How can I become a member?
There are two kinds of membership: working membership and contributing membership. One can become a contributing member by making a cash contribution.

Rates for Memberships
One Month Membership	$20
One Year Membership	$60
Lifetime Membership	$150
Eternal Membership	$200

The other way to get membership is to earn it. Presently, it takes 15 Credits to get a one month membership. This can be earned by covering the store or doing other work. A Credit is approximately one hour worth of work, although harder work will be worth more Credits.

How does it run?
Worlds Apart is run according to its By-Laws. You can read all 11 pages of them for yourself, or, if you prefer, you can read the brief summary below.

Every active member is part of what is called The General Membership. The General Membership has full authority over the organization from setting the budget to deciding what color the walls should be painted. It meets every other month and discusses whatever matters the members wish to take action on. The General Membership also elects the Officers and The Council.

The Council is a body of nine or more members elected by the General Membership. It has slightly less actual authority, but its job is to deal with the more detailed work. The General Membership may set a budget that says that 42% of revenues should be spent on new merchandise, but the Council will actually sit down and figure out what proportion of that will go to RPGs, board games, dice, miniatures, etc.

There are four officers proscribed by the By-Laws who automatically get seats on the Council. The General Membership may elect to create new positions if they feel they would be beneficial. The Officers are The General Manager, The Membership Coordinator, The Treasurer, and The Quartermaster. All officers are elected for a term of one year.

General Manager
The General Manager, who is currently Michael Whitehouse, generally manages. His or her job is to deal with big picture concepts. He takes the directives of the Council and executes such things as promotions, public image, Internet presence, and general policies for people in the Store.

Membership Coordinator
Kiernan Guilick-Sherill is currently our Membership Coordinator. His job is to maintain membership records, schedule and coordinate volunteers, and recruit new members. The Membership Coordinator also acts at the corporate clerk for the PVGC, so he or his designee takes the minutes at meetings and keeps track of agendas and that kind of thing.

Treasurer
The Treasurer, now played by Lisa Steventon, keeps and eye on the treasure. He or she makes sure we have enough money to pay the bills and that the bills get paid on time. He keeps records, so we know where the money went, and makes a plan so we know where the money will go.

Quartermaster
The Quartermaster, who is currently Dan Stubbs, is responsible for the purchasing of things. He or she manages the ordering of inventory, with the help of the Ordering Committee. He or she is also responsible for making sure we have other basic supplies like toner, pens, pencils, etc.

Who watches the shop?
The store is covered by the members who work in exchange for Credits. The Credits can be exchanged for membership, discounts and other benefits. The work is spread among the membership, so most people only work a few hours each week. Of course, people who want to help out more are welcome to.

Sounds awesome! How do I sign up?
It's easy. Just send us your name, address, email address, phone number and what level of membership you are interested in as well as a check for the appropriate amount made out to "The Pioneer Valley Gamer Collective" to

The Pioneer Valley Gamer Collective
48 North Pleasant Street B2
Amherst, MA 01002

Questions? Email us!