MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
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MEMBERSHIP
Membership in Squadrons & Shipmates, Inc. is open to all persons who served aboard any US aircraft carrier or their tending squadrons. The membership is open to all Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force personnel who qualify and were members of squadrons or shipmates who served aboard any US carrier and are defenders of the Constitution of the United States of America.
ALL NAVY AND MARINE VETERANS WHO SERVED ON OTHER SHIPS or in SQUADRONS
Many U.S. Navy and Marine reunion organizations have disbanded because of the natural attrition rate. We have learned that some organizations just cannot continue to have reunions with so few people interested in attending. We have been very fortunate here at Squadron & Shipmates Inc. because we are the only aircraft carrier organization that is set up for any US aircraft carrier. In the past, we have been very fortunate here at Squadron & Shipmates Inc. because we were the only aircraft carrier organization that was organized around two Midway Class Carriers and 124 squadrons that have served on these two ships. This gave us a large audience from which to solicit members. There are other naval organizations that started out with just one ship and many other ships wanted to join of the same class or type. One organization that started with just one ship now represents 37 ships of the same type. Squadrons & Shipmates Inc. is now following in the same footsteps. We will always have aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy, at least for the lifetimes of anyone who is alive today.
Where do all the veterans who are still alive today go if there is no longer a reunion organization for them? Well now they can come to Squadrons & Shipmates Inc. and will be welcomed with open arms. The essence behind this new policy is that there are many veterans out there that have no reunions to go to. It is support of the members and non-members, or guests, who are able to attend our reunions that keep the organization viable.
The association's membership dues are very reasonable at $4.00 per year for Regular and Charter members . As always, if anyone joins after December 31st, their dues will be good until June 30th of the following year. We will try to keep the annual dues to a minimum for as long as possible. Lifetime Membership dues will be 10 times the annual rate and it can start this year or any year in the future. Lifetime Memberships are NOT available to Auxiliary Members. Lifetime Members will be recognized with an "L" on their name badges at all reunions and on their ID cards.
Special Note: For members who join between January and June, their dues will not be due again until July 1st of the following year.
AUXILIARY MEMBERS
Auxiliary members are spouses, parents and direct descendants of a eligible member. The By-Laws describe this in detail. In order for auxiliary members to have a membership number and be able to sponsor new members there is a charge of $1.00 per year. Auxiliary Members can also earn reunion credits and can sponsor regular members and other Auxiliary Members if, in the highly unlikely situation, an eligible member does not join but the spouse, parent and children of the eligible member want to join. If an Auxiliary Member becomes a regular member in the future with full voting rights then that member's dues will be the amount of dues being paid at the time by all regular members.
SECOND GENERATION AUXILIARY MEMBERS
Second generation auxiliary members would be all the children of the regular member or potential member.
THIRD GENERATION AUXILIARY MEMBERS
Third generation auxiliary members would be all the grandchildren of the regular member or potential member.
WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS
All widows and widowers will have full voting rights. They will be obligated to pay the minimum annual dues, which will be $1.00 per year, to maintain the membership of the qualifying member or potential qualifying member. Widows and widowers may become Lifetime Members if they up-grade to a Regular Membership.
SPOUSES ONLY
If a spouse, and only a spouse, does not want to be an Auxiliary Member or participate in the reunion credits program and have their own membership number they may still come to the reunions and register just like a regular member. They may attend the reunion even if their spouse is not attending for whatever reason. They may also vote for their spouse if they have a signed proxy in hand. We understand that members may not be able to attend the reunion because of work or any number of other reasons. The spouses may also bring their children or grandchildren.
DOCENTS OF THE MIDWAY MUSEUM
If you are presently a member of the Docent Team aboard the Midway Museum and an unpaid volunteer we want to reward you for your unselfish service to the Midway Museum. We want to invite you to become a member too. As this is a veteran group association under the rules of the IRS, you must be a veteran of the United States military from any branch of the service. Please indicate this on the reverse side of your application and attach your DD214. You will be eligible for regular membership and have full voting rights. All future members of the Docent Team and unpaid volunteers will be eligible to join after one year of uninterrupted service to the Midway Museum. All former members of the Docent Team and unpaid volunteers who completed one year of uninterrupted service may also join if they are a veteran. We believe the docents would be very valuable to our organization because of their knowledge and their dedication to preserve it's memory.
MEMBERSHIP NUMBER
Each member will be issued a membership number and that number will be listed on the roster and name badges at all reunions. The first member who joined was issued membership number 0 0 0 1. Each member in succession will receive the next number and so on. That number will never change. It will also be used to keep track of reunion credits for all members who want to participate in that program. When cut-offs are necessary for banquets and excursion tours, the postmark date will determine which member signed up first. In the event of a tie where more than one envelope is received with the same postmark date, the membership number will determine where the cut-off will be. The lower membership number will prevail. This membership number will also be used to break other ties, including elections. In essence, you want to have the lowest possible membership number.
SPONSORSHIP/CREDITS
It would be our hope that all new members are sponsored by another existing member in good standing with the organization unless the office has initially contacted the new member. There are a few good reasons for this procedure, to ensure all potential members are eligible and to give credit to members who encourage others to join. If you happen to learn about this organization on your own and want to find out if a buddy of yours is already a member, we will be happy to inform you and your buddy so he or she can sponsor you. If you just want to join on your own that is fine with us too. For each member who sponsors a new member, the existing member will receive a $5.00 credit toward his or her expenses for the next reunion. This does not include transportation expenses or lodging expenses, only the expenses for the member and spouse for registration fees, excursion and tour fees, and banquet or any meal fees. If a member sponsors 50 members in a year, that member will receive a $250.00 credit toward reunion expenses. As an added bonus, the existing member will also receive a $5.00 credit for each reunion the new member or new auxiliary member attends in all future years. There are no exceptions for this bonus even for Charter Members that are sponsored; the sponsoring member will receive this bonus. This bonus is not earned for the spouses of the regular members even if the spouse is an Auxiliary Member. This can be very rewarding and a way to help pay for your reunion expenses. Over time all the members who sponsor other members will benefit for their hard work. Members who do not have a sponsor will forward their application to the address indicated on the application with a copy of their DD214 to be sponsored by the organization. If you do not have a copy of your DD214 send in your application and we will verify your information. If you do not have a sponsor, please indicate "OFFICE" on the application form where "Member's Last Name" is requested at the very bottom of the application. Please indicate "0 0 0 0" where "Membership Number" is requested.
OUR GUARANTEE
In other organizations members have dropped out because when they attended reunions there was nobody there that served with them when they were aboard ship or in a squadron. We will do everything we can to correct this problem. If, after the first year, we do not locate at least two additional members in your squadron, department or division and convince them to join this association you will not have to pay any dues until we find two additional members and have them join. The exceptions to this would be if either, or both, of your buddies do not remain members of the association or if there are no living members of your squadron or division to find. When you fill out your application you will be asked to list at least six members that you served with. You may use the reverse side of your application to list more names. Do not list names on a separate sheet of paper, as it may get lost. All applications will be kept on file. If all of 5 of the 6 members you listed are deceased we will ask you for more names. You must have served in a unit with at least 10 members. So that everyone is clear on the guarantee, once there are at least 3 members from any particular division or squadron, for any given year or years, then all three members will be obligated to pay their annual dues. Once the obligation is met by the association, all future annual dues will be due from these members.
DIRECT DESCENDANTS
These individuals are very important to our organization as this association can only be carried into the future with their help. It will cease to exist if descendants do not join the organization. With all the modern technology we are fortunate to have at our disposal today it would be a shame if we do not take advantage of it to search for potential members and potential auxiliary members. We are ready to embrace all descendants of our present members and our departed members, especially those men and women who died in the line of duty. Direct descendants will have one vote per generation of any qualifying member or potential qualifying member after the member is deceased and the widow or widower of the member or qualifying member does not want to participate in the organization. If the widow or widower is still exercising his or her voting rights, the descendants will not have voting rights until the widow or widower has relinquished these rights. If issues arise with this policy, the executive board will make the final determination.
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