TO: "PAMPA SAVERS"
FROM: TOM DIXON
RE: Your Mail out........
I don't know whether you guys are malicious, or just ignorant.
FIRST: The by-law rewrite has been required by AMA for all S.I.G.'s and chartered clubs, to be sure they are in compliance with AMA's own By-Laws. It is AMA's lawyers who are pushing this to be sure AMA, and it's affiliates don't have excessive liability exposure.
No matter who is PAMPA President, the PAMPA By-Laws had to be re-done to current legal standards.
SECOND: For the past several years, John Brodak has referred to all of Model Aviation as "Sport" --- in the context that counties and industries will pay no attention to "Hobbies", but they will provide facilities for Sports. As you guys know, overseas, especially in ex-Communist countries, model competition flyers are referred to as "Sportsmen". That makes all of you, as World Champions, the highest ranked "Sports Flyers" of all.
THIRD: Your letter makes a lot of allegations but does not cite a single FACT. If you had at least cited a single incident of anything, maybe there would be some weight to your argument. However, what you have here is a bunch of hot air.
FOURTH: Having a handful of Expert Flyers telling the membership what to do is exactly what we don't need. The assumption that the members can't figure out what to do on their own, is arrogant and extremely condescending. Indeed, the "elitism" inherent in this point of view is exactly what was rejected when the membership voted 2 to 1 for Brodak.
FIFTH: You speak of "Does PAMPA serve your interests?" Actually, you have it backward. Like John Kennedy, it would be better to figure out how to truly serve PAMPA (Meaning the general membership.) than to figure out how PAMPA should serve you. None of you, who signed onto this letter, have ever done anything of significance in serving PAMPA. You've been "takers" not "givers." How about taking off a year and judging NATS, W.C., or even local meets? How about C.D.ing a local meet? How about truly sharing your knowledge with others?
I believe, you believe your concerns. I also believe you are misguided, reminds me of Democrats......can't come up with a program, so they whine "Bush lied."
The more you do this sort of thing, the more it solidifies the widely held belief that a small number of top fliers are "out of touch" and couldn't care less about the rest of the membership. At least, by letters like this, we know exactly who you are.
Actually, the fact that a non-competitor is PAMPA President is a huge plus. The fact that he does not have to consider how presidential actions might affect his NATS score is a good thing. I don't believe any of you who are active competitors could take action that might be necessary but somewhat unpopular. John Brodak with consent of the Board, can do this ....and IS.
Truth is, none of this is very important in the grand scheme of things. Just ask your neighbor, or your wife, how much the PAMPA By-Laws really matter. If it really matters this much to you, then you really need to check out the priorities of your life. Fifteen years from now, if any of you are still here, (We're all in our 50's and 60's!) you won't even remember it.
TOM DIXON
FROM: TOM DIXON
RE: Your Mail out........
I don't know whether you guys are malicious, or just ignorant.
FIRST: The by-law rewrite has been required by AMA for all S.I.G.'s and chartered clubs, to be sure they are in compliance with AMA's own By-Laws. It is AMA's lawyers who are pushing this to be sure AMA, and it's affiliates don't have excessive liability exposure.
No matter who is PAMPA President, the PAMPA By-Laws had to be re-done to current legal standards.
SECOND: For the past several years, John Brodak has referred to all of Model Aviation as "Sport" --- in the context that counties and industries will pay no attention to "Hobbies", but they will provide facilities for Sports. As you guys know, overseas, especially in ex-Communist countries, model competition flyers are referred to as "Sportsmen". That makes all of you, as World Champions, the highest ranked "Sports Flyers" of all.
THIRD: Your letter makes a lot of allegations but does not cite a single FACT. If you had at least cited a single incident of anything, maybe there would be some weight to your argument. However, what you have here is a bunch of hot air.
FOURTH: Having a handful of Expert Flyers telling the membership what to do is exactly what we don't need. The assumption that the members can't figure out what to do on their own, is arrogant and extremely condescending. Indeed, the "elitism" inherent in this point of view is exactly what was rejected when the membership voted 2 to 1 for Brodak.
FIFTH: You speak of "Does PAMPA serve your interests?" Actually, you have it backward. Like John Kennedy, it would be better to figure out how to truly serve PAMPA (Meaning the general membership.) than to figure out how PAMPA should serve you. None of you, who signed onto this letter, have ever done anything of significance in serving PAMPA. You've been "takers" not "givers." How about taking off a year and judging NATS, W.C., or even local meets? How about C.D.ing a local meet? How about truly sharing your knowledge with others?
I believe, you believe your concerns. I also believe you are misguided, reminds me of Democrats......can't come up with a program, so they whine "Bush lied."
The more you do this sort of thing, the more it solidifies the widely held belief that a small number of top fliers are "out of touch" and couldn't care less about the rest of the membership. At least, by letters like this, we know exactly who you are.
Actually, the fact that a non-competitor is PAMPA President is a huge plus. The fact that he does not have to consider how presidential actions might affect his NATS score is a good thing. I don't believe any of you who are active competitors could take action that might be necessary but somewhat unpopular. John Brodak with consent of the Board, can do this ....and IS.
Truth is, none of this is very important in the grand scheme of things. Just ask your neighbor, or your wife, how much the PAMPA By-Laws really matter. If it really matters this much to you, then you really need to check out the priorities of your life. Fifteen years from now, if any of you are still here, (We're all in our 50's and 60's!) you won't even remember it.
TOM DIXON
JCAT