JMHO
No one can *tell *a chapter how to run it’s own business. A chapter is autonomous and is an entity unto itself.
In this case, the Chicago Chapter is running itself as a business, for profit, and with NACHI support. Like any business, it is subject to the scrutiny of the market to which it is trying to sell.
I can express - in the same thread in which a chapter is advertising it’s goods - an opinion regarding their way of doing business. I am part of the market that this chapter is soliciting to add funds to its coffer.
This chapter is putting an additional head tax on NACHI members (100% more than Chicago NACHI members) to attend a training program that NACHI National is footing the bill for. I think this is wrong and I choose to exercise my right to express it.
one reason for charging non chapter members is to have them tie into their local chapter . and take advantage of allthe benefits it does have to offer.Another way to make it fair across the board is #1 state that you are a NACHI member #2 Belong to a local chapter to get the additional discount
Then funds collected could be distributed to the chapter to whom the belong , possibly a servicing fee to the initiating chapter .This is a possible way to work across the country, Equally
James, you’re a Member, and as such, obviously entitled to expressing your opinion.
BUT…
Here’s what you’re really arguing-over, at least in terms of the “unfair head tax” being levied by the Chicago Chapter on poor, unsuspecting non-Chicago Chapter members:
Six (6) State-approved credits for Chapter Nachi members: $4.166/hour
Six (6) State-approved credits for non-Chapter Nachi members: $8.333/hour
Six (6) State-approved credits for non-Nachi members: $16.666/hour
Six (6) State-approved credits for most available education in the Northern Illinois area, by any variety of other (non-Nachi) providers: $30.00+/hour average, some are higher.
If the Chapter’s business operations were fully paid-for by NACHI, I’d say you’d have a pretty strong argument regarding price parity. In reality, only a limited number of activities are subsidized by NACHI. Chapter members choose to pay dues, in part, to help bridge the financial gap that remains. Out of this voluntary contribution, and with the help of the active Chapter officers and members, some very tangible benefits accrue, most notably the availability of quality and timely education offerings at prices that any inspector would consider extremely reasonable given the alternatives. Even non-Nachi members (who add nothing to our Association and may be adding nothing to our industry) are able to enjoy this education offering at about half the going-rate.
Under the circumstances, and given the array of ongoing business and professional issues individual inspectors and our Association face, don’t you think there are better hills to fight and die-upon???
Actually, Jim, our Chapter is a NACHI Chartered not-for-profit and incorporated as such in our state. We are not-for-profit and as such we must follow legal rules and regualtions. One of those is to not expend money without the membership voting on it.
I don’t know if your chapter is incorporated, but you are speaking as it it were not. Therefore you do not have these legal and financial requirements to worry about.
Also, since you live 400 miles away, are we really in your market? We have had NACHI members (non-chapter members) who drove from your area to attend out courses and courses that our chapter set up with a local utility company and these people (from your market) were charged the same as Chapter members, out of voted on courtesy. Our courses were even offered to be taught near your area (at not charge to the local chapter and not paid for by NACHI. i.e., free) but our many offers were not take up.
…such as the course that NACHI is paying for that you are adding the “non-chapter member” head tax on.
That same course is being provided in various areas throughout the country through several chapters. Only yours charges the “non chapter member” head tax.
No interest in them, I suppose. Still isn’t, as far as I can tell.
We are doing quite well utilizing the NACHI resources that are available to us and are able to provide them free to all NACHI members and $100 to non-members.
Last year, we had 6 CEUs (Illinois approved) Electrical Inspection training from Joe Tedesco - free to all NACHI members. We had 6 CEUs on Doors and Windows for Home Inspectors - free to all NACHI members. We also had 6 CEUs on Foundations for Home Inspectors - free to all NACHI members. Several folks from Illinois attended all three seminars - recognizing that NACHI’s requirements for 24 CEUs per year far exceeded the 6 units per year required by your state.
Seeing as how you have two years to accumulate only 12 CEUs to satisfy your state, but still need 24 CEUs to satisfy NACHI requirements, your chapter better get on the stick and start providing more courses.
Nothing you wrote in this post even remotely relates to the issue of charging a head tax to NACHI members who do not belong to your chapter, Will, unless it is your point that these members outside of your chapter have a duty to finance you for some unusual reason.:roll:
The only problem there was regarded his late submittal of his test questions for approval.
I am not aware of any one of our vendors who has submitted a course for approval in Illinois to be rejected.
All a person must do is present (by mail) his course and his qualifications to teach it, along with the (ahem) necessary fees, and his approval is mailed to him. I heard that someone tried to perpetuate a rumor that this had to be done through either you or Russ Meyer, at one time, but that went to the wayside a while ago.
Illinois education standards, though highly touted by you and your chapter, are not nearly as tough as a few other states. Try to teach one of your Illinois approved courses in Massachusetts.
Illinois NACHI members who limit themselves to Illinois approved courses and low CEU requirements are cheating themselves out of some outstanding educational opportunities offered by this association.
Whether they choose to pay your head tax to acquire a NACHI sponsored course (which would be unfortunate) or attend at one of all the rest of the chapters who provide it to all NACHI members at the same price, they should take advantage of the opportunity, IMO.
I would love to provide it for free, but there are expenses that NACHI does not pay. I have, personally, paid some of those expenses out of my own pocket and not recieved reimbursment (nor to I ask to be reimbursed or expect it. I did it voluntarily. My choice). In any case, your area and conditions are different from ours, so different proceedures apply.
I really have to dog in this fight other than to say that what a chapter does is up to them. I wouldn’t like someone from another area telling me what to do just because they didn’t agree with what my chapter is doing. I respect your right to voice your opinion. But I feel that in this case you are beating the point to death. There is a very simple solution to this and that is that if a person from Chicago doesn’t want to pay the extra then they can join the chapter. Personnel I think it is a great way to get others involved in the chapter (but that is just my personnel opinion).
You have made your point very clear, but it is the right of the Chicago chapter to run their event anyway they see fit. IMHO
