As sorta said above, no one is holding you at gun point to force you to re-new your membership. If you can't perceive a value in membership, then don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!!!
Perhaps KCBS should restate their mission statement. Or perhaps not.
When I became a member in 1995, there were about 45 KCBS sanctioned cook-offs. There were a few state or regional societies that I remember, Gobs, PNWA and maybe NEBS. No bbq related TV shows. Where are we today? How many different bbq societies, TV shows and KCBS cook-offs are there presently? I'm sure we can hand some credit to MIM(MBN) IBCA, FFA, FBLA, VICA, DECA, :blah::blah::blah:etc, but I'm getting off track. I would say that most of the credit for the proliferation of this BBQ craze should go to KCBS. And along with that, as stated above, is a proliferation of BBQ products associated with this hobby, sport, sickness. And, along with all of that, a greater BBQ education for the masses. Heck, without this greater education, we might be left scratching our head and wondering what all the rave about Steve Raichlen's Beer Butt Chicken was about.:crazy:
And as said above, the great success of KCBS, has had allowed them to be benevolent towards many different things. Youngster education, more backyard promotions, the Great BBQ tour they have is 3-5 five years old, Senior Que, and even giving to Scottie's Foundation.
So, if there is no perception of value, good luck spending your 35 bucks elsewhere. As a great man once told me, "you can lead a horse to water, but before you push him in, think about how bad a wet horse smells".
YMMV