mike wrote:
Who are these people?
The woman in the first picture is one of Robin's employees. She follows me around with a camera whenever I'm at the Gliderport.
The second picture is David Metzgar. He's a local PG pilot and has been president of the San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (SDHGPA) at various times. He's one of the Jebb's puppets. When the Jebbs didn't want the Soaring Council to be restarted, he resisted it. When it became apparent that the Council was going to restart either with or without the SDHGPA, then he fought to appoint Gabe Jebb to the Council (even though the Council has bylaws prohibiting representatives tied to the money making business there).
Metzgar first showed his puppet strings in the spring of 2007. I had asked to represent the SDHGPA on the Soaring Council at their meeting, and Metzgar approved it with no problem. But when word got back to the Jebbs, they pulled Metzgar's strings and he reversed himself. He ended up rigging an election where the Torrey concessionaire (David Jebb at that time) brought a ton of students to overwhelm the SDHGPA meeting and vote for Gabe Jebb - even though I made it clear that the Soaring Council bylaws prohibited Gabe from being a member. Eventually the Council did reject Gabe - on the exact grounds that I had quoted. But to make matters even worse, the SDHGPA vote was conducted by show of hands - with David Jebb and all his minions watching who would vote against Gabe. The intimidation factor was intense, and I got only 4 votes. I followed that meeting with this message:
Bob Kuczewski wrote:
Subject: Soaring Council Appointment and Request
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:44:25 -0700
Hello Dave, SDHGPA Board, and Others,
I wanted to voice my written comments on the events at last week's SDHGPA meeting which resulted in the nomination of Gabe Jebb as the SDHGPA's representative on the Torrey Pines Soaring Council.
First off, in retrospect, I should have asked for the Soaring Council poll to be conducted with a secret ballot. I don't think that would have changed the final choice, but I do think it wouldn't have appeared so one-sided. Additionally, I felt very badly for those few who did openly support me in the presence of the concessionaire. I suggest that any such future polls be conducted by secret ballot, and I'm sorry that I didn't think to suggest it at the time.
Second, I have read the Bylaws of the Torrey Pines Gliderport Historical Society which defines the membership and voting rules for the Torrey Pines Soaring Council. Article III, Section 2 states:
"... these voting members can have no conflict of interest, that is, they cannot be an employee
of the City of San Diego any Leasee, of the Torrey Pines Gliderport property, or the University
of California or in any way affiliated with any profit making organizations that could in any way
benefit from activities conducted at the Torrey Pines Gliderport."
I voiced this concern at the meeting, and Gabe Jebb replied that he did not have a conflict of interest. At another point in that same meeting, however, he said that the concession was just his Dad, his Mom, and himself. He appears to want it both ways whenever it's convenient. And those of you who remember the previous meeting should recall that he said we didn't need the Soaring Council because the TPPA served that same function. He contradicted his own web site with those remarks because the site (as pointed out in previous messages) clearly defined the TPPA as a paraglider-only organization. It seems clear that Gabe Jebb does have a conflict of interest, and he is unqualified to represent pilot interests at Torrey Pines because of that conflict (which is clearly spelled out in the Soaring Council's governing by-laws).
Third, I don't believe that Gabe Jebb is qualified to represent hang gliding interests at the Soaring Council because I don't believe he is even rated to fly at that site (please send me a correction if anyone knows of Gabe having an H4 rating or above). Some criticism was directed at me because I've only flown Torrey a few times in the last few months, but I've never seen Gabe Jebb flying a hang glider at that site in his entire life. I believe that hang glider pilots are already an under-represented group at Torrey, and I believe that Gabe Jebb's appointment to represent all hang glider and paraglider interests on the Soaring Council can only make this worse.
In conclusion, I request that the SDHGPA select another representative for the Soaring Council so that all hang gliding and paragliding pilots can have proper representation at the next meeting (May 9th). I further request that any such representative have the minimal ratings to fly both types of gliders at Torrey (which requires at least an H4/P3 rating). I do offer my own services for that position, and I have an H4/P4 rating.
Just last weekend I flew all 4 glider types (sailplane, hang glider, paraglider, and RC) in the same day at Torrey, and I believe that I have the multi-disciplinary background to give me credibility with the other Soaring Council representatives. I also received the second highest number of votes during the recent poll conducted at the SDHGPA meeting. For all of these reasons, I believe that I am the best choice to represent the SDHGPA at the May 9th meeting of the Soaring Council, and I ask for that appointment. If the board would like to conduct another poll (or simply make another choice) at the next SDHGPA meeting, I would not be opposed to my replacement at that time.
Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski
That was a perfectly reasonable letter, and yet Metzgar responded with this:
David Metzgar (with bold added) wrote:
Bob,
To reiterate, it strikes me that your problems stem from the fact that you believe your opinions represent shared beliefs. They do not. The belief shared by the vast majority of the club is that your actions are destructive and counterproductive. That's why they didn't vote for you, and they likely never will even if you change your tune - because they recognize you are not there to hear what they have to say or to represent them in an honest way to another group. Do you realize that USHPA sent the local regional director to the last meeting to encourage the board to prevent reconstitution of the soaring council? In other words, the idea that you and the TPSC are a negative force goes well beyond the limited reach of our club. Ask yourself why so many of us get along incredibly well despite our differences, and spend countless hours every weekend flying together, working on sites, hanging out in the LZs and discussing local flying issues, while you drive blindly forward with your unshared dream - it's because WE ARE PART OF A COMMUNITY THAT YOU IGNORE COMPLETELY. You are not a potential representative of that community, you are the antithesis of a representative. Whenever you feel that tough, resilient object that you keep banging your head against, that is our community. You had your chance, now get lost or go flying. Whatever you do, you have had more time to address the club than any one member deserves. Do NOT show up at any further meetings expecting any time to discuss the issue of the TPSC. If anyone is given time to discuss the TPSC or it's actions, it will be Gabe Jebb, our appointed representative, or his self-chosen replacement (if you force him out based on affiliation). I will not give one more minute to your campaign - the membership has spoken VERY loudly - they don't want you to represent them. Period. Ever. Get it?
Dave
This quote from Metzgar is particularly revealing:
David Metzgar wrote:
Do you realize that USHPA sent the local regional director to the last meeting to encourage the board to prevent reconstitution of the soaring council?
Metzgar "spilled the beans" that USHPA (who claims that they stay out of local politics) had been working behind the scenes to keep local pilots from re-establishing any organization to represent pilot interests at Torrey.
There's a lot more to the David Metzgar story, but that's for another topic. I'll stop right there and just repeat Metzgar's words one more time:
David Metzgar wrote:
Do you realize that USHPA sent the local regional director to the last meeting to encourage the board to prevent reconstitution of the soaring council?
It's important for everyone to realize that this is what USHPA does to undermine pilot representation and ensure their "buddies" (translated "Jebbs" in this case) control all of our flying sites. That's why we need the US Hawks!!
).
Who's the guy in the white van?