Joining CHSR is easy (much easier than finding clipart to jazz up this page, I tell you).
- The Membership Form
Get it online
Get it from the SUB lobby
Come into the station and pick one up.
- What to do with the membership form:
Read the back (or page 2)
fill it out.
Hand it in.
- Who to talk to and why
The Volunteer Coordinator
The Program Director
"Is there anyone else I can give this to?"
- What to do if you get confused, stuck, or seemingly ignored
Clear your throat
Yell
Cry
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The Membership form is really important to us for a lot of reasons.
- First, it is what generates the list of members at the station. We need to know who is a member for security reasons, how many members we have for quorum (minimum number of members needed) at meetings, and who has the right to vote.
- We also use this list to communicate with everyone, contact members who get shows or join committees, and to help each other find fill-ins when needed.
- Another thing the form is needed for is to tell us what kind of things you are interested in doing at the station. Everybody is unique. We want you to be able to do what you like at the station, so we find that out, and try to have coordinators contact you to offer the chance to learn that thing or exercise that interest.
- Finally, we keep a tally of who is from what place. Nobody is second class at the station, but our funders are always interested in whether their constituency are making use of the place. We never give names, but we do give percentages, when asked.
You can get an application form off the internet (it's in PDF format). When you do, you have to print it out and bring, or mail it in (CHSR, Box 4400, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3). You can't fax it or email it, because we cannot take it without the membership fee.
- Yes there's a membership fee.
- Yes, even students of UNB and STU have to pay the fee.
- Membership fees ($15 for new members in September - $10 as of January - $8 as of May and $10 for returning members) are not used by the station, they are used by the club for cool club activities which would not otherwise occur. Things like socials and our awards banquet, for example.
- The members voted to establish the fee, could vote to remove it, and vote on what they want to do with the money each year.
- The extra five bucks for new members is used to pay (in part) for handbooks. One assumes you will only need one handbook.
If you do not want to have to print your own, you can also pick up a membership form from our display case in the SUB lobby.
Of course the absolute best approach (because you can also make the next step right away) is to pick one up directly from the station, where we will explain everything to you in person.
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What to do with the form:
Read the Back (or page 2 on the PDF)
It's from the membership policy and explains who can be a member, what it costs, what rights and responsibilities members have (generally), and who has what authority to control the membership.
You are signing that you read that page when you sign your form. It is intended to eliminate confusion. Of course, you can also view the Membership Policy in its entirety, and ask staff for advice, as well.
Filling it out:
- PRINT your information. This is not merely an exercise in paperwork. We input ALL the data, and handwriting is usually the first barrier to getting email or phone calls from us that you will really really want.
- We need both your local address and (if you are a student) a long term address to assist us in locating you in the summer, or afterward. You would not believe the number of people who are offended that they were "forgotten"
- The funders care who comes from where. There are no quotas that you have to fit into, nobody is turned away because they are not a student or not from a particular school. This is just a way to show we are used by the different groups.
- Yes, we care how many courses you take (if you are a student) because there are part-time funders as well as full time funders.
- If you tell us how you found out about us, we can keep working on where we promote ourselves, what works and what doesn't (yet).
- All those little categories are really only important in helping you fit in the way you want to here. If you indicate a department you'd be interested in exploring, somebody from that department will get your name and hopefully contact you to find out what you want to do, and how to get involved. The different types of shows, issues and music interest are also to help like minded people find each other.
Handing it in:
- We can only take the form if it is accompanied by the club fee. That is pretty much an absolute. Every year, bunches of people ask us to bend or ignore this rule because they don't have the money on them today and they don't want to lose the form, or delay the application or, whatever. The result, if we were to accept the form, would be utter confusion about who paid or not, when, how and where the money went (when it came in without a form, later, because the applicant was dead sure the form was around here somewhere).
- NEVER slip a form under an office door, or into one of the office mailboxes, or tucked into any space which, in your opinion, staff should be checking daily. We may not, and your form and money could be lost or 'found" by somebody else. We can't process what we don't get.
- Well, you could mail it in…but seriously, it is much better to hand in the form, because then you know it got to the right person. Also, when handing it in, you can book your training session. It's much more convenient than telephone tag.
- As just one more note of caution: You want to know what we don't have a lot of up here? Change. That's what we don't have a lot of up here. It would be so helpful if you pulled into the store or something and changed that $20 into smaller bills. We just aren't that able to handle a float in this office space.
- Money should not be a barrier to radio. If you have a problem with paying the fee (or paying the fee in time for training) talk to the Volunteer Coordinator about options.
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Who to talk to, and why:
The Volunteer Coordinator:
The Volunteer Coordinator (VC) is responsible for making sure all the volunteers at CHSR get what they are looking for out of the experience. The VC can accept your fee, enter you into the membership database, and begin your training.
Office: last door on the left. Email: K Brookland Phone: (506) 453-4988
The Program Director:
The Program Director (PD) is the staff person in charge of broadcasting. The PD can accept your fee, begin the process of putting you in the database, and sign you up for training. If you want to be a programmer, it does not hurt to introduce yourself to the PD so they are more familiar with you when presenting your program proposal to the Programming Committee.
Office: first door on the right in the general office. Email: Melissa Montgomery Phone: (506) 452-6173
"Is there anyone else I can give this to?"
Nobody else can take your form or your fee. Be careful not to hand in money to just anyone. They may lose it, or worse, and we can only count processed individuals as members of the Club.
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What to do if you get confused, stuck, or seemingly ignored:
Clear your throat:
- If you can't figure out something on the form, ask the staff for help.
- If you handed in your form (mailed or attempted to fax it) and not been contacted since, contact the staff and ask where to go from here. If you feel one staff member has failed at remembering you, try a different one. From time to time, holidays, sick days, or emergencies have caused a staff member to be out of the office. The rest will fill in, but we may not know there was a new person waiting.
- Drop in during business hours. That's always the best approach. Don't be shy. Ask for what you want.
Yell:
- We can get really busy here, and sometimes things just don't pan out well for one member or another. If you have tried the above and not been satisfied with the result, you can ask the Station Manager for assistance, and/or the Chair of the Executive Committee.
The Chair of the Executive Committee has a box in the General office at the bottom of the mail boxes and has hours posted on the Executive Hours Board. Also, check here: www.unb.ca/chsr/contact.html
Cry:
- If you come into the station, you should be able to get the attention of either staff, or volunteers, but lets say that you don't get the satisfaction you are looking for, or don't feel that anyone should have to work this darned hard to get attention. In that case, you can come to an Executive Committee meeting (they meet once a week in the station) or to a General Membership Meeting. The GM meets at least once/school term, and the date and time should be posted in the station. If not, check with the staff.
The Chair of the Executive Committee has a box in the General office at the bottom of the mail boxes. They meet once a week on Mondays at 5:30pm.
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