Alan Crouse deleted from USHPA election reminder email

[dhmartens]

I just received this email from USHPA but with Alan Crouse deleted but briefly mentioned in Bob Kuczewski's candidate statement.

Could SHGA BOD please look into this possible error.
Doug Martens.

attached:
December 13, 2013
Greetings, Region 3 Pilots!

Mark Forbes here, USHPA elections chairman. Our election for regional directors ends shortly, on December 16th. If you have not already voted, time is running out! We'll be taking votes until the close of business on Monday, and announcing the results a few days later after we get any paper ballots tabulated.

You received an envelope from USHPA at the start of last month. In it were instructions on how to vote for directors in your region, and a one-time-use voting password which lets you cast a ballot. It is NOT your USHPA member website password. If you haven't voted yet, dig around in the pile on your desk (if it looks anything like mine) and fish it out. Go to www.ushpa.aero/elections, click on the link for your region and cast your vote. Easy!

If you run into problems with electronic voting, please let me know about it. Thanks for participating in our annual election!

Attached below are campaign statements from candidates who are running for regional director in your region. These statements are the candidates' own, and are not the position of USHPA, its staff, officers or volunteers. The statements have not been edited, nor have they been checked for accuracy.


Mark G. Forbes
USHPA Elections committee chairman.
Candidate Statement: Corey Caffery

I am not the candidate you should vote for to fight the same old tired battles. USHPA NEEDS YOUTH!!! My desire to remain involved in USHPA is to create an organization focused on growing free flight and creating a positive impression of paragliding, hang gliding and speed flying in the public. I am an executive at a venture capital backed advertising technology company and have the requisite skills to help push USHPA to new heights.

You should vote for me is because I am the ideal candidate to accomplish the 2 things we must focus on to grow and succeed as an organization.

(1) We must continue to grow thesport of free flight.
(2) We must run the organization in an efficient and effective manner.

I believe that now is a great time to truly evaluate the current state and direction of the organization and make the (sometimes) hard decisions that best position this organization to succeed into the future.



Candidate Statement: Rob Sporrer

Elect Rob Sporrer for another two-year term as USHPA Region 3 Director.

Hello Region 3 pilots (Southern California & Hawaii). I'm nearing the end of my third term as a region 3 Director, and asking for your vote in the upcoming regional director election. Please take the time to vote.

Serving pilots and the free flight community is not a hobby, it is my life. I make a living as a paragliding instructor, and have worked to educate myself on the challenges hang gliders and paragliders face. I firmly believe participating in the decisions USHPA has made and is making will help move free-flight in a favorable direction.

All directors volunteer their time to serve the organization. I volunteer for action items, committee work, and new programs like the Wheels Up program helping those bound to wheels chairs to get up flying solo on paragliders. I am a very active participant on numerous committees and work groups aimed at helping USHPA achieve its strategic plan.

I've put in countless volunteer hours of work on USHPA projects; I have also volunteered two weeks of my time coaching the National Paragliding Team at the world championships in Mexico, Spain, and Bulgaria.

My biggest asset to our region is being in touch with the pilots. I spend a great deal of time with hang gliders and paragliders since I fly, teach, and run clinics all year long.
I have a broad scope, and have a great deal to contribute on many topics instead of being focused on one particular issue.

I promise to continue my efforts on your behalf if elected for another term. We have to work to keep our flying sites open and operating. We need to be proactively defending our rights as pilots, and integrate Mini Wing flying in a manner that preserves our flying sites.

I have the experience and knowledge to participate with the USHPA Board, and work together to make a difference. Thanks for taking the time to vote.

Tailwinds,
Rob Sporrer




Candidate Statement: Bob Kuczewski

Hello Fellow Pilots,

How long do you think you can fly (safely) with your eyes closed?
Two seconds? Ten seconds? A minute? Close your eyes right now and imagine yourself flying in traffic or close to the terrain or in turbulence. How long can you keep your eyes closed before you start to get ... very nervous?

We are flying blindly when we elect Regional Directors without knowing how they are voting on the USHPA Board. Every Senator and every Congressman has a voting record, and that's what they have to defend when they come up for re-election. The USHPA Board (that includes Rich Hass, Mark Forbes, and most of the other Directors) have refused to publish their voting records for their members to see. They want us flying blind when we vote.

If you're a regular pilot who's not involved in USHPA politics, it can be hard to know who to support. Rob Sporrer has a nice smile and will shake your hand and tell you he's trying to protect your sport. But is he? How do you know? And most importantly, why won't he vote to publish his own voting record on the Board?

If you want a pilot's organization that really represents pilots, please vote for the two candidates most likely to work for open voting records on the Board: Bob Kuczewski and Alan Crouse.

You can read about my other ideas for USHPA at:

http://ushawks.org/USHPA2013

Thanks for your time,
Bob Kuczewski
H4/P4, Aeronautical Engineer, Private Pilot, Former Region 3 Director
Phone: 858-204-7499 - Please call me directly if you like.
Email: bob@ushawks.org or bobkuczewski@gmail.com

[dhmartens]

here is Alan's statement from a Nov, 11th email. I think it should be included in the last email. Thx.

Candidate Statement: Alan Crouse
Alan Crouse - Your "No Surprises" Candidate Hello Fellow Pilots!
I am an H4/P3 pilot who has been flying in Southern California since 2002. My 'day job'
is in management, serving a variety of governmental and private agencies over the past 30 years with a background in computer science and management. The folks at Crestline and Soboba saw fit to have me as Treasurer (both sites, including currently at Soboba) and President (2 terms at Crestline). My membership dues support SDHGPA and SHGA. I am also the Treasurer for a national information technology group. Finally, I operate the Soaring Predictor www.soaringpredictor.info for southern California and beyond.

Being a USHPA Regional Director and Board member is a tough, unpaid position. Why would anyone, in particular me, want it?? Well, it has been my observation that this group is out there trying to do good things for our sport and making the same mistake over and over again. The Board is lousy at communications. Board meetings are held, decisions get made, THEN get communicated and the members go nuts. Can you say: Observers; 'Fly Safe' wristbands; Clubs not allowed to criticize USHPA (this one got rolled back); or (most recently) speed mini-wing restrictions? Every time the opportunity to see and comment on the proposal came after the fact.

Now I am not the only one concerned about this problem. In fact, our current President, Rich Hass, was key in getting the USHPA criticism thing reversed. But, these folks need help and that's what my platform is all about. If elected, I will:

-Establish an e-mail list through a standard service (ConstantContact, VerticalResponse, etc.) and include all instructors and club officers in our region (yes, I will be spamming you);

-Any other USHPA member in our region can opt-in to the list (yes, you too can vote for more spam);

-BEFORE each meeting, list members will get a preview of items on the agenda (there may be 'closed session' items on litigation or personnel issues that cannot be included);

-If an item comes forward that was not provided to the Board in advance, it gets an automatic "No' vote from me. If it wasn't important/critical enough to get the Board, it is not critical/important enough to vote on;

-After the meeting I will place how I voted on a website set up for our region. What other Board members do is up to them; you will know how I voted.

Staying with the 'no surprises' theme, I am not independently wealthy, and do not operate a hang gliding/paragliding business to write off expenses against, so I will accept the airfare and hotel expenses associated with Board meetings. I will fly SouthWest, stay the minimum number of days and provide receipts.

We have an awesome sport that has been a big part of my life for the past decade. With your vote, I hope to make its governance more transparent and accessible to the membership. "No More Surprises!"

[AlC]

Doug:

Thank you. I wasn't deleted; just didn't respond fast enough to a request. Candidates had 2 days or so (if they check the account USHPA was mailing to) for the submission of a final statement. To be fair, we had been told early on that there would be a second mailing. The late timing was the surprise.

As the voting is all on-line, and the magic codes have been out for months, I doubt the last minute effort will have much effect. Folks who are going to vote have probably done so, and the others lost the letter with the code just as long ago.

This does kind of make my point, last minute notice once again (for all concerned, candidates and voters).

So, if you do have that letter with the magic code and are looking for a candidate, remember me, your "no surprises" candidate!

- Alan

[JD]

....remember me, your "no surprises" candidate!

- Alan

Alan, I won't be surprised if you take the local seat. Assuming that you will in fact be our other local RD and in the spirit of full transparency of voting records--I would like you to propose that USHPA member's votes for RDs be made available for interested parties. I'm not sure I want to share the same ride up the hill as pilots whose votes I disagree with.

[AlC]

Jonathan:

Not surprisingly I've had this asked several times and the response is in my platform (remember, "no more surprises"):

-"After the meeting I will place how I voted on a website set up for our region. What other Board members do is up to them; you will know how I voted".

I have also told anyone who asks, if recording board member votes comes up as an action item, I will vote in favor. So I'm supportive, but my main focus is getting the word out about things coming to the board BEFORE they vote. Yes, I am in favor of recording votes, but voting at all before you really know what is contained in the item and the membership has an opportunity to give you their views I see as a far bigger issue.

I have spoken with RD's and USHPA officers who I consider very good people, honestly doing the best they can to promote our sport, who have told me they voted on this item or that after getting it the previous day, without really understanding some of the issues, with no time to get comments, and basically trusting in the committee. --- That is what I want to change! We have got to provide the membership an opportunity to know what is going on and comment BEFORE the board takes action.

So, I hope you voted for me and that you still think that was the correct choice.

Good flights,

Alan

P.S. - If the moderator decides this belongs in the politics section I won't be offended.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Hello Alan and other friends at Sylmar!!

As you may have noticed, I'm endorsing Alan because I believe he's on the right track regarding USHPA's need to publish Director's votes. It turns out the the Canadian association (HPAC) has been doing this for 10 years!! So there's no excuse for USHPA to do otherwise.

I have also told anyone who asks, if recording board member votes comes up as an action item, I will vote in favor. So I'm supportive, but my main focus is getting the word out about things coming to the board BEFORE they vote. Yes, I am in favor of recording votes, but voting at all before you really know what is contained in the item and the membership has an opportunity to give you their views I see as a far bigger issue.

I have spoken with RD's and USHPA officers who I consider very good people, honestly doing the best they can to promote our sport, who have told me they voted on this item or that after getting it the previous day, without really understanding some of the issues, with no time to get comments, and basically trusting in the committee. --- That is what I want to change! We have got to provide the membership an opportunity to know what is going on and comment BEFORE the board takes action.

This is great Alan, and it puts you head and shoulders above Rob Sporrer who's refused to endorse open voting at all.

However, from a practical perspective, how do you propose to get USHPA Directors to read the stuff they're voting on before they vote on it? If there's no penalty for not reading it, and no one will ever know how they've voted, then what is going to make them do what their laziness is avoiding? Are you going to go to everyone's hotel room at night with a stick and beat anyone who's not at their desk reading the SOPs?

That's why a voting record is so crucial. It's the most natural way to get Directors to actually read something ... because their vote will be recorded!!!

Enough said ( for now ). I do wish you the best Alan, and I urge everyone to vote for Alan first and for me second. If you can't stand me, then Corey would be a better option than Rob Sporrer.

Thanks!!

[Bob Kuczewski]

Ooops, I knew I was going to forget something...

There's been a couple of good election and open voting discussions on the US Hawks forum at:

http://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1457
http://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1093

Also, the US Hawks experiment of providing an integrated forum for both national and local discussions is finally picking up some steam. We've got two more established USHPA Chapters experimenting with using the US Hawks forum (Rio Grande Soaring Association and Austin Free Flight Association). It's very convenient to have one log in for multiple clubs ... and for national discussions as well. It helps build bonds between clubs and pilots, and it helps us gather resources to protect sites and flying.

[Bob Kuczewski]

I fully endorse Alan, and I ask everyone to vote for him!!

Having said that, I want to give a concrete example as to why his pre-publication approach won't solve the accountability problem at USHPA.

Let's say the USHPA Board decides they want to double our annual fees. So they draft an SOP item which increases the fees. They publish this draft SOP 30 days before the Board meeting for all members to see.

Let's say the members recognize the need for an increase, but they'd rather see a 50% increase along with some cuts in USHPA's travel budget. In particular, the members would like to get an accounting of how much money is spent on the Board's travel budget and the travel budget for others like Nick and Martin.

So far, so good. USHPA has published what they want to do. The members have said that they want something different.

So now the Board meeting comes along. The item comes up for a vote, and the original draft passes 17 to 6 with a few Directors absent or absent or abstaining. There's been no compromise, and there's no accountability on the travel budgets that the members wanted. Furthermore, we have no idea which Directors supported this, which Directors opposed this, and which Directors didn't vote at all.

This is exactly the way things already happen, and your idea of publishing the item first hasn't changed anything.

What WILL change things is publishing how the Directors voted on this - including all motions made by Directors (whether they were seconded or not). So now, we can see that Alan indeed introduced a motion to reduce the increase and provide better oversight of the travel budget. Now we can see that Mark Forbes and Rich Hass voted for the increase, but Alan, Dan, and Bob voted against it. But more importantly, because the Directors knew their votes would be published, the votes were 7 in favor of the increase, 18 opposed to the increase, and no abstentions. A second vote was held on a 50% increase which also required a 50% cut in Nick's travel budget. It was passed with a unanimous vote ... all Directors voting.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Great News Everyone!!!

Alan and Corey have been elected!!

Congratulations to both!!

Here are the results from USHPA:

Here are the results of the regional director election
for the 2014-2015 term.

Region 1
Mark Forbes received 119 votes and was re-elected. Write in
votes were received for John Kraske, Steve Baran, Tom Johns
and Wade Holmes.

Region 2
Jon James received 102 votes and Josh Cohn received 92 votes.
They were elected. Ed Youmans received 75 votes and Kimberly
Phinney received 58 votes. Write in votes were received for
Zac Majors, Ernie Camacho, Fred Morris, Chase Harriman, Eric
Heinrichs, Wayne Michelson, Glen Zapien, Juan Laos, Lin Lyons,
Brian Horgan and Chris Valley.

Region 3
Alan Crouse received 131 votes and Corey Caffrey received
121 votes. They were elected. Rob Sporrer received 116 votes
and Bob Kuczewski received 59 votes. Write in votes were
received for Rob McKenzie, Ken Baier, Max Marien, and (as
always) Shilo the Wonder Dog. One paper ballot was received
and is included in the above totals.

Region 4
Ken Grubbs received 111 votes and was re-elected. Write in
votes were received for Chris Santacroce, Mark Denzel and
Mel Glantz.

Region 5/Canada
Josh Pierce received 45 votes and was elected. Write in
votes were received for Bart Weghorst and Bill Snyder.

Region 6/11/International
David Glover received 52 votes and was re-elected. Write in
votes were received for Britton Shaw, Keith Smith, Nathan
Wreyford and Riss Estes.

Regions 7, 8 and 12 had no election this cycle.

Region 9
Larry Dennis received 41 votes and was elected. Hugh McElrath
received 29 votes, Dan Tomlinson received 20 votes, Patrick
Terry received 17 votes and Wayne Smith received 5 votes. There
were no write-in votes received.

Region 10
Matt Taber received 82 votes, and Bruce Weaver received 83 votes.
Both were re-elected. Write in votes were received for Charlie
Yowell, Luis Ameglio, Luis Rosenkjer, Mitch Shipley and Roland
Sanguino.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Mark G. Forbes
USHPA elections committee chairman

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