Hi Philip
This is a brave question to be asking, so I'm very glad to see that you have done so.
What is a national association for? I would say representing the best interests of the craft and the membership on a national level. This would include things like negotiating discounts, lobbying politicians, liaising with similar groups (Worshipful Company, RPT, SOT etc), raising awareness among the public, attracting more people into the craft, providing training, providing access to the craft for those who have personal obstacles to be overcome (be it financial or physical).
By and large, I'd say you were already doing all of that, but maybe not with as much impact as you could. Please do not take this as an attack, but much of what we see from AWGB appears amateurish. This is only natural - you are unpaid volunteers, not professional administrators, and have come to office from your love of woodturning. Revolutions has improved massively in recent years, with colour images and much better proof-reading, but it is still a bit parochial. I do hope you have access to the AAW newsletters; I've seen a couple, and they are much better all round. Is the difference purely because of scale (and hence money)? I note that they charge $53 or over £30 for membership in the US. Perhaps you are pricing yourselves too cheaply, and then are not able to provide as good a service? You could try asking for a doubling of the fee - now
that would be a ballot with a big turnout!
I don't know if I'm right, but I would expect an organisation with 3000+ members to have more clout with suppliers: it should be possible to obtain discounts from all the big players like Sorby, Craft Supplies, Axminster. At the moment, I can't even check what discounts are available, because the link on the AWGB web site does nothing.
One thing I just spotted on the AAW site that would be of great benefit to branches is the negotiation of a national credit cards payment facility. We know we are losing out at our sales by not taking cards, and we now have to run the risk of taking cheques with no guarantee card backing. We researched the possibility of having our own card machine, but it just wasn't financially viable for us. Centrally negotiated, this could be a lot cheaper and would I'm sure be very popular.
Because of the distances involved, it is not easy to provide any services to members that need face-to-face contact. I have seen the AGM notices each year in Revolutions, noted that the location is very sensibly central in the country, but also that it is a good long drive each way for me, as it will be for most, and decided not to attend. No doubt thousands of other members have thought the same. Have you thought about using technology to bridge this gap - a conference call we could dial into to listen, perhaps? The forum is one way of letting us communicate, as I am doing now, so I'm pleased to see this innovation being used.
Don't get me wrong - your efforts are appreciated, at least by me. I know how much hard work is needed to run just a branch, so it must be even more demanding at the national level. However, you are clearly not getting through to everyone. Recently, several members have spoken to our club committee about our affiliated status, so we did a thorough review. Our conclusion was that leaving AWGB completely was the worst option for all; becoming an associated club would benefit those who don't want to continue as AWGB members to the tune of around £7 a year, but this was counter-balanced by those who would want to continue, who would have to pay around £9 a year more for the same benefits as now. In the interests of fairness for all members, we decided to retain our affiliated status, which I'm sure will be good news to you. However, the very fact that this was in question should cause some disquiet.
Hopefully, you see this as a balanced and fair answer to your question.