I just posted this on the Sylmar site. I had been asking the new USHPA Region 3 Director Ken Andrews (a Sylmar pilot) to help us renew our Torrey Hawks USHPA Chapter status. Ken had assured me that he would do what he could to help. That was back in May. It's now October and our Chapter status has not been renewed despite the fact that we've sent in all the completed paperwork and complied with all of the rules. Here's my post from Sylmar:
As I read backwards from Ken's false assurance posted above, I found this history of correspondence (posted here in chronological order):
February 27th, 2016, Bob Kuczewski wrote:
From: Bob Kuczewski <bobkuczewski>
To: Ashley Miller <ashley>, USHPA: US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Assn. <info>
Cc: Brian <brian>
Subject: Re: Chapter 270 renewal
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2015 12:08:09 -0800
Hello Ashley and USHPA (cc Brian McMahon),
Thanks for sending the forms. I have attached the following documents which should complete our 2015 renewal for the Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club:
- Renewal_Form_2015.pdf
- RiskMgmt_front.pdf
- Flying_Sites.pdf
- Chp270Rpt.pdf
- Bylaws.pdf
- Roster.pdf
- MembApp2008.pdf
Since we do not have any insured sites, we have not included a late fee applicable to insured sites as we have discussed recently and in the past.
Please call both myself (858-204-7499) and our Club President Brian McMahon (phone number removed) immediately if we've missed any requirements for renewal.
Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski
Club Secretary - Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club
That was February of 2016. USHPA refused to renew us and told us that we'd have to wait until the spring because of the "insurance problems". I followed up to be clear:
February 25th, 2016, Bob Kuczewski wrote:
From: Bob Kuczewski
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2016 10:59 AM
To: Ashley Miller <ashley>
Cc: USHPA Information <info>; Brian <brian>
Subject: Re: Chapter 270 renewal
Hello Ashely (cc Brian McMahon),
Thanks for your time on the phone this morning.
I'm just writing to include our Chapter President Brian McMahon in the discussion and to confirm that the 2016 Chapter renewal deadline for the Torrey Hawks (and all other Chapters) is currently extended until some time in June due to the changes in insurance.
As I mentioned on the phone, the Torrey Hawks does not currently purchase insurance, and we would be happy to renew before then, but we are also willing to wait along with other chapters as well.
Please keep us (both Brian and myself) informed as to when we might be able to renew our Chapter status.
Thanks,
Bob Kuczewski
Club Secretary - Torrey Hawks, USHPA Chapter #270
Eventually, I began to wonder about it, and I wrote to Ken.
May 25th, 2016, Bob Kuczewski wrote:
From: Bob Kuczewski
To: Kenneth Andrews
Cc: Brian McMahon and others
Subject: Torrey Hawks Club Renewal Help Request
Date: Wed, 25 May 2016 10:40:03 -0700
Hello Ken (cc Torrey Hawks President Brian McMahon, and others),
The Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club has been a USHPA Chapter since the fall of 2007. We are USHPA Chapter #270. We have paid all of the fees to be a Chapter and we would like to continue to be a Chapter.
However, we have not yet received our Chapter renewal packet or any other renewal information this year. This is inconsistent with USHPA's process in the past, and I am concerned that USHPA may be trying to essentially remove our Chapter status by simply not giving us the access to renewal information.
Ken, can you let us know what we need to do to renew our Chapter status this year?
Thanks,
Bob Kuczewski
Club Secretary, Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club
858-204-7499
Ken wrote back:
May 25th, 2016 wrote:
From: Kenneth Andrews
To: Bob Kuczewski
Cc: Brian McMahon and others
Subject: Re: Torrey Hawks Club Renewal Help Request
Date: Wed, 25 May 2016 14:18:47 -0700
Bob,
So far as I know, the Torrey Hawks officers should have received the following chapter renewal information on April 21, and the USHPA Chapter Newsletter on April 15. These provide the information needed for chapter renewal. If you did not get these email messages, I presume you could contact the USHPA office (
info@ushpa.aero) to get that corrected.
-Ken
But there was no chapter renewal information from USHPA, and we had contacted the USHPA office several times. Both Brian and myself double checked our email and verified that we had not gotten anything from USHPA about our renewal.
I wrote to Ken and Brian:
May 26th, 2016, Bob Kuczewski wrote:
On May 26, 2016, at 11:52 AM, Bob Kuczewski wrote:
Thanks Brian. I checked my deleted and junk items as well and didn't find anything.
Ken, it's quite possible that USHPA will try to avoid renewing our Chapter status out of spite. They got away with expelling me for no reason, and they may do the same with our club's renewal. If that ends up being the case, will you help us with our renewal?
Thanks,
Bob Kuczewski
That's when Ken replied with the message that I quoted in my previous post:
May 27th, 2016, Ken Andrews wrote:
From: Kenneth Andrews
To: Bob Kuczewski
Cc: Brian and others
Subject: Re: Chapter 270 renewal (Torrey Hawks)
Date: Fri, 27 May 2016 09:54:52 -0700
Bob and all,
I expect that the USHPA office will process your chapter renewal without problem. If you encounter any further difficulty, let me know, and I’ll do what I can to help.
-Ken
Ken wrote: "I'll do what I can to help".
Ken knows that this is being done to undermine our club's ability to propose an alternative to the ongoing the commercial dominance at Torrey. Yet Ken has done nothing to fix it.