Membership Policy Changes

There are a lot of exciting things happening in the Membership Department as the Club approaches 2,600 memberships. Get updated on policy change topics including the Platinum Partner Membership Category and how the Club is using DocuSign. Click here to watch.

Missouri Athletic Club Connections highlights the foremost private club in St. Louis known for attracting exceptional people and enriching lives for generations.

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Hello and welcome to Missouri Athletic Club Connections, a podcast highlighting Missouri's only premiere athletic club. The MAC is recognized as the foremost private club in St. Louis, known for attracting exceptional people and enriching lives for generations. I'm MAC membership development executive Kara Kelpe, and I'm Rodney Stoyer, director of membership here at the MAC. Today we're talking about membership policy changes. And Rodney, there are a lot of exciting things happening in the membership department right now, right? There sure are. Absolutely. First of all, interest in joining the MAC right now continues to be strong. We're very close to almost 2600 memberships club wide. Wow. Wonderful news. As the - excuse me, as the membership committee and the Board of Governors remain committed to providing members with the best possible MAC experience. Club management continues to enhance processes to make sure that we have new efficiencies across all of the departments and just taking the best care of members that we can. So for us in the membership department, what that looks like is administrative procedures to streamline the membership process for current members, but as well as incoming members and candidates. Absolutely. We have a lot going on. We do. So let’s kind of break it down to make it a little easier for everybody to understand what's the number one thing that we're doing right now. So the number one thing is our sort of our migration for our onboarding process to DocuSign. So everybody knows the name DocuSign. It's a very professional organization. We vetted through that very carefully and we're very happy to be utilizing that now. And we're actually already using it. We are, yes. We're in that process for some of our current candidates joining the club. But the biggest thing with DocuSign is really the security. It's the sense of security it adds, you know, we can joke about it now because we're not doing it anymore. But, you know, people would just shoot a photo of their ID and send it to us. Yeah, email and all these things that were just not really secure and multiple emails too. Yes, email after email. And we were having to compile... All the different aspects of a nomination packet. Right, Right. And number one, it also doesn't look - that’s number one, security, but number two, it doesn't look professional. Yes, DocuSign is much more streamlined, professional. Everything's compiled in one location. It makes all the different parties that need to sign so much easier and accessible and streamlined because it literally goes out to all the different people, sponsors the candidate and anybody else. A spouse or partner or a platinum partner. Everything is all done and handled right through DocuSign. Yes. And it makes it easier because you can actually do it on your phone. Right. Right. Yeah. That's always been an issue. We'll send out a fillable PDF and lo and behold, someone won't have a printer. Or they can't access the the PDF through their computer and it just makes it difficult and challenging and it doesn't present a good image from the get go. Right. Right. So this is a lot better. Well, and then you also get into that thing of I'm doing it on my phone, but my phone doesn't have Adobe version 7.6. Exactly. You have to have. It's wonderful. It also helps with the traveling aspect. You know, we sometimes have a member, a current member who's trying to be a sponsor. They're trying to help out their candidate who's joining the club and they're traveling, they’re somewhere else. And they don't have a printer. They don't have access to anything. Right? They don't have a scanner to send it back to us. If they can't use Adobe. So all of that is really solved with DocuSign and they don't want to hold up their their nomination. Right. And you don't have to have a DocuSign account. So we just want to make sure. Right. It's not like everybody's going to have to suddenly sign up and log in and set something up in order to participate and sponsor a nominee. But this process is really going to streamline a lot of things on the back end for us in our department and on the front end. For those who are wanting to join the club and start enjoying all the benefits of the MAC. So it'll be a really nice first image as we start the paperwork process. Yeah. So while we're talking about the joining process and how to refer and recruit and be a sponsor, let's go through that and remind everybody of the order of those steps and kind of how those steps work and and how to best remember them. Well, and we've kind of made that easier as well. It used to be very common for someone to say, What do I do? How do I introduce someone? Right. What is this process like? We've made it extremely simple. There are three very basic, simple steps now. That's right. Three is wonderful. Three is easy to remember. It is very catchy. And step number one is now really as it should be, which is introduction. So step one is introduction. We are a club that is membership by invitation only. So that's the first step. It is literally just the current member of the club introducing the candidate to the membership department. Right. Sort of turning that process over, getting them into our hands so that we can guide that candidate through the process properly. Right. You know, it probably wasn't that long ago where, you know, someone said, oh, I think you just show up and go get a locker. I think that's what you do. It's not. So we have a process. We want them to contact the membership department first and we’ll guide them through everything they need to do. We'll make sure we answer all of their questions. We will give them tours of one or both clubhouses in a lot of cases and make sure that they truly are prepared and ready to join the MAC and have all the most current up to date information. There's no confusion about what is the current initiation fee and when is the deadline and what might I expect to see on my billing? How is billing handled? All of those questions that incoming potential members have, we can answer. We can handle all the boring stuff. Exactly. Let let the current member actually do the welcoming, the entertaining. Yes. Saying you're going to love this club. You know, our current members are the best salespeople if you want to use that term, So let them do that. Let us handle the boring side. We'll handle all the details, answer all the questions. Exactly. So that's step one is really the introduction. Yep. So step two, of course, is the sponsorship, right? Yes, that's the official piece. That's according to our bylaws. We have to confirm both of those to current member sponsors. And so that's the next step is to actually get those sponsor sign offs. Now, anyone who's been sponsoring a lot of members lately, the form will technically look the same. It will. We haven't changed that. It's just in DocuSign. So same basic information. We just want to know how you know the person. And more importantly, we want your sign off on saying, Yeah, this is a good quality member for the club. Absolutely. We want to make sure it's a good fit for everybody and if you know this candidate best, we want you to be able to support their process from the beginning. Right? So that's a great way to kind of kick off the paperwork process is making sure that we have the two sponsors identified, that they're aware. Right. We don't want to take anybody off guard. Maybe a year ago you talked with your buddy down the street and now they're ready to join. And we want to make sure that we're not you know, there's no alarms going off. So gathering the information, the contact information for all the people that need to be signing the two sponsors in addition to the nominee from the get go, works for us to then deploy the paperwork through DocuSign. So that's step number two is sponsorship. And then really it is the nomination. So introduction, sponsorship, and nomination, correct. And that's the great thing about DocuSign, and maybe we should clarify this, Kara, for those current members who are going to be the sponsors. Mm hmm. Excuse me. The way the DocuSign process works is the process doesn't actually get to the candidate until those two sponsors have completed their section. So the way it always probably should have been, but with all of our forms flying around everywhere, it wasn't really tracked and monitored in that way. And DocuSign controls that. So yes, the first step is both of those two sponsors have to complete their page. As soon as that happens, DocuSign automatically sends out the actual nomination packet to the candidate. That's right. So it's a very streamlined process, but we want to stress that, you know, the candidate will not receive that information until both of the sponsors have completed their section. And it's also private, again. Exactly. Nobody sees anybody elses. still able to, you know, keep all of the necessary sensitive information, discretionary and private, so that the candidate will only really be seeing what they're filling out and moving forward in that capacity. And we still have the sponsorship information or the the records of this nominee, but it is kept private. So the candidate isn't seeing that information as it's filled out. So we welcome nominations every month. Every month this process can happen. It starts certainly with members referring their friends and colleagues to, you know, encourage them to consider the club. And that introduction sponsorship nomination, three step process. Correct. And you know, we we should talk about deadlines then. Yes we should. We never want hard feelings, We never want miscommunication. So really our deadline is typically the second Tuesday of every month. I think we're kind of using as a guideline that if you're a sponsor, you probably should have already handled that introduction and maybe even hopefully gotten to the sponsorship phase by the beginning of the month. That's right, because the second Tuesday sneaks up on you pretty quick. It can. And so we want to make sure that that the candidate is given plenty of time. That's right. It gives everybody a little room, you know, and there's no rush. The process is not a rush. We know, especially heading into summer season and golf season, there's a lot of interest and membership interest ramps up. But we want to make sure that, you know, the proper procedures are in place and that the flow of everything is is working towards ultimately getting all of the paperwork that we need so that we can appropriately welcome this candidate and consider how they contribute best to the club. So there are deadlines in place for a reason. Correct. And it's better for that candidate. So always remember that, that it's you know, the club doesn't look that great - If we’re rushing. Yeah, if we're rushing, or we're saying you can be a member tomorrow right. To follow the procedures and process again makes the club look as professional as it is. Of course. And from the get go, once we welcome a member, we want to make sure that they're excited to join the club because they've already toured. They've already learned a lot about the club. So that orientation experience, soon after they're approved officially and welcomed as an active member isn't a bunch of new information to them. They they've already had a little bit of an intro and so they know what to expect. They're just learning it a little bit more about how to use and enjoy the club and meeting new member peers. Correct. So deadline second Tuesday of the month. We also have another deadline we probably should mention. We do. And you know, it's funny that we just said we're never rushing. We're still not rushing. However, we do want to make all of our members aware of this. So we do have a membership category. It's the Platinum partner membership category. Yes. And we want to make everyone aware that to join the club into that category or to transfer into that category, that will be going away. We'll be ceasing to allow new incoming members to join in that platinum category. And the deadline for that, we'll say it several times, but it is June 11th of 2024. Yes. And so and you'll hear that a bunch as a current member of the club, we will make sure that we're sort of screaming that from the rooftop downtown. But that's the last date. So anyone that would like to be a current member and transfer into the platinum category or anyone wanting to join the club in that platinum category, that'll be the last date to be able to do that. Yes. And June 11th is the second Tuesday of June. So it aligns with our deadline for consideration of membership during the month of June. Right. But after June 11th, that particular benefit category will not be open to new enrollments or new eligible or current members to join that. And speaking of that, let's ask the big question in the room. What does that mean for current members who are already in the platinum category? Nobody start calling us and freaking out, right? You get to remain in the category. Yes. Don't worry about that. That's the whole point, is that it had a purpose. It's a wonderful category. It came with great benefits. And yes, you will remain in that category as long as that's the category you're in as of June or. Sorry. Yeah, June 11th. Right. So as long as you're in that same category at that point. You'll continue to enjoy all the benefits that it currently offers. None of those benefits will change. It just won't be open to new people to enroll into the category. So for those of you who are saying I'm not sure what they're talking about, what is platinum partner? It's a recruitment tool. Let's talk a little bit about that. But we do have a page on our website. Absolutely. And so you will be able to find out on a website, you'll be able to find the frequently asked questions and everything that goes into detail about platinum category. But essentially it was a recruitment tool that was designed, you know, I believe in 2010, over a decade ago, over a decade ago when the club was very different, exactly. There's a purpose for and need for us to have a recruitment tool like this to boost member referrals and really incentivize more membership drive to the club. And again, it worked. You know, we're currently knocking on the door of 2,600 members, so it did it’s job for sure. But times have changed and we're not quite the same situation anymore. So it's time to move on from that particular recruiting category. And that's exactly right. That's exactly what we're doing. And it's been tweaked a little bit over the years. There very have been various different changes and it can get confusing. And so it's very common for our office to get a call and someone says, Hey, I've got a friend joining the club and I know I don't have a platinum partner. So I'd like to partner with them. Yeah, maybe that's correct. Maybe it's not correct. Maybe you do have a platinum partner, maybe you don't. Right. So if there's any confusion, obviously you can check your bill. But the easiest thing is please just call the membership department. Yes. We’ll be happy to walk it through with you. Happy to explain what category you're in, where you land. We'll also go over the options, you know, is platinum. If you're not in the platinum category, is that the best category for you? Right. So we'll go over all of those details with you if you want to give us a call. We absolutely will. And by us, you know, having a deadline for enrollments into this category, it shouldn't deter you from encouraging friends to join the club, even if you're already as a current member enjoying the platinum partner category yourself and the more favorable dues that it offers, you should still refer your friends, because if you are a new member joining together with another new incoming membership, then those two individual memberships can join and enroll into the Platinum Partnership category together before June 11th. So tell your friends, tell your colleagues, any of those people that have over the years kind of expressed an interest in joining the club. Now's the time. They just haven't done so yet. They can secure their platinum partnership status before June 11th. Still, even if you can't serve as one of their platinum partners yourself. Correct. And so that's what's good just to pass along that information. But again, sounds like a sales ploy. We're never pushing anyone, but it is the truth. You really have to tell your friends there is no better time to join the MAC. There's so much going on. There is so much going on. Exciting. It's an exciting time to be here. We're giving you three months or so here to to have your friends join in that platinum category. Yes, everyone's been seeing our initiation fee going up year after year after year. I know we're not done. I know that's going to go up again. So if you are talking to a friend, a colleague, a family member and saying, are you interested in joining the MAC, it's really the truth. There's no better time to join than right now. And we're happy to talk with them about all the exciting things that we have going on as well, because there really is a lot to cover in terms of the benefit, the value, the enjoyment, the experience, the tradition, all of those good things we can really go over. So just introduce us to any of your friends and colleagues and we're happy to walk through all the things we've discussed today and with that individual so that you don't have to remember all those things. Just remember to reach out to the membership department right? Correct. And that's really the only take away. Right? That is the key. That's what we're here for. That's what we want to do is have that introduction made and we'll take it from there. We'll be happy to talk to your friends and family members through the process. Yes, it's exciting. So there's a lot that we're keeping straight, but you don't feel that you have to. We've made a frequently asked questions. Page. You can access that under the new membership section of our website. We'll follow this up continuously between now and June. With reminders in our weekly club communications, through MAC in a minute. Sure will. So again, you'll be hearing a lot about this, we’ll remind you a lot that this deadline is happening and all the other exciting things that we're working on, too, as we enhance and elevate the club. So agreed. You know, and how about we give a little tease, too, about other things coming. So we should talk about as if we're not working out enough already. There’s not enough going on. But there's also a fun thing coming very soon in the next couple of months, The MAC is migrating towards a brand new app. And yes, we have an app now. Yes, it's wonderful. But the one that we're going to progress to is going to be on a whole different level. So really dynamic and interactive and it should make life a lot easier and more fun, a lot easier, a lot more fun. And again, very professional looking just like everything else that we've been doing. So more to come on the app. Stay tuned. Absolutely. Do know that your staff I don't care what department it is. At the MAC, everyone is working feverishly behind the scenes to get that app rolling and moving in the right direction. It takes a huge village. It takes everyone to make that happen. So when it launches, rest assured it'll be ready to go and you'll have a wonderful new product. Yeah, absolutely. Well, all these efficiencies are going to just make the club so much more enjoyable for everybody. Agreed. So I only work three days a week now. It's so easy now. No, he doesn’t. And no we don’t. there's a lot going on, but we're so glad we could update everybody and share this conversation. And we'll be back to share more as we get closer to the launch of our app. So again, just reach out to us with any questions. Wonderful. Well, it's been great talking about member enhancements. Yes, we'll do more. Thanks, everybody, for joining us and we'll be back with you again for another wonderful Club Connections podcast. Thank you.