[NSRCA-dist7] Current NSRCA issues

Mon Dec 3 20:43:32 AKST 2012

Thanks for the info Jon! I wasn't aware of what is going on online cuz i
don't go there very often to keep the drama out of my flying. Does anyone
miss Derek yet? lol I think you will do very well Jon. I really hope you
are elected my friend! If I can help in any way feel free to contact me. I
am very interested in trying to be a part of whatever needs done to get
some F3P flying contests going. I'm very very interested in F3P.

C

On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 7:04 PM, Jon Carter <joncarter60 at comcast.net> wrote:

> ** ** **
>
> To all NSRCA members - There have been a few posts on the NSRCA list
> regarding our upcoming election and current issues that I think must be
> responded too. Just to be clear while I am a member of the current Board of
> Directors (D7 for 3 years) and I have served as Chairman of the NSRCA
> Judging Committee for 4 years and I am running for NSRCA President, I am
> primarily writing this as a pattern flyer who happens to have some
> knowledge of how the NSRCA is governed. The first point I would like to
> address is the “tone” of these posts. They seem to imply that the Board of
> Directors (BoD) has some “secret” agenda to ram through these Bylaw changes
> and “disenfranchise” some portion of the membership. Please! The BoD is
> made of dedicated, active pattern flyers. We all volunteered to serve on
> the NSRCA Board because we love pattern and we want it to grow and thrive.
> I believe that every member of the BoD is an active CD and runs one or more
> pattern contests every year! Does this mean that the BoD has not made some
> mistakes? Of course not, the current BoD failed to get a general membership
> vote on these Bylaw changes that were discussed at great lengths at the
> July NSRCA BoD meeting. Then we forged ahead with an online election. This
> was in error. We had not followed the rules of our organization nor had we
> communicated properly with the membership. As soon as this was brought to
> the BoD’s attention we immediately began working to rectify the mistake. It
> takes a little time in any organization to correct the course. I think that
> our response time of generating correct paper ballots and getting them
> mailed out was not excessive. As we move forward, we must ensure that our
> communication with the membership is both timely and complete.****
>
> There also seems to be a feeling that the printed K-Factor is the “only”
> official means of communicating NSRCA business to the membership. I am not
> a lawyer but I have read the Bylaws pretty carefully (especially lately!)
> and I cannot find this stated. In fact, the current Bylaws already discuss
> and allow the electronic dissemination of the K-Factor. (Note 1) When the
> NSRCA began it truly was the “only” way to communicate with the membership.
> That was a long time ago though! We now get e-mail, we read news sites
> devoted to pattern, we have an “official” NSRCA discussion list, we have
> dedicated NSRCA discussion lists for most of our individual districts,
> heck, even though I don’t use it very much we have an “official” Facebook
> page! I certainly don’t think it is too much of a hardship for members to
> subscribe to the NSRCA discussion list. That being said the printed
> K-Factor is still relied upon by a few members and we need to continue to
> keep it available. Please keep in mind though that as an organization I
> believe we need to move away from paper and towards electronic media! We
> need to carefully manage the transition but it needs to happen. I currently
> maintain my membership in 4 local AMA clubs and one AMA club in ****
> Indiana**** and they all rely on electronic communication as their
> primary point of contact with their membership!****
>
> This brings me to the actual proposed Bylaw changes. The bylaws were
> discussed at great length at the July BoD meeting. I think you will all
> realize when you receive the actual ballot in the mail; most of the Bylaw
> changes are minor in nature. Clarification, correction etc… I certainly
> urge a “Yes” vote on all of these. The significant change that has been
> proposed is to allow the BoD to choose how an election (for executive
> office and District vice president) is conducted. Putting aside conspiracy
> theories, the BoD is not attempting to disenfranchise anyone in the
> organization. One possible, easy way to do this is to have each member
> indicate a preference for electronic or postal communication with the
> NSRCA. (This data would be entered in their profile when they renewed) Then
> for the next election the members who want to electronically vote can and
> the members who want to vote by mail also can. These problems are certainly
> not insurmountable and I assure you there is no “vast conspiracy” involved.
> I urge a “Yes” vote on this issue also. ****
>
> Another issue that has been raised is the NSRCA’s relationship with the
> AMA. As I indicated in my brief resume the current BoD is well aware of
> this problem and steps are already being taken to repair this relationship.
> If I am elected I believe we can finish this process and have a strong and
> productive relationship with the AMA. Let us not forget that all of us are
> AMA members and that the NSRCA is the official SIG for pattern in the ****
> USA****! ****
>
> On a more positive note, what can we do to promote pattern in the ****USA*
> *** and grow the NSRCA? Two areas that I believe are important are
> promoting F3P in the ****USA**** and strengthening our ties with the
> Classic Pattern community. In D7 we have started running some rounds of
> Classic Pattern at our AMA contests and I have received overwhelmingly
> positive feedback. If the numbers of pilots who express interest in this
> grows some clubs might actually host some Classic only events. The synergy
> here is obvious. Our current NSRCA District 7 Intermediate season champion
> started flying AMA pattern because he attended one of these “mixed”
> contests. He tried AMA pattern and he liked it! The key here is fun and the
> more flyers we expose to the fact that pattern is not a “chore”; that it
> can be fun the better! We all do this (pattern) because we love it and
> enjoy it, let’s not lose sight of that. ****
>
> In terms of F3P the NSRCA is the recognized promoter of F3P in the ****USA
> **** and I think we need to put some effort behind this. This is another
> area where we can leverage of the natural synergy between these two
> disciplines.****
>
> In summary I am excited to be a part of the AMA and the NSRCA! We have
> challenges before us but also great opportunities. If elected as NSRCA
> President I look forward to growing our organization and ensuring that we
> preserve and promote the sport of pattern in the ****USA****.****
>
> Thanks****
>
> Jon Carter****
>
> Candidate for NSRCA President****
>
> ** **
>
> Note 1 – from current bylaws.****
>
> *Section 2 - Communications
> *
> a. There shall be a newsletter type of publication produced on a target of
> monthly basis wherever physically and fiscally possible. Normally this
> newsletter will be sent to all eligible members.  For promotional and
> communication purposes the Newsletter may also be sent to others deemed
> valuable to the purposes of the NSRCA. These other recipients may include,
> but are not limited to, officers of the AMA, and officers of other Modeling
> Societies and AMA Special Interest Groups (referred to as SIGs).
>
> b. The editor of the Newsletter shall be appointed by the NSRCA Board of
> Directors.
>
> *c. The communication and transport of the newsletter is not limited to
> current mail services and can also employ the use of electronic options as
> they may present themselves today and in the future. (bold type *added by
> me for emphasis*)***
>
> ** **
>
> _______________________________________________
> NSRCA-dist7 mailing list
> NSRCA-dist7 at lists.nsrca.org
> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-dist7
>
>

-- 
Chris Fitzsimmons
Team F3A Unlimited
Team Airtronics
Team Thunder Power
08 D7 Masters Champion
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.nsrca.org/pipermail/nsrca-dist7/attachments/20121204/8f542446/attachment.html>