SPRINGDALE — The Springdale Youth Center plans to enter the new year with a new type of membership card.
For the first time, the cards will feature a photograph of the member, Director Rick McWhorter said.
Cards list the member’s age but without a picture, they can be used by different people, McWhorter said. One problem is brothers sharing a card, he noted.
“I feel it’s my responsibility to make sure people who use this facility have paid for the services,” McWhorter said.
Safety and security is another reason for the switch, he said. The center plans to start issuing the photo identification cards Jan. 4.
It is behind other clubs on implementing photo ID, he said.
The Fayetteville Boys & Girls Club has used pictures on its cards since at least 2003, when its new facility opened, said Glenda Deffebaugh, youth programing director.
The main reason for the delay was the cost of purchasing a card program, McWhorter said.
Northwest Technical Institute electronics instructor Billy Graham visited the center Monday morning to install the software program for the new cards. NTI also uses the software to make its student IDs, Graham said.
“We’ve got it done and it’s up and running,” Graham said.
He did not charge the Youth Center for installing the system.
“This is — what’s the word — pro bono,” Graham said.
The installation comes as the 2009 memberships are expiring. Memberships are renewed in January for the calendar year.
The IDs will be simple laminated cards with a photo on the left and the facility’s logo on the right. The cards will include a bar-code that could eventually be used to scan in members, McWhorter said.
The NTI student IDs consist of hard plastic like a driver’s license, Graham said. The school uses a different type of printer.
“They don’t have a printer yet. They don’t have a scanner yet,” Graham said. “This is the first step in a long process.”
The center is located on the southeast side of Murphy Park and has about 4,000 registered members, McWhorter said.