Policies

Meeting Dates, times and location

The Club holds five or more meetings in each program year beginning in the fall and ending in the spring. Meetings are held in the Upton Hall and Mainstage Auditorium at the Mendel Center in Benton Township on E. Napier Avenue (Exit 30, I-94).

Upton Hall Memberships

Prior to the first meeting, you will be notified of the annual membership dues and dinner prices. Please respond promptly by the deadline to protect your membership. You may register online or by postal mail. This year's membership is $215 per person (only $5 more than in 2010). An individual dinner ticket for each meeting costs $21.

Meeting room doors normally open at 5 p.m. A cocktail period precedes the dinner. Dinner is served at 6:15 p.m. The speaker is introduced at 7:20 p.m. After dinner the guest speaker addresses The Club, followed by a question-and-answer period of approximately 25 minutes. Typically, after a five-minute adjournment, those who wish to remain may take a seat near the podium for a further question-and-answer session. Some speakers, though, choose to have one 40-minute question-and-answer session.

Ticket Prices

Each dinner ticket is $21 per member per meeting. ($15 is for the meal cost; $6 covers the cost of the meeting room rental and technical support.)

Reservation Policy

You’ll receive meeting notification two to three weeks prior to each meeting. To reserve your tickets, promptly make your reservations online, by postal mail or via phone. We cannot accept reservations that are physically dropped off at the Plante & Moran offices.

You may make reservations by phone starting five days before the cutoff date. Please call (269) 982-6010 and leave your name, phone number and the number of tickets you would like.

All ticket requests will be issued on a first-come, first-honored basis. To accommodate the maximum number of members, tickets will be issued to adjoining rooms once capacity is reached in Upton Hall. If you are seated in the adjoining dining rooms you will be seated in Upton Hall during the speech and question-and-answer period.

Occasionally meeting attendance will exceed the number of dinners the College is capable of serving. Members not able to be served dinner are assured of admission to the meeting room during the speech and question-and-answer period. Speech-only tickets are only available if the dinner is sold out or The Club determines that it is the most efficient way to handle large attendance meetings.

Ticket pickup

ALL tickets ordered by mail or phone will be held for pickup at The Economic Club desk in the Upton Hall lobby. You may pick up your tickets after the doors open for the meeting. We will NOT mail tickets to you.

Reservation & Cancellation Deadline

Cutoff for reservations and cancellations is typically noon three business days before the meeting. Please call (269) 982-6010 to cancel your dinner reservation. Since The Club must guarantee payment for all reservations, there will be no refunds after the cutoff date. You will be billed for all unused reservations that are not canceled on time.

Ticket duplication

All tickets will be electronically generated. Your ticket may NOT be duplicated. If you or someone submits a duplicate ticket with your membership name on it, your membership will be revoked. Please protect your ticket as you would any event ticket.

Mainstage Auditorium Memberships

Mainstage Members meet at the Mendel Center Mainstage auditorium in Benton Township on Napier Avenue (Exit 30, I-94). Doors open at 6 p.m. for a social hour with light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Normally, the speaker makes a 15-minute appearance in the Mainstage Auditorium for a question-and-answer session that begins at 6:55 p.m. Members then view a live broadcast of the speaker’s speech on a large screen.

Prior to the first meeting, you will be notified of the annual membership price and the registration deadline. Please respond promptly to protect your membership. You may register online or by postal mail.  This year's membership is $160 per person.

Your membership card

After we process your application, we will mail a plastic barcoded membership card for each member. You will be required to present your membership card for barcode scanning to attend each meeting, so please bring it with you. Membership cards are for the entire season. Please protect your card(s) the way you would an event ticket. Replacement cost for a lost card is $160.

No reservations are needed

You’ll be sent notification of each meeting, but reservations are not required.

Upton Hall & Mainstage Memberships

Joining Fee

Each new member is charged a $50 non-refundable joining fee to help cover The Club's operating costs. This fee is charged only to first-time members and to any past members who let their memberships lapse the previous year. Anyone who renews a membershp for the prior speaker season will not pay this fee.

Click here for more information about how this joining fee helps The Club keep membership dues affordable without compromising the caliber of speakers it invites each year.

Memberships guest policy

The number of members normally fills the meeting facility to capacity. Therefore, no guest reservations can be accepted.

Reserving Seats at Meetings

It is your Club’s policy that no member is to save extra seats for other members. In fairness to other members, please save only those seats to which your membership entitles you.

Overflow seating

Occasionally meeting attendance will exceed the capacity of the Mainstage Auditorium. The Club will make prior arrangements to offer seating in an adjoining room with a large screen. You will always have an opportunity to see and hear each of our speakers.

Email Notification and Web Site Information

The Club’s website offers detailed biographies for this year’s speakers. We also offer you an opportunity to receive email notification of upcoming meetings, to renew your membership, to make Upton Hall ticket reservations online and to print out your e-tickets immediately. If you would like to help us quickly and cost-effectively contact you about meeting dates and Club news, please provide us with your primary email address by contacting: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Answering Members' Questions

The Economic Club will attempt to answer any questions members may have. You may write to P.O. Box 227, St. Joseph, MI 49085-0227, call (269) 982-6010 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

New Member Waiting List Registration

To add your name to our new member waiting list, please click here. We will contact you by email in late August or early September of each membership year as memberships become available.