Should you join NAMGBR?
Simply put, that is a personal choice, because at the end of the day only you can determine the "value" associated with the cost of joining.
For me, the intangible benefit of being a part of a larger community counts as much or more than the tangible benefits such as the quarterly magazine "MG Driver", and reduced entry fees for NAMGBR events (primarily the annual convention such as MG2023 which will be hosted in Calgary!).
I also belong to the NAMGBR Facebook page and MG Experience for the same reasons, but of course there is no cost involved there.
The Calgary MG Car Club is currently affiliated with NAMGBR, which is based on a minimum of 8 CMGCC members having a paid membership in NAMGBR as well.
The club benefits from this, most notably, by having its executive covered under a NAMGBR liability insurance policy, and having our club activities such as shows covered also. So there's a bit of a trickle down benefit as this insurance coverage helps keep our dues down by not having to source this insurance on our own. There are also some coverages with our SVAAA affiliation I understand.
NAMGAR is to the MGA community, the same as NAMGBR to MGB, so as an MGA owner, you alone can determine the value in membership.
NAMGBR over the years, has grown to include "sub registers" for Midget, 1100/1300, post Abingdon/modern (think RV8, MGF, Metro) and most recently MGC, and is now the largest of the registers under the umbrella of the North American Council of MG Registers. The council is comprised of the Triple M Register, New England MGT Register, NAMGAR, and NAMGBR.
NAMGAR and NAMGBR are affiliated with the MGCC in the UK, and some individual clubs within these two North American registers also have their own affiliation. CMGCC used to be affiliated, but there was a cost associated with it I believe, and it was allowed to lapse some years ago.
I feel enough of a connection to the MGCC through NAMGBR, so no longer belong to the English club. Frankly, I couldn't justify the additional membership, as the only real benefit to me was the magazine, and the North American content was negligible.
The Internet, with its many forums, discussion groups, bloggers etc, is undermining the NEED for such specialist "communities", that clubs heretofore have served. This makes the "value" of such clubs a harder "sell", particularly with younger generations than mine.
Online communities are great, but the joy and satisfaction derived from most hobbies comes from personal interaction with like-minded "friends", and in that regard, I believe clubs still have value, as they help cut out all the "fluff" of the Internet.
I have made some great car-friends via the Internet, but the ones I value the most are still the ones I have made and meet regularly with, through membership in the clubs I pay dues to. Those dues are the only con against a long list of pro's.
I summary, some folks are members of many clubs, some belong to none, it's a personal choice.
Cheers,
Andy
