This is a bit of ancient history, possibly now irrelevant.  However,
I've been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to vent on this.
I was an AMICA member for a number of years in the early 1980's.
I read the journal.  A key reason I joined was to meet others with
a common interest, to acquire some know-how, to hear machines that
I hardly knew existed and that weren't displayed publicly in the area.

Published in the journal, or perhaps separately, were really
mouth-watering photos of the local group meeting at their various
mansions housing impressive collections.  They all routinely reported
having a jolly time,

However, the group seemed as accessible as Bush's/Kerry's club at
Yale.  There was never any apparent entre to this seemingly closed
group.  The publication never contained any mention of whom (or how)
one might contact to join the local group, nor did joining the national
group yield a call or card of welcome from the local section.

The foregoing hardly enhances membership development and I bailed after
several years.

Paul Eggert