Bob Kuczewski's 2013 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).   Discuss...


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.   Discuss...


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.   Discuss...


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.   Discuss...


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.   Discuss...


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.   Discuss...


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.   Discuss...

Bob Kuczewski is committed to these goals ... and has the track record to prove it.