[Bob Kuczewski]

I'm starting this topic to discuss the upcoming USHPA Regional Director Elections. This topic is intended to cover all of the elections, but if any particular election seems to need more space, please feel free to start a special topic for that election and post a link to it here (so we can follow all the discussions from one starting point).

Thanks!!

P.S. If there's enough interest, I may also open up a series of topics (or even subforums) for candidates to use for debates. So if you'd like to see your current Regional Director debate their contenders, please let me know.

[Bob Kuczewski]

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: July 15th, 2012

Here's a message that I sent to the Torrey Hawks club describing how to make a nomination. It also includes my own announcement that I'm running for Regional Director against Bill Helliwell in Region 3:

Hello Fellow Hawks,

I just want to send everyone a reminder that nominations for this fall's Regional Director Elections are due by July 15, 2012.

To nominate someone for the election, you can log into the USHPA Member's Only section and click on "Member Forms". Then click on "Regional Director Nomination Form (Online)". That will take you to this page:

https://www.ushpa.aero/emailrdnomination.asp

Because you've been logged in, it will have all of your current information (Name, USHPA #, Phone #, email address, ...). You can then enter similar information for the person you want to nominate. Finally, you'll have to enter an "anti-robot" code, and that should submit your nomination. You should get an email message showing who you've nominated as well. I've created a topic to discuss the 2012 USHPA elections at:

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

For the record, I've nominated myself, so I plan to run for the Region 3 position against Bill Helliwell this fall. But if there are other more qualified candidates who support similar goals, then I may withdraw my candidacy to support them. Please feel free to contact me directly by email or phone (858-204-7499) if you want to discuss anything about the election.

Most importantly, USHPA is controlled by Directors. So it is very important to be sure that you support and elect Directors who you feel will look out for your interests.

Thanks for your time,
Bob Kuczewski
Regional Director Candidate - USHPA Region 3

[miguel]

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: July 15th, 2012

Here's a message that I sent to the Torrey Hawks club describing how to make a nomination. It also includes my own announcement that I'm running for Regional Director against Bill Helliwell in Region 3:

Congrats!

Don't sit back waiting for the votes to come to you. You have to go out and GET the vote.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Congrats!

Don't sit back waiting for the votes to come to you. You have to go out and GET the vote.

You're absolutely right. I'm at Funston for a few days (which is out of Region 3), but I plan to do a lot of Region 3 flying so I can meet pilots and answer their questions this summer. Thanks!!

But one of the big problems I'll face is that I've been banned from both hanggliding.org and the Oz Forum. So it would be helpful if anyone who can post to those forums will let people know that I'm running and that they can ask me questions here on the US Hawks forum. That won't be so hard on the Oz Report, but it might be tricky on hanggliding.org since Jack (sg) has threatened to ban anyone who mentions my name. So post at your own risk!!!

By the way, this shows how much Jack is controlling the sport of hang gliding through his forum. He's able to control regional elections by blacklisting candidates he doesn't like. It's an ongoing problem, and that's why such an important communication tool should not be in the absolute control of one person. I hope the US Hawks will eventually evolve into a community controlled forum so that doesn't happen here.

[SamKellner]

Don't sit back waiting for the votes to come to you. You have to go out and GET the vote.

Miguel, Don't forget, BobK WON Reg3 Director once already.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Yesterday Mark Forbes sent out a message to all Regional Director candidates regarding the election:

From: Mark G. Forbes, USHPA Elections Committee Chairman
To: USHPA regional director election candidates

Here is the list of nominees for the upcoming election to fill the 2013-2014 term. You're receiving this email because you're on the list. Following are your instructions for what to do next.

(I) means "incumbent".

1 Rich Hass (I)

2 Steve Rodrigues (I)
2 Jugdeep Aggarwal

3 Dan DeWeese
3 Bob Kuczewski
(Bill Helliwell is retiring at the end of this term.)

4 Ryan Voight(I)

5 No election this year

6/11 No election this year

7 Tracy Tillman (I)

8 Michael Holmes (I)

9 Felipe Amunategui (I)

10 Steve Kroop (I)

11/6 No election this year

12 Paul Voight (I)

You have been nominated and have accepted the nomination to run for regional director. The next step is for you to provide some information for inclusion in the October issue of the magazine. This consists of two items: (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!)

1) A photo (of you, presumably) sized to 600 x 600 pixels, in either JPEG or TIFF format. We'd like to see your face, not an anonymous helmet.

2) Your statement for publication in the election issue of the magazine. This may include any pertinent information you care to provide regarding your qualifications, views on topics of interest or whatever else you think members in your region should know about you. Keep it down to 500 words or less. It's good to focus on things like how your life/work experiences will help us to manage our Association effectively, or how your particular skills can benefit pilots in your region and nationally.

Please submit these two items no later than August 2, 2012 for inclusion in the October magazine. It's short notice, I realize, but it'll only take you an hour or so to get it done. Your photo and statement should be sent to these three people:

Magazine Editor, Nick Greece, editor@ushpa.aero
Program Manager, Jeff Mosher, programs@ushpa.aero
Elections Chairman, Mark Forbes, elections@ushpa.aero

You can just "reply-all" to this message when sending your info, and it will go to all three of us. If you need to send something in by snail-mail, contact me and I'll give you an address.

This year's election will be conducted electronically, instead of via paper ballots. We tried it out this spring for the special election in region 2 and it worked very well. Your bio will be printed in the magazine, along with your photo, and it will also be available as a link from the ballot page. Members will receive a mailing with a secure password link for voting on-line, and the option if they can't do so to obtain a paper ballot from the office.

You may also send snail-mail to members of your region. This is at your own expense, and USHPA can provide a set of one-time-use mailing labels for your mailing. A signed privacy agreement and payment of the cost of label production is required. Contact me if you want to do this, and I'll point you to the right people.

Ballots will be accepted until the close of business on December 15th, 2011. The ballots will be tallied after that, and final counts should be available a week or so later.

Just to repeat....the deadline is August 2. That's only a couple of days away, so don't dally.

Thanks for volunteering!

Mark G. Forbes
USHPA Elections Committee chairman
mark@mgforbes.com
Corvallis, Oregon
541-760-3231 (cellphone, 7am to midnight preferred)

The most notable aspect of this message is that most Regional Directors run uncontested ... year after year. That's why USHPA is in a rut. It's the same people who make the decisions ... year after year ... and that's why we get the same results.

The good news is that it looks like there's going to be a new Director in Region 3!! I'm really happy to see that Bill Helliwell is retiring. He was the puppet of the Torrey recall gang, and he refused to support simple things like open voting by the board. I suspect he knew he'd be challenged on that and that might have figured into his decision to not run. Whatever his reasons, it's good to see him go.

[miguel]

FLY and Campaign!

[Bob Kuczewski]

Bob Kuczewski's Platform Highlights:

1. Open Voting by the USHPA Board - All votes by the USHPA Board should be recorded and available for all USHPA members to review. This is the most important issue because it connects the decision makers (USHPA Directors) with the pilots they're supposed to represent (USHPA Members).

2. National USHPA Pilot's Forum - USHPA should install and maintain a forum on their web site where USHPA Members can communicate with each other and where Regional Directors are expected to participate. The site should have national sections for hang gliding and paragliding as well as dedicated sections for each Region. All USHPA Chapters should be offered their own subforums within the national forum. This national forum will serve to unite Pilots and Chapters across the nation and will also serve to make USHPA more responsive to the will of its Members.

3. Fair Processes for All Pilots - Disciplinary actions taken by USHPA against pilots must be fair. There have been too many cases where certain pilots and/or instructors have been singled out for disciplinary actions while others have been given a "pass" for similar or worse offenses. All disciplinary actions by USHPA against its Members must be administered fairly and openly to reduce these kinds of abuses.

4. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Committees - USHPA already has special committees for all kinds of subspecialties within our sports (Towing, Tandem, Competition, ...). USHPA should create new committees for the specialties of Hang Gliding and Paragliding. The Chairmen of those two committees should be seen as the national representatives and advocates for those two sports. The mandate for those committees is to ensure that both sports are treated fairly by USHPA even though the overall membership of the organization may tilt toward one sport or the other. The hang glider pilots who joined USHGA and supported it for 30 years should not be "thrown under the bus" simply because paragliding is viewed as the current "growth segment" of the organization. The same would be true if hang gliding were growing and paragliding shrinking. Pilots of either wing (regardless of their numbers) deserve to belong to an organization committed to representing their interests. The Hang Gliding and Paragliding Committees will be tasked with providing that representation.

5. Open Executive Committee Meetings - The USHPA Board only meets twice a year. According to organizational experts (hired by USHPA), this is far too long between Board meetings, and it gives too much power to the 4-person Executive Committee which runs USHPA between Board meetings (they hold monthly teleconference meetings). On the other hand, full Board meetings are expensive and demanding of Director's time, so it would be unreasonable to hold full Board meetings every month. As a compromise, I believe that Directors should be encouraged to attend the monthly Executive Committee teleconferences. This gives them an opportunity to monitor the progress of the Association and provide corrective feedback in a much more timely manner. Unfortunately, the USHPA Executive Committee has a history of holding closed teleconference meetings and has refused to allow Directors to attend. I would work to change this so ALL Directors are allowed (and encouraged) to attend the monthly Executive Committee teleconferences.

6. Open Board Meetings - The USHPA Board meets twice a year to discuss and vote on the operation of the organization. In the past, there had been no restriction on the recording or videotaping of these meetings so the meetings could be more easily shared and reported to the vast majority of USHPA members who are unable to attend. But in recent years, USHPA has passed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that forbid the recording or videotaping of these meetings. This makes it much more difficult for Members to keep track of what their Directors are actually doing on the Board, and it also makes it much more difficult to report about Director's actions to USHPA Members. I would work to reverse these recent changes so that all USHPA members would have better access to understanding exactly how the Board operates and what their own Directors are doing on the Board.

7. USHPA Belongs to YOU - USHPA has come to be viewed as if it's a corporation that belongs to someone else. It's viewed as an insurance company or a quasi-governmental agency. A former Director even went so far as to say that USHPA is a Regional Director's Club that's paid for by the members. That's wrong. USHPA belongs to its members. USHPA belongs to YOU, and if it doesn't feel that way ... then something needs to be fixed. I'm willing to fix it.

( Read more at http://ushawks.org/USHPA2012 )

[Bob Kuczewski]

Bob Kuczewski's 2012 USHPA Director Candidate Statement (sent to USHPA on August 2nd, 2012):

My name is Bob Kuczewski, and I've been involved in flying since 1976 (U.S. Army Jump School). We jumped with round parachutes in those days, and all steering was done by pulling different risers. Eventually our chutes were upgraded with "TU" modifications which gave us toggles (forerunners of "brakes" on modern paragliders). In 1978 I started flying both airplanes (Fort Lewis) and hang gliders (Cape Kiwanda). I got my private pilot's license in 1978 and added a sea plane rating in 1980. In 1983 I earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and my career brought me to General Dynamics in San Diego. I made my first paragliding flights at Little Black in 1990, and I've flown RC's and sailplanes at various sites. In 2007 I became the first person to fly all 4 Torrey Pines glider types - hang gliders, paragliders, sailplanes, and RC's - at the Torrey Pines Gliderport (see USHPA Magazine, August 2007). I currently hold an H4/P4 rating and I fly both fairly regularly.

I am running for Regional Director because (1) I love flying, and (2) USHPA should belong to its members. The first item ("I love flying") speaks for itself, but the second ("USHPA should belong to its members") needs some explanation...

USHPA is organized as a non-profit corporation for the benefit of its members. In other words, WE (you and I) are effectively the owners of USHPA. Does it feel like you're the owner of USHPA? No? Why not? The answer is that USHPA has lost its way. The Directors have gotten so accustomed to running the show, that they've forgotten they work for us.

I could give many examples where USHPA's Directors have voted to tighten USHPA's grip on pilots. But examples are just symptoms - they're not the underlying problem. The underlying problem is accountability. The only reason USHPA is able to make unpopular decisions is because those decisions are never associated with the actual Directors who vote for them. We see changes that we don't like, but we never know which Directors supported them. That's by design, because if we knew which Directors were voting for which changes, then we'd know who to vote out in the next election. That's why USHPA won't publish voting records for the USHPA Board. That's why USHPA is out of control.

Well, I've almost expended my 500 words, so let me get to the point. Of all the issues that need fixing, the most important is having open voting records for Directors. Without our ability to see which Directors are voting for which items, we're powerless to replace bad Directors with good ones. We're effectively flying blind. So if you want a better USHPA, please vote for Directors who support open voting records by the Board. You know I will.

For more information on my other positions, please visit:

    http://ushawks.org/USHPA2012

Thanks for your time,
Bob Kuczewski - H4/P4, Former Director
Phone: 858-204-7499
Email: bobkuczewski@gmail.com

( Read more at http://ushawks.org/USHPA2012 )

[wingspan33]

Bob,

Your Candidate Statement makes a number of strong points and I think you've got an up hill battle on your hands. But the best of luck to you. If (or when!) you get back in the door, don't try to tackle too many advanced projects at once. Get something easier done first and then go from there. And finding and establishing allies never hurt. Come off as a rabble-rouser and you won't get very far.

If you were running in my Region I'd give you my vote.