2014 Spring Meeting (BOD ELECTIONS) Mar 28th

[sailin]

All,

The CHGPA Spring Meeting will be held on March 28th, 2014 at 7pm. Please put it on your calendars. Location to be determined. This is an important meeting so please try to attend.

In addition to "regular" club business, we will conduct our Board of Director Elections at this meeting. All positions are up for election (each position only serves a 1 year term). Please show up to make your interest in a position known and/or to cast a vote. Hope to see you all there!

Thanks,
Jon

[mcelrah]

Jon,

How about a meeting sooner to clear the air? I would like to solicit board/membership input before engaging with NPS to redesignate Hogback HG/PG. We hear they are open to it; let's talk to them. Anyone else who wants to help, please join me. Joe Schad, if you are out there, since you dealt with NPS for the Dickey's cleaning, I solicit your advice/participation.

- Hugh

[mcelrah]

I don't wish to be disingenuous: if not done already, such a meeting would likely see the introduction of a membership resolution directing the board to formally ask USHPA to cease any adverse action against the Hogback 2, to include reinstating their observer ratings. - Hugh

[Matthew]

I hear that the Thunderdome is now avaialbe for meeting rentals.

Matthew

[brianvh]

Hugh - if you see my post on the Hogback rating revocation, it looks like USHGPA is almost definitely not pulling ratings. The observer status may still be there to kick around, but that's a whole different level.

[Danny Brotto]

I think we'll want to have this resolved before the meeting.

Danny Brotto

[mcelrah]

Felipe worded his clarification carefully. He is taking no action "at this time". USHPA president Richard Hass reiterates the RD's authority to revoke observer ratings, or not to reappoint observers. We might only know by looking at the observer roster on the USHPA website. I agree that pulling someone's P4 is a bigger deal than observer, but observer is a rating - it shows up on your rating card. So this ain't over yet… - Hugh

[mcelrah]

Danny,

Are you saying we should have a meeting before 28 March to resolve this or that a meeting might break down and we should try to settle before any meeting?

- Hugh

[Dan T]

The last USHPA election was held electronically with a provision for paper ballots for those who couldn't or chose not to participate that way. Could we do the same thing regarding the ratings revocations here and now? I'm sure the USHPA would be willing to assist in setting up the software to enable us to vote via secret electronic ballot.

There are several pilots, myself included, who will be out of the area when the Spring meeting is scheduled and who would like to participate in the elections as well as democratically establishing the Chapter's official position on the ratings revocation topic. Electronic balloting or some absentee alternative would enable us to do so. In a previous thread I asked the CHGPA Board about establishing an absentee arrangement. My request received no replies.

Perhaps this in an ideal time to put one in place. It would enable us to establish an official position on the topic prior to the BoD elections. It might also provide the USHPA with the information that they need to make a decision while the topic is still fresh in their minds.

Dan T

[mingram]

During the last BoD meeting we discussed virtual voting from members who participate in the meeting virtually via Skype or Google Hangout. I'm waiting for a response from David Churchill to determine if he can help us with this. This is different from absentee voting, but I'd like to explore that too. I'm hoping to setup a SurveyMonkey poll to get feedback from members prior to the next meeting. My thought was to get a list of active members (as of 2013) and email them a link to vote using that email address. Stay tuned.

[Dan T]

Thanks Matt,

I have to admit I'm not very familiar with Skype or any of the other programs that support more than two people at a time. I'm hoping I'll be able to vote without having to do more than what the USHPA required. If not I'll need some help learning it. I guess I'm becoming somewhat of a Luddite.

Dan

[Ward Odenwald]

If there is a ballot initiative to help clear up issues created by the Hogback incident (as suggested by Dan T), then the only question on that ballot should be - To protect our flying sites, does the CHGPA have the right to self-regulate pilots that fly them? Ward

[Dan T]

No Ward, that is not the right question. The topic at hand is not about the club having the right to self regulate. It is about whether or not the Club feels it is appropriate for the USHPA to kick these members out of the Association (or revoke their observer ratings) solely because they were issued a citation for flying PGs on a site that was only approved for HGs.

In fact this is exactly the question that I request that we put to the members of our chapter. We should break it into two parts, one for the revocation of the observer ratings and one for removal of their membership in the USHPA. These are the two initiatives under the USHPA's consideration.

If there is a way that the BoD can an extend invitation for a vote out to the general membership so that we can all respond via an electronic ballot I request that we do it now. Let's put this behind us.

Dan T

[JohnE]

Dan T is right about the two questions to be posed, as well as to request an absentee way to vote. USHPA does not require physical presence or a live online link at a certain time (such as Skype) for its members to be able to vote, and neither should CHGPA. We should have an electronic or even paper way to vote, in order to permit all DUES PAYING members to vote for officers and on issues such as this. Survey Monkey is a good example of something that might work providing that we can restrict votes to actual members.

For the record, I think that the BOD's request for an apology is juvenile and can only be aimed at humiliating the Hogback Four. The BOD overreaction to the lack of an apology is wrongheaded. The Hogback Four have been dealt with by the authorities. I believe the answers to Dan's two questions, posed above, would show a lack of support for theBOD's actions on this issue. So let us do this election in a democratic way that allows for absentee voting and find out. The historical method of voting by a minority of members showing up at a single time and place smacks of a 'good ole boys' method of government. A voting method that is more inclusive and does not disenfranchise members who are traveling or otherwise unable to attend is warranted. For example, I am writing this from 12 time zones away, so even Skype might be difficult for me.

[Matthew]

I guess a lot of you don't have experience with meetings. It's the Internet's fault as we nolonger have monthly meetings. Any type of vote would not happen at the next meeting. The item would be brought up at the next scheduled meeting as new business and then a vote would be scheduled for the following meeting. And this is all moot re- USHPA because no one has asked USHPA to take any actions against anyone. The info regarding the incident was merely forwarded to USHPA by the CHGPA BOD.

Please refrain from calling the actions of the CHGPA BOD juvenile and also refrain from disparaging any of the pilots involved in the incident.

Matthew

[SHORTCUT]

Thanks Matthew.
Is there an avenue for the membership to get concerns onto the agenda for the upcoming March 28 meeting?
Does that agenda need to be approved by the Board?

It seems that there are, beyond the elections, currents events that would like to be discussed, voted upon, and start being implemented at the start of this season.
For instance, I would like to make a motion to get a vote on changing the language for the Hogback site to include Paragliders.
I would more rather like to make a motion that the SNP be informed that when the language says "Hang Gliders", it means both Hang Gliders and Paragliders.

-Greg

[markc]

Do we have a location for the Spring meeting yet?

[sailin]

Not yet. Any volunteers ???

Jon

[dbodner]

Our house is available.

[markc]

Thanks for volunteering your home Dave! We'll owe you and Jody a debt of thanks, that's for sure!

Can/should we post directions to your place in the forum, or would you prefer that to be in the members-only section?

And don't be shy about telling us what we should do to make things easier! Pizza, munchies, drinks, whatever!

MarkC

[PTerry]

Dear CHGPA Members - Please make sure your 2014 dues are paid and plan on attending the Spring Meeting March 28th (location TBD) for the good news regarding our collaborations on the Woodstock and Edith's Gap Site Renovation Projects.

[dbodner]

Thanks for volunteering your home Dave! We'll owe you and Jody a debt of thanks, that's for sure!

Can/should we post directions to your place in the forum, or would you prefer that to be in the members-only section?

And don't be shy about telling us what we should do to make things easier! Pizza, munchies, drinks, whatever!

MarkC

Public would be fine, but let's wait for my offer to be accepted first. The BOD may have a better idea.

[mingram]

I think we'd be happy to have a your house again Dave. thanks for offering!

[sailin]

Dave, thank you greatly for again for offering to open up your home to the club. Very much appreciated. We would love to host the March meeting there.

Much thanks,
Jon

[markc]

Hi Dave! Can I post directions to your place publicly, or would you prefer that we use the Members Only area for those details?