US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Mike Jefferson owes me $500 for lessons that I paid for but were never fulfilled. His email address, bigairhanggliding@gmail.com has been deleted and he does not answer his phone number. Does anyone know how to contact Mike Jefferson, please let me know.

Thanks,

Johan Ballin
408-647-4797
johan@johanballin.com

"The identity of the person who made this post is currently unknown and questionable"

Really? So posting my personal phone number and email address makes me "questionable"? Anyone here who questions my identity is welcome to email or call me. I am more than happy to provide additional information to verify my identity and reasons for being here. I have a legitimate financial claim against an instructor who has chosen not to honor what I paid him for a hanggliding lesson bundle. It is not a lot of money but it is the principle. If searching for a person who as committed theft and fraud makes ME suspicious then I call this entire organization suspicious. Are there any responsible people on this list who know how to reach Mike Jefferson?

Johan Ballin
408-647-4797
johan@johanballin.com

Hello Johan,

I have tried calling your phone number and gotten the message that the "Google Fi" subscriber is not available. I've also sent the following 2 email messages to the email address used to register your account:

Bob on September 27th, 2021 wrote:Hello Johan,

Welcome to the U.S. Hawks!!

As a new member you can already post to the "New Users Forum". To post to the rest of the forum, please write back with a short description of your interest in hang gliding (or flying in general).

Thanks, and welcome again to the U.S. Hawks!

Bob

Bob on October 14th, 2021 wrote:Hello Again Johan,

I get a lot of email, and I'm sorry if I missed your reply to my message below. Please write back with a short description of your interest in hang gliding (or flying in general) to help verify that there is a real person who can receive and reply to this email address.

Thanks,
Bob

Hello Johan,

Welcome to the U.S. Hawks!!

As a new member you can already post to the "New Users Forum". To post to the rest of the forum, please write back with a short description of your interest in hang gliding (or flying in general).

Thanks, and welcome again to the U.S. Hawks!

Bob

Mike Jefferson is a hero to me for several of his actions in the sport of hang gliding. But, of course, none of us can ever know everything about someone other than ourselves (and even knowing ourselves is debatable). The U.S. Hawks policy is to allow free speech within the law as long as we have at least minimal verification that the person making that speech is identifiable and accountable.

Please respond to those email requests and answer your phone when called, and the warning will be removed.

With regard to disputes, the U.S. Hawks does have a history of trying to resolve problems within the hang gliding community. I specifically recall a dispute like yours several years ago where I personally contacted both the instructor and the student. I believe a settlement was reached that was satisfactory for everyone. But that takes time and effort on our part, and it takes cooperation from all parties. But it does give a better result than simply blasting someone on an open forum.

Johan,
I too bristle at the WARNING. Maybe if it said the person has yet to be verified and deemed not to be and advertiser, spammer or automated webcrawler. that would be better.