Our museum requires membership due to insurance issues, but like other musuems, you get a discount on items purchased at the museum store, a free trip on the museum train and lots of opprotunity to get involved which overcomes the $20 or $25 membership fee, seniors get the discount. Drake Rice, Oklahoma Railway Museum.

> For the record, our volunteers are members.
> It is one reason we have kept the membership
> dues low ($15/year.) And once someone joins,
> they are full fledged voting members
> immediately! If somebody were to come by and
> help us while we were doing trackwork for
> example, we might let him or her
> "help". But if they were to come
> by on some kind of a regular basis, we would
> ask them to become members so that our
> insurance would cover them. Now if some
> people came by and decided they wanted to
> restore our steam locomotive (or work on
> some other major project) and didn't want to
> become members for whatever reason, they
> would find themselves with a one year
> membership.

> Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad
> Museum/North Judson, Indiana)


drakerr@telepath.com

> This season the Nevada Northern Railway
> Museum implemented a new requirement, that
> all volunteers need to be members of the
> museum. Basic membership is $15. Just out of
> curiosity what are the policies at other
> museums?

This can differ from museum to museum. Many long-time museums that began as membership organizations continue to require any participant to be a member. This is very accepted by the organizations and their members -- join us, support us, and help us.

I understand that the Illinois Railway Museum requires that for a member to receive voting rights he or she needs to contribute a specific amount of volunteer hours per year.

Another whole model is the relationship of the California State Railroad Museum and the CSRM Foundation. The CSRM Foundation is a fundraising and promoting support organzition for the state museum. It has entered into a specific documented relationship with the State Park system just like the group supporting any other historic site in the system. In Sacramento the volunteer docents in the main museum are encouraged to become members of the foundation -- in fact, I believe they are GIVEN a membership in the foundation. The train ride at Sacramento, "Sacramento Southern," is operated by the CSRM Foundation using volunteers with equipment from the Museum collection.

Brian Norden

bnorden49@earthlink.net

> This season the Nevada Northern Railway
> Museum implemented a new requirement, that
> all volunteers need to be members of the
> museum. Basic membership is $15. Just out of
> curiosity what are the policies at other
> museums?
> Thanks,
> Mark

All volunteers at SCRM must be members. This is for insurance purposes. Our policy coveres members for OTJ injuries but not non-members.

I find it surprising that other groups have non-member volunteers. I've never been in a group that didn't require membership. How does insurance work with this? Somehow I can't see an insurance company being willing to cover just any Joe who walks in off the street.

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@compuzone.net

> "Hey, I have a team of certified boiler
> apprentices that need a project to gain
> experience on! Can we rebuild your steamer?
> Won't cost you anything..."

I'll gladly take you up on that one!

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@compuzone.net

> "Hey, I have a team of certified boiler
> apprentices that need a project to gain
> experience on! Can we rebuild your steamer?
> Won't cost you anything..."

I'll gladly take you up on that one! How soon can you get to SC and start work? :o)

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@compuzone.net

Somehow I
> can't see an insurance company being willing
> to cover just any Joe who walks in off the
> street.

The orginization I am involved with is actually covered by the state parks system that they work hand in hand with. Any one who works in the shop is required to sign a state wavier. it's really nice because some times you just get those people who wander in and suddenly jump in and start helping. It also helps with poor college students like my self, $20 a year isn't much when you are't paying out 1.5 times your income a year. But when I can just show up and work, and have my room and board taken care of, it makes me alot more available.

btrue@vt.edu

I would give a membership to anyone who volunteers, and require those who don't volunteer to pay for their membership. I think waiving the $15 fee is well worth having another warm body on site to help.

If insurance requires membership to be covered, then anyone who does any volunteer work is automatically added to the membership roles.

Also, why would you want to volunteer with a group that you are not a member of? Don't you want to have some input in the governance of the organization that you give your time to?

rick@todengine.org

Actually, I have talked with several organizations whos insurance specifically exclude members from any coverage, because the insurance companies said that the members know and willingly accept any risk.

The same insurers will, however, also require membership for volunteers simply because, as a member, it is more difficult to sue (like suing yourself)

> All volunteers at SCRM must be members. This
> is for insurance purposes. Our policy
> coveres members for OTJ injuries but not
> non-members.

> I find it surprising that other groups have
> non-member volunteers. I've never been in a
> group that didn't require membership. How
> does insurance work with this? Somehow I
> can't see an insurance company being willing
> to cover just any Joe who walks in off the
> street.

At OERM, all volunteers are members. It's never been an issue with anyone that I'm aware of. In the few cases where someone starts showing up regularly and finances were a problem, someone just buys the person a membership. That's not to say that if someone from another museum comes by to help, we're going to turn them away if they don't have a membership.

IMHO, a little bit of the Huckleberry Finn approach is not a bad thing, and asking them to purchase a membership before volunteering can also help reinforce the fact that there are common organizational goals and it's not just a random club of weekend hobbyists. Always desperately pleading for volunteers is not necessarily the way to go. Like painting the storied fence, a little bit of "gee this sure is neat to be able to work on this (fill in the blank), but you have to be a member first" is not necessarily a bad thing.



Orange Empire Railway Museum
jsmatlak@earthlink.net