Hi Russ,
While I agree about the magazine (called the Re Marque, by the way and an excellent publication except that they accept sloppy writing from the likes of me), there is a lot more to the club than that; though less so for you in the western reaches of the country since Golden Gate Lotus club is a very strong presence with a very active and energized group of Lotus nuts and is not part of Lotus Limited. In 2011 the Lotus Owners Gathering (LOG) will be in Las Vegas and quite reachable for you. LOG attendance requires membership in LLtd, so, in my humble opinion, you may as well join now and be well informed on the upcoming event.
The LOG experience is like a class reunion where you get to connect the names with faces, only better since many of these names are new faces. I look forward to every LOG and do my best to attend them just to get a shot of Lotus joy. Every one has been fun and now I know enough folks after six of them that I spend more time in the bar swapping stories than I do driving. I have met more nice folks through the LOG experience than I ever expected and now have friends (well at least speaking acquaintances) around the world.
The roster that you will get as a member contains experts on each of the models who are willing to assist you and even more importantly, f you travel as I do, those willing to assist a traveler near their homes. I have used this benefit more than once a year. Better than AAA and cheaper too.
It is in my opinion a very worthwhile $60 to join and only $35 thereafter. Do it!