Life Membership and DuesIn the early years of Nabor House, the money needs for fraternal matters, especially among alums, were minimal. After WW II, the umber of alums rose sharply, and the Fraternity became quite active. So, annual dues of $2 per member for both alums and actives were instigated in 1946-47.
Voluntary Life MembershipsFor a while, income from dues was more or less adequate. But as actives expanded and costs rose, a voluntary life membership plan was introduced to increase organizational income. Started in 1956, the plan permitted members to purchase a life membership for $100 exempting them from paying annual dues for life. Only a few invested in life memberships when the plan was introduced.
Mandatory Life MembershipsThe cost in time and postage to bill for dues each year had become heavy. Dues were raised to $5 per year in 1963-64. That helped for a while, but both costs and the percent of members failing to pay dues kept rising. Recognizing that a more effective and permanent solution had to be found, the membership voted at its annual meeting on Oct. 22, 1966, to start a mandatory life membership plan for all pledges initiated from that time forward. The actives in the house were encouraged to take life memberships, and most did. Alums were also encouraged to take life memberships, but only a few did.
Campaigns for Life MembershipsStill, the organizational income was inadequate to keep pace with spiraling costs. So, in 1971-72, an intensive campaign was mounted to promote life memberships, and many alums purchased them. During the same year, annual dues were raised to the $10. In 1983, the Board recommended a plan to convert members who pay annual dues to a life membership, and the Fraternity approved it at the 1983 annual meeting. The plan granted life membership status to any member who had paid $100 or more in annual dues. Further, members who had paid less than $100 in dues could obtain life membership status if they made up the difference between their total dues payments and $100 within one year.
Management of Monies ReceivedAs annual dues are received, they are deposited in the Fraternity's checking account and applied directly to the fiscal year's organizational expenses. When life memberships are received, the principal of $100 is deposited in an interest drawing account. At the end of the fiscal year, the interest is transferred to the checking account to help defray the year's organizational expenses. The principal of a life membership cannot be used for operational purposes; it must be left on deposit permanently.
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NewsletterWhile Garrett W. Loy, '40, was awaiting induction into the military in the early summer of 1942, he started writing a newsletter. it is not exactly clear whether he finished it prior to entering the service. There is some thought that he may have finished the newsletter after he was in the army. Be that as it may, Garrett started something that plays a vital role in the life of Nabor House Fraternity. The newsletter he wrote became the father of today's Nabor Nubbins.
Garrett anticipated the importance of communications among the members, especially during the war days ahead. The objectives of the newsletter were to keep alumni members informed about activities of the active chapter and to serve as a means of communication among the members, both actives and alums. The initial newsletter by Garrett was produced on a typewriter making mostly carbon copies. On Dec. 12, 1942, the first formal and official newsletter was mimeographed. Although it carried some news about the actives, it contained mostly news about the alums. Frequency of IssueAfter the two issues in 1942, only a single one was release in 1943. Then, two newsletters a year were released from 1944 though 1946. Starting in 1947, there were three issues annually through 1965 except 1964, when there was only one published. Beginning in 1965, two a year were published. (UPDATE: Today, only one issue of the Nabor Nubbins is published.)
Name SelectedThe first issue of the newsletter did not have a name. The second one in 1942 and those in 1943 and 1944 carried the title of "Nabor House Newsletter." In 1945 and 1946, it had the name "Nabor House News." Then, it became "Nabor House Newsletter" again in 1946 and 1947. In December 1947, the Fraternity Board concluded with the newsletter now being a fixture, a permanent name was needed. The Board directed Sam Ridlen and the active chapter to select a temporary name, use it on the next issue, and solicit reactions to it as well as suggestions for other names.
"Nabor Nubbins" was selected for the trial name. Nubbins stood for agriculture since it means a small ear of corn. Another definition, small piece or chunk, fitted the newsletter well, for it would only be a part of the news about Nabor House. It was a short catchy word that flowed well with Nabor. So, the name "Nabor Nubbins" stuck and has been the official name since it appeared on the first issue in 1948. |