Bob Kuczewski wrote:In December of 2008 I was elected as USHPA's newest Region 3 Director defeating the incumbent David Jebb. David Jebb was the owner of Air California Adventure that had operated the Torrey Pines Gliderport (through a free lease) since 1998. I defeated Jebb by a vote of 122 to 98. He was humiliated because he thought he was undefeatable. His loyalist crowd hated me from that instant and they began working on a recall immediately. It would be a year and a quarter into my two year term before they could succeed.
The USHPA "insiders" (like Mark Forbes and Tim Herr) worked against me at every turn. I personally purchased site insurance for the Torrey Hawks with cash at the USHPA counter. The office staff accepted the payment and issued a receipt for $250 (order ID 141669) dated March 31st, 2009. But Mark Forbes (insurance chairman) refused to issue the site insurance because it would have given the City of San Diego an alternative to Air California Adventure.
Right there USHPA undermined the sport of recreational hang gliding to protect the paragliding business monopoly at Torrey.
It gets worse, but I'll spare you about 10 years of USHPA's malfeasance and get to USHPA's refusal to renew the Torrey Hawks in 2016.
The earlier post showed the Torrey Hawks Chapter renewal status from early 2008 through early 2016. We tried to apply for renewal in 2016 just like every other year, but USHPA simply refused to process the paperwork. We jumped through all the hoops and we met all the requirements. Our Region 3 Director Ken Andrews assured myself and our club President Brian McMahon that it would be processed, but it never was. Here's Ken's exact email message from May 27th, 2016:
On Fri, 27 May 2016, Ken Andrews wrote:Bob and all,
I expect that the USHPA office will process your chapter renewal without problem. If you encounter any further difficulty, let me know, and I'll do what I can to help.
-Ken
That was over 3 years ago. USHPA didn't renew the Torrey Hawks. We let Ken Andrews know about it (as he requested) and he didn't "help" at all. He did nothing.
Now that should be big news in the sport of hang gliding. USHPA denied insurance to a USHPA Chapter for no valid reason, and USHPA refused to renew a hang gliding chapter for no valid reason. But neither of those things can be widely disseminated because Jack (hanggliding.org) and Davis (ozreport.com) will threaten anyone who mentions the Hawks clubs. So the USHPA propaganda machine can post whatever they want without opposition.
So, bringing it back to the topic at hand ... Rick Masters
said it perfectly on March 21st, 2015:
Rick Masters wrote:People talk about the sport of hang gliding dying. It's not dying. It's being murdered. By the U$hPA.
If we want to save the sport of hang gliding, we have to recognize and oppose the forces that are murdering it.
========================== Documents ==========================
Receipt for Site Insurance dated March 31st, 2009:
- Site_Insurance_Receipt_2009c.png (8.14 KiB) Viewed 665 times
Proof of USHPA's denied Site Insurance with paid premium on file with USHPA:
- DOC041811_Returned_Checkc.png (17.54 KiB) Viewed 665 times