[Bob Kuczewski]

Joe, your points are highly persuasive.

Without committing to the term "recreational" myself, I think it does not explicitly prohibit our support of commercial activities. For example, let's say the Board is asked whether we should endorse WindSports continued operation at Dockweiler. Well, what does our mission statement say?

The U.S. Hawks Hang Gliding Association is dedicated to promoting and protecting recreational hang gliding in the USA.

I think it's very clear that the operation at Dockweiler promotes recreational hang gliding. Not only do they train new hang gliding pilots, but they also support recreational hang gliding as we witnessed last weekend.

P.S. Bill and I were typing at the same time so I didn't see his post until after I'd pushed 'submit'. I think Bill's comments support sustaining the word "recreational". So while we might find ourselves supporting business interests as I mentioned above, the word "recreational" gives us guidance that those business interests must serve the recreational aspects and not become an end in itself.

[JoeF]

It might be profitable to name some non-recreational hang gliding:

1. Military hang gliding.
2. Criminal hang gliding.
3. Scientific hang gliding.
4. Hang gliding for hire.
5. Movie-scene hang gliding.
6. Commercial tandem hang gliding (training, joy, discovery, transportation, industrial service, ...).
7. Energy-production hang gliding where the energy is sold.
8. Paid-test-pilot hang gliding.
9. Professional photography hang gliding.
10. Professional surveying hang gliding.
11. Professional hang gliding doing aerial advertising for hire.
12. Hang gliding employed in industrial operations.
13. Hang gliding hired to fight fires.
14. Hang gliding hired to do police work.
15. Hang gliding hired to fulfill investigations by governments and businesses.
16. Hang gliding used to break immigration laws.
17. Hang gliding hired to entertain assemblies of people.
18. Hang gliding pointedly dedicated to push a political cause.
19. Hang gliding aggressively done to increase the sales of something.
20. Prison-escape hang gliding.
21. Hang gliding done to fulfill a business operation.
22. Hang gliding done to prove or to advance a non-recreation objective.

Each non-recreational hang gliding may well have its positive merits and deserving of very pointed engineering and system design, etc. The U. S. Hawks HGA could well study all non-recreational hang gliding. Non-recreational hang gliding could advertise within the platforms of U. S. Hawks HGA. Each non-recreational hang gliding sector of the universe of hang gliding may well inform and be informed by recreational hang gliding.

Adding: Recreation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreation

And: Various "parks and recreation" departments may feel higher affinity to a "recreational" focused flow. This inroad might open more sites with an equity to other recreational activities.

U.S. Hawks HGA could promote recreational hang gliding by communicating with non-recreation hang gliding people: "Advance your non-recreational hang gliding by having your employees or pilots spend time within the recreational community. And consider supporting recreational hang gliding to increase the supply of pilots for your non-recreational hang gliding needs."

[Bob Kuczewski]

I think this has been another good round of discussions on the mission statement and I'd like to introduce the following motion:

 
  1. We move this topic to the open section of the forum and we send out an email to all US Hawks members to review and provide input and discussions for 1 week.  

  2. After that week, the US Hawks Board members will each propose a small number (0 to 3) of their own best candidates for the mission statement. The period open for submissions of candidates will last 3 days from the end of the week of discussions.  

  3. All such proposals and "None of the Above" will be posted for a US Hawks Board member vote by ordering of preferences.  

  4. If the "None of the Above" candidate defeats all others or if no other candidate defeats all others, then we continue the discussions in both public and private forums as we have. If any other candidate defeats all others, it will become the US Hawks Mission Statement.  

  5. If this motion passes, the week for discussions will start from the date of the vote that approves this motion by a majority of the Board (currently 3 out of 4).  

[JoeF]

  Second the above motion   in prior post (five points).

[Bob Kuczewski]

Thanks Joe.

Now that the motion has been seconded, I vote:

  YES!!  

for the above motion.

[JoeF]

Does then the Chair call for discussion now that the motion was made and seconded?
BobK voted before such call.
If the vote is on, though, then I vote:   Yes  

[Bill Cummings]

I think this has been another good round of discussions on the mission statement and I'd like to introduce the following motion:

 
  1. We move this topic to the open section of the forum and we send out an email to all US Hawks members to review and provide input and discussions for 1 week.  

  2. After that week, the US Hawks Board members will each propose a small number (0 to 3) of their own best candidates for the mission statement. The period open for submissions of candidates will last 3 days from the end of the week of discussions.  

  3. All such proposals and "None of the Above" will be posted for a US Hawks Board member vote by ordering of preferences.  

  4. If the "None of the Above" candidate defeats all others or if no other candidate defeats all others, then we continue the discussions in both public and private forums as we have. If any other candidate defeats all others, it will become the US Hawks Mission Statement.  

  5. If this motion passes, the week for discussions will start from the date of the vote that approves this motion by a majority of the Board (currently 3 out of 4).  

  Yes  

[SamKellner]

  YES  

[Bob Kuczewski]

SUPER!!!

I have moved this topic to the public area and I will send out an email message tomorrow to all members seeking their input.

Another decision made by the Board in less than a day!!!     

[Frank Colver]

OK, here's my public input - thank you TBoD.

I propose that the mission statement include something to this effect (exact wording to be developed): To collect and archive world wide hang gliding history. It could be broken down into two periods: pre-1960 and post-1960. It could be further subdivided into US hang gliding history.

We already have a good start on this and it should be supported in the mission statement.

Respectively submitted,

Frank Colver