Fall 2011.indd - Annapolis Yacht Club

Membership Development
Understanding the Junior Associate Members
Lauren Koppelman
Joined at the hip off the water, two of our Opti Race team sailors Aidan
Morgan and Nick Salvesen enjoy each other's company at the end of
summer race team banquet.
Photo courtesy of Larry Martin, Martin Image Photography
During the Annual Membership Meeting held
in November of 2010, the membership voted
to create the Junior Associate Membership: a
new membership class that includes “any person between
the ages of seven and twenty-one of good character and
reputation who has expressed interest in participating
in AYC's Junior Fleet Program.” Following the first
summer program serving this new class, we received
a lot of valuable feedback and from it, one common
question resounded: why JAM? The answer lays in
two key benefits of Junior Associate Membership: the
opportunity to officially represent the Annapolis Yacht
Club by flying our burgee in regattas, and the chance
to contribute to their initiation fee should they decide
to join the Club. This year, for relatives of members, the
JAM fee was $75. For children not related to a member,
their fee was $175. In both JAM fees' cases, $75 will be
invested towards an initiation fee.
It is the Membership Development Committee's
focus to attract a greater amount of younger members to
the Club. By offering a valuable investment plan to young
individuals who show an interest in sailing and pride
in our community, it will increase the chance that they
will continue their relationship with our Club. AYC's
membership includes 501 members who joined between
the age of 16 and 35. Essentially, one in four of our
members were previously Junior/Intermediate members.
Ten years ago, there were 156 Junior/Intermediate
members of our Club. Today, there are just 53. Happily,
AYC saw 284 Junior Associate Members ( JAM) last
summer of which 53% were related to an AYC member.
These children are used to casually boating under their
parents' or grandparents' burgees; however, they and the
other 47% of JAMs who aren't related to a member now
have the opportunity to fly one of their own. The best
way to build allegiance to our community is to make our
Junior Sailors officially a part of it.
As members of the Annapolis Yacht Club, our new
JAMs have similar benefits as full-fledged members:
they receive their own copy of our monthly newsletter
so they can stay connected and read coverage that might
include their own accomplishments; they can store their
racing boats at the Club; they can host their families
on a limited basis for dinner in the Clubhouse; they
have access to the auxiliary parking lots when they are
using the Clubhouse and its facilities. Our Junior Sailors
have never before had this level of exposure to the
Club. Suddenly, these sailors transition from attending
a two-week sailing instruction course or a month-long
race team to being incorporated into an elite sailing
community. Many of our JAMs took a taste of AYC life
by using dining facilities, and one family was so charmed
by our community that a membership application is in
process for them to join.
We continue to work together with our members
to answer any questions and concerns and to fine tune
the JAM program to eliminate confusion. Before the
summer started, Waterfront Director Jay Kehoe wrote,
“In the short term, we hope to see more juniors and their
families involved at AYC. In the long term, we would
like to see more members earning their 40 year pin!”
The potential to retain some of these talented and wellrounded
sailors is promising.
VOLUME 3, NO. 2
AYC BEACON
25