Duelling Memberships

I'm a square dance caller. Yeah, big news.

One of the responsibilities of being a caller is being licensed with BMI/ASCAP for the use of commercially produced music.

CALLERLAB is the largest professional organization of callers. The body defines the square dance calls and the program lists (Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, etc..), produces educational & training materials, holds an annual conference and much more. Membership dues are $105/year; BMI/ASCAP licensing is $76 if calling less than 50 dances/year or $120 for 50+ dances but may be purchased without a membership if desired. Insurance and other benefits are extra. I've been a member since 2004 and plan to renew early in 2010.

Today, I received an application from the American Callers Association. They're a separate but not exactly competing group. In essence, they will use the CALLERLAB fundamentals to define calls but have composed their own program lists on the belief that the CALLERLAB lists & programs are too complicated and a detriment to square dancing as a whole. Membership is $50/year; their BMI/ASCAP licensing is $102 for less than 50 dances, $144 for 50+.

Anyway...

In today's mail, kent4str and I both received an application form for the ACA. I've never been a member. There was no cover letter, no promo brochure or such, nothing to indicate who/what they are or why I should join. Either this is a somewhat lame attempt to recruit new members or they're hoping I might simply complete the form & submit it by reflex. Either way, I'm not impressed.

Anyone out there a member of the ACA? Are you also a member of CALLERLAB? What attracted you to the ACA? Is there some subtle selling feature I'm overlooking?

Duelling Memberships

I'm a square dance caller. Yeah, big news.

One of the responsibilities of being a caller is being licensed with BMI/ASCAP for the use of commercially produced music.

CALLERLAB is the largest professional organization of callers. The body defines the square dance calls and the program lists (Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, etc..), produces educational & training materials, holds an annual conference and much more. Membership dues are $105/year; BMI/ASCAP licensing is $76 if calling less than 50 dances/year or $120 for 50+ dances but may be purchased without a membership if desired. Insurance and other benefits are extra. I've been a member since 2004 and plan to renew early in 2010.

Today, I received an application from the American Callers Association. They're a separate but not exactly competing group. In essence, they will use the CALLERLAB fundamentals to define calls but have composed their own program lists on the belief that the CALLERLAB lists & programs are too complicated and a detriment to square dancing as a whole. Membership is $50/year; their BMI/ASCAP licensing is $102 for less than 50 dances, $144 for 50+.

Anyway...

In today's mail, kent4str and I both received an application form for the ACA. I've never been a member. There was no cover letter, no promo brochure or such, nothing to indicate who/what they are or why I should join. Either this is a somewhat lame attempt to recruit new members or they're hoping I might simply complete the form & submit it by reflex. Either way, I'm not impressed.

Anyone out there a member of the ACA? Are you also a member of CALLERLAB? What attracted you to the ACA? Is there some subtle selling feature I'm overlooking?

The Snow Emergency is Over Already

OK, it was snowing very heavily in the greater DC area on Saturday so most sane people stayed home and many businesses were closed. Fair enough.

Sunday, the skies cleared but the streets were damn near impassible. Everything was closed. OK, reasonable.

Monday, most major streets were open and the highways were mostly clear. Yes, the side streets may have had only a single plowed lane and many bridges and streets were missing a half-lane because of snow banks, but it wasn't that bad. Yet nearly all schools, local governments and the federal government were closed along with many businesses. Huh? But wait, the worst is yet to come: our C2 square dance group meets in a school in Virginia so we couldn't dance Monday night!

This Tuesday, much of the snow will have been removed and a significant portion of what was left will have melted. But Baltimore schools will be closed again and thus the Chesapeake Squares have cancelled their club night!

Damn you, Mother Nature!

The Snow Emergency is Over Already

OK, it was snowing very heavily in the greater DC area on Saturday so most sane people stayed home and many businesses were closed. Fair enough.

Sunday, the skies cleared but the streets were damn near impassible. Everything was closed. OK, reasonable.

Monday, most major streets were open and the highways were mostly clear. Yes, the side streets may have had only a single plowed lane and many bridges and streets were missing a half-lane because of snow banks, but it wasn't that bad. Yet nearly all schools, local governments and the federal government were closed along with many businesses. Huh? But wait, the worst is yet to come: our C2 square dance group meets in a school in Virginia so we couldn't dance Monday night!

This Tuesday, much of the snow will have been removed and a significant portion of what was left will have melted. But Baltimore schools will be closed again and thus the Chesapeake Squares have cancelled their club night!

Damn you, Mother Nature!