September 2009 Developments - 96

Last Word A Letter from Your President Dear Members: Several people called me recently, regarding the ad entitled “A World without ARDA,” which ran in last month’s Developments (August 2009, p. 20). The point of that piece was to identify all of the important legislative successes our industry enjoyed because of ARDA’s advocacy work. Additionally, you should have received a letter in the past few weeks from Chairman Jim Lewis, president of Disney Vacation Club, reminding you of the importance of your dues dollars to ARDA in our continued efforts on behalf of timeshare at the local, state, and federal level. It is not my M.O. to use this column to lecture members on the importance of their dues dollars. These are unusual times, however, and I fear the old adage may be true: “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” I wouldn’t want any member to think that ARDA can survive without them, or that in these tough times, paying dues to a trade association is a discretionary expense. ARDA is not any one company—it is a collection of diverse competitors who realize that a united and well capitalized front is what our industry needs to be successful. This is especially true, now more than ever. Standing together, we were able to face the tough economic and legislative winds that blew against us over the past legislative season. We handled a host of reactive state and federal legislation that focused on real estate and consumer ﬁnancing issues. Fortunately, because of many years of hard work and prudent volunteer leadership, our association was ﬁnancially prepared and thus able to stay Howard Nusbaum, RRP strong throughout these bad storms, even as many individual businesses struggled. Over the past decade, the ARDA Board created reserve policies to help ARDA get through leaner times. In ﬁscal 2009 (which ends September 30), ARDA will draw down a quarter of million dollars from its reserves to shore up losses caused by this downturn. Your business needs a strong ARDA now more than ever. You recently received an invoice for your 2010 ARDA dues commitment. Even though income is down, in these tough times, we still have to be strong for the industry. Additionally, ARDA has made budget cuts, including personnel layoffs, yet we still rely primarily on dues income for our operations. You wouldn’t put your own company at risk by putting your insurance invoice in a drawer and deciding not to pay it one year—likewise, think of your ARDA dues as “insurance” against crippling new industry regulations and taxes. In the past year, ARDA has worked to make timeshare exempt from housing and predatory lending laws that if applied as originally written, would have (1) outlawed same-day sales, (2) caused prospective purchasers to show a tax return and pay stubs to qualify for ﬁnancing, and (3) created onerous HOA regulations in seven key states! I urge you to visit www.arda. org/YourDuesAtWork to review the myriad of legislative successes (as well as defeated challenges), thanks in large part to your dues dollars. I think that you will agree you’ve received a substantial R.O.I. on your ARDA membership. I urge you to think of your ARDA dues as your “insurance” against crippling new industry regulations and taxes. I am conﬁdent that ARDA can continue to be strong for the industry and all of its members with the continued modest dues investment (with no increases this year). According to the pundits, we have entered into the recovery phase of this global recession; however, many believe it will be a jobless or long weak recovery. Every local resort destination and state, plus the federal government, will feel the effects of crippling deﬁcits and the sluggish recovery. Which means 2010 will be one busy year for ARDA, with a full agenda across the board, as we continue to stand strong for you. Howard C. Nusbaum, RRP President 96 Developments • September 2009

September 2009 Developments

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2009 Developments