RE: Is ASCE desperate for cash flow?

If you haven’t been a member for 21 years, you obviously don’t support the organization.  Why would a solicitation of membership be offensive if you don’t care who ASCE is or what they do??

 

Shaun Dustin, MS, PE

Doctoral Candidate

USTAR Biofuels Initiative

Utah State University
4130 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322

sdustin@cc.usu.edu

435-770-7816

 

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From: Dennis Wish [mailto:dennis.wish@verizon.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 3:15 PM
To: seaint@seaint.org
Subject: Is ASCE desperate for cash flow?

 

My wife opened the mail today and left a certificate for ASCE on my desk that stated “ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) By Action of the Board of Direction (or should this be Director’s) MY NAME has been ‘elected’ Affiliate Member……”

I haven’t been a member of ASCE for over 21 years and could not understand why they would have “elected” me an affiliate member until I read the application that I was to send in. The attached letter gave me all the benefits of being an ASCE member and even offered the rest of 2007 (60 days) added to all of 2008 as part of my Affiliate Membership.

Now excuse me for being upset about this, but when reading the application to send in it appears that my election to be a member is based on send a payment of  $205.00 with the application.

Since when has ASCE resorted to the same type of trick junk mail that one might expect from Reader’s Digest or any number of Spam messages I receive by e-mail? In my opinion, this belittles a professional organization that, while I chose not to join, still maintained a sense of professionalism that was honest and direct in their attempts to build their membership. This is an advertising ploy that I believe is beneath a professional association.

I’m not sure how many of you received this advertisement, but this falls into the same disingenuous spam that I receive on a daily basis including a new one that I received just yesterday which is a twist on the old African money laundering scheme that attempts to get your bank information. For those that have not seen this one yet it was sent with the following message:

 

“Good day,

 

Accept my apology in advance if you feel offended by this mail.
I am  Levi Yoni a civil engineer, currently at Dakar Senegal seeking your assistance in a deal concerning allied equipment and fund transfer.

 

I found you to be a worthy business personal ,hence i developed some confidence in you for this business proposal.

 

Please if you will like to help in this business deal which is very important to me,indicate by writing me  for  more information.

 

Best Regards
Levi Yoni”

 

Well it’s nice to be complimented and have someone you never met or don’t know tell you that they have found you to be a “worthy business personal” and  “developed some confidence in you for this business proposal.”

 

Now give me a break!!!! How much of my time do I need to go through all this Cr*p including all of the Hotmail.com messages for Calais.

 

I don’t know about the rest of you but I find truth in advertising to be another Oxymoron.

 

If you are associated with ASCE you might want to let them know that they are wasting your dues by sending out this type of junk mail.

 

Dennis