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New CCDL Membership Form

bennettprescott

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Lenny, thanks for updating this. I didn't want to start a discussion by "replying all" when the forum seems a much easier place to get it done.

My only issue with the membership form is the checkbox area... I don't know about you, but I checked every box except for "handgun hunting", which I'm not particularly interested in right now (but I find it hard to believe I won't be in the future). How are we going to record and store that information? What are we going to use it for once we have collected it?

I just feel like that space could be used to collect more information, without making it personal. What about asking what other gun rights groups they're a member of? Maybe asking for how long they've been a gun owner, whether they have a pistol permit (or in my case, 6 pistol permits)? Would they be interested in helping attend rallies, community service events, etc? Do they have any ideas about things they would like to see CCDL do? Would they like to make a donation? Is it OK to contact them for non-business affairs (i.e. we need cash right now to fight xxx)?
 

romma

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Great Points Bennett... The rallies, and other events such as working a boothat a gun show (which I believe was Lennys' idea) or at a gun shopwould be much more useful info.

Lenny?? What do you think? Anyone else??
 

Lenny Benedetto

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Modifications are very easy!!! Whatever the group feels would benefit us most should be put in this area. As for the what is done with any and all informtion collected from the members, I belive that this would be up to the membership committee in conjunction with the officers to come up with a plan that would best benefit the group as a whole.



Lenny
 

romma

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Maybe we can start roundhousing it tomorrow night for a couple days again Lenny, to see what we can hammer out. I need to add the names of the new people from the last meeting to alert them to the discussions over here. I cannot do that from this computer so I will input them tomorrow. Some are on Facebook, others are not.
 

Lenny Benedetto

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Well I know that it is not Wednesday night yet but I thought that I would get us started a little early.

These forms are really just designed to be put in places that shooterswill be and hopefully they will take one and fill it out, and then mail it in. They are really designed to get people to become members (first and foremost).

Hopefully our members have some contacts at Gunshops and shooting ranges where maybe we can get these placed in the paperwork package with allguns that are sold. Ora pile in a properly marked basket that people can help themselves on the counter. Or both.

I think that our main concern would be to get these new members to attend a meeting before we ask what can you do for us (sitting at gun shows and such).

Once they attend a meeting, thenthey get to decide if they would volunteer to spend the day donating their time to our cause. To ask this up front on the membership form I think might put some people off.

As for the checkboxes we can leave it or take it out, I think that the main purpose of it was to just really have a spot for people to put their shooting interests on the form. I think that in the future it might help us to see what kind of shooters that we have if we start to organize any type of club shoots.



Lenny
 

romma

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Great points Lenny...Do you have time to email the group of contacts from the personal emails and send them a link them here?



I am going to be in a meeting for a bit.
 

GoldCoaster

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The minute you start talking about filling something out, putting it in an envelope, finding a stamp, putting it in a mailbox you unfortunately are going to lose some people before they start. Perhaps these are the types of people you don't really need in the group, perhaps these are exactly the type you need to get off the fence and into the fray.

It would be slick if we had something online we could have folks reference and put their info in via an SSL connection so that (A) there's no administrivia to contend with and (B) the results are available to the membership group immediately.

The idea of an online form was brought up at the last meeting and it warrants talking about I think.

Personally I don't care WHY someone wants to carry, if they are a hunter or not, etc. If they aren't prohibited to carry due to being a felon and what-not then it's nobodies business why they carry, just that they can, unfettered by authority.
 

Dieselsmoke

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Ha people I been crazy busy and have not been to any of your meetings yet due to work. This May meeting I will be free to go .... Now my input on this form....should go back to the Mission Statement defend the right to have one and stand up for it........ I think if go that way its more Grassy this is membership Form once in then you can get into what the person likes and good things like that What I amtrying to say keep it general just my 2 cents Steve
 

Lenny Benedetto

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Dieselsmoke wrote:
Ha people I been crazy busy and have not been to any of your meetings yet due to work. This May meeting I will be free to go .... Now my input on this form....should go back to the Mission Statement defend the right to have one and stand up for it........ I think if go that way its more Grassy this is membership Form once in then you can get into what the person likes and good things like that What I amtrying to say keep it general just my 2 cents Steve

Welcome to the discussion Steve.

As I stated in an earlier post the purpose of the checkboxes on the form were more or less to just get a feel for what type of shooting people are doing. This is not a big deal either way.

Robert, the forms have been simplified for sending in, as much as possible. After filling out the form you must fold the sheet, tape it closed and fill out your return address and the biggie here ATTACH A STAMP!!! I think that is where we lose most of the applicants. However at gun shows and such these would be a very valuable tool since we get to collect them on the spot.

I will send the updated form to all on my email list now so that it is easier to discuss.

Lenny
 

Wife of Protector

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I agree that personal gun ownership, shooting preferences, etc. are secondary to our cause, which is to protect our rights. We may have members who don't have any interest in guns per se, but are very interested in demanding that the government recognize our rights and quit plundering them. I, for one, did not think that our purpose was to become a "gun club" for the purpose of organizing shoots, shows or meets. And while we will most certainly expand our membership through informing ranges and clubs of our existence, we do not want to be exclusionary to other interested parties or groups. Just my 2 1/2 cents worth.
 

romma

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Really good debate so far, and I feel very fortunate to work with you folks for your insightfulness, and open-mindedness, and I sincerely mean that.



Here is a thought: what about both an online sign-up form, and the paper forms to mail in?

We can even put something to the effect of: "if you would rather sign up for this groupon-line instead of mailing inthis form" go to> xyz.com "Or simply mail this form in as instructed" on the actual form itself.

The formswould get people in gunshops or wherever to take them home where they would hopefully serve as reminders to join either way they choose.
 

Lenny Benedetto

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That would be an easy addition to the hard copies. As for the online we would have to develope a true website. As of now ourweb address only redirects toour facebook page. There are lots of options that we must sift through on our domain to turn it into a real wesite. One being the cost of the server and what options that we would like to enable. All would be at different price points.
 

romma

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Understood Lenny. Potenial solution for the time being: Request the samecriteria on the form for membership be includedin an email to our contact person (which is Jeremy) on the Facebook site. That info can then be forwarded to the appropriate party, which right now; You da man!

If we do simplify the forms for distribution as far as info such as target shooting and so forth, it will besimplier to email name, adress, email and such.

Could youformat this to make sense if this idea were to fly? For the time being Len?

Also, idea:"Join the movement" might a nice catch at the top or somewhere to catch the eye. Maybe for pure poster format though.
 

Lenny Benedetto

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romma wrote:
Understood Lenny. Potenial solution for the time being: Request the samecriteria on the form for membership be includedin an email to our contact person (which is Jeremy) on the Facebook site. That info can then be forwarded to the appropriate party, which right now; You da man!

If we do simplify the forms for distribution as far as info such as target shooting and so forth, it will besimplier to email name, adress, email and such.

Could youformat this to make sense if this idea were to fly? For the time being Len?

Also, idea:"Join the movement" might a nice catch at the top or somewhere to catch the eye. Maybe for pure poster format though.


I think to keep this as professional as possible we need an online form that can be accessed through our website. I do not think that asking that the info to be sent in an email would be very effective.
 

romma

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Code:
I think to keep this as professional as possible we need an online form that can be accessed through our website. I do not think that asking that the info to be sent in an email would be very effective.

Then maybe we should save our pennies and get that server going.
 

Lenny Benedetto

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I think that would start us moving in the correct direction.

I have updated the form and will email to all addresses that I have for consideration.

I also made a box tag for the forms as they sit on counter tops in shops. It is pretty much the same as the top part of the form. It should printed in a card stock and attached to some type of box to hold our forms. I will attach this also.
 

Wife of Protector

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The revised membership form is better I think, and looks like it could easily be worked into a web site, for online enrollment. Could we move the name above the logo? Same for the box tags?? I personally think the name should be larger and the logo a bit smaller. We don't want the divorce lawyers after us, and hopefully at the next meeting we can get the paperwork submitted to officially claim the logo as ours. We need to get with Jay and the t-shirt guy on this. Which is really a separate issue, sorry...not trying to confuse things. Just a reminder that the acronym is taken.
 

Lenny Benedetto

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Wife of Protector wrote:
The revised membership form is better I think, and looks like it could easily be worked into a web site, for online enrollment. Could we move the name above the logo? Same for the box tags?? I personally think the name should be larger and the logo a bit smaller. We don't want the divorce lawyers after us, and hopefully at the next meeting we can get the paperwork submitted to officially claim the logo as ours. We need to get with Jay and the t-shirt guy on this. Which is really a separate issue, sorry...not trying to confuse things. Just a reminder that the acronym is taken.

I have made the requested changes. Good call Susan I think it looks a lot better. I will send out again.

On the logo, I was under the impression that Jay had taken care of that already. I am probably wrong having missed the last meeting. An update from Jay would be great.
 

romma

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The latest version is much improved. Question: Are we going to put Connecticut Citizens Defense League (Inc)? In anticipation of of our incorporation that is.
 
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