Bob Kuczewski's Motion to Amend the Chapter Support Report: To ask USHPA's representative on the TPSC to work to increase our sports' representation on the Torrey Pines Soaring Council to bring our total HG/PG representation from 2 to 3 so we will have the same number of HG/PG representatives as the RC clubs have.

The motion to amend passes 12 in favor, 10 against

From: Bob Kuczewski <bobkuczewski@gmail.com>
Subject: Spring 2010 Board Resolution
To: (USHPA Board Members and others)
Cc: (USHPA's Soaring Council Representative)
Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 4:21 AM

Members of the USHPA Board (with cc/bcc to others),

I am writing in reference to the following USHPA Board Resolution which was passed by a vote of the USHPA Directors at the Spring Board meeting in March of 2010:


I am writing to ask if any actions have been taken toward fulfilling that resolution or not. Have any motions been made at the Soaring Council by our representative? Have any letters of endorsement been sent to the Soaring Council or the other local/national clubs? Has any action been taken at all? Is any action planned for the upcoming Soaring Council meeting on November 14th?

I am writing because I find it very disturbing that the entire USHPA Board can vote and approve a very simple initiative and yet seven months later not a finger has been lifted to carry out that initiative. Does anyone else find this disturbing?

I apologize for circulating this beyond my own Region 3 Directors, but their track record has already demonstrated an unwillingness to help, so I have no other option than appeal to the entire Board.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help or any constructive replies.

Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski
Former Regional Director - USHPA Region 3
Club Secretary and Founder - Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club

Mr. Kuczewski,


DO NOT EMAIL, CALL, OR MAKE ANY ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME.


Further contact on your part, for any reason will be considered spam and harrassment.


Felipe Amunategui

I called Bob and discussed all this with him today. I'm hopeful we can move forward on these issues in a productive way. I will report back from time to time. Until then, I'm inclined to keep the discussion off-line.

Rich

Bob,

You were present at the Torrey Pines Soaring Council meeting when Ken Baier, the USHPA representative on that Council, brought up this issue. The meeting was a few months ago, and after I became the director for region 3. I helped Ken at the meeting formulate the wishes of the USHPA Board using a copy of an e-mail that Ken had sent out a few days earlier. The TPSC decided at that meeting that they did not need or want any new members. They feel that all interests are adequately represented.

Bill Helliwell
Region 3 Director

(This message is being sent to all that were on Bob's original distribution list. Any future discussion by me regarding this issue will be sent to a much smaller list. Bill H)

Members of the Board (and others),

Bill Helliwell's response (below) demonstrates why he cannot be trusted to fairly report the facts at Torrey...

Bill knows that the USHPA representative (Ken Baier) did NOT make a motion compliant with the Board's resolution. Ken did begin to speak on the subject, but he was quickly cut off by Jim Wright who represents Bill's own club (the SDHGPA). Jim also did NOT propose a motion compliant with the Board's resolution, but instead proposed a motion that the Soaring Council was "satisfied" with its current representation. That was a politically correct way for the 3 RC clubs and 2 sailplane clubs to skirt the issue of balancing the Council based on a concrete request. Jim's motion allowed them to retain an unfair and inequitable representation without actually voting against adding a new member. This was NOT in keeping with the Board's resolution to increase our representation on the Council ... and Bill knows it.

With regard to the representation itself, it's been 2 years since any sailplanes have flown at Torrey, and yet they have TWO representatives on the Council. Hang glider and paraglider pilots fly there every day, yet we only have two representatives for BOTH sports - essentially ONE each. That's crazy. Even worse, the RC clubs have THREE representatives for their single sport - which isn't even a manned sport. So Bill Helliwell's apparent acceptance of that imbalance demonstrates that his loyalty is to representing HIS SIDE above the general welfare and representation of our sports. He's willing to shoot us all in the foot rather than allow any representation for those pilots with a differing point of view.

Of course the RC and sailplane clubs are going to prefer that lop-sided representation. Of course they're going to say they're "satisfied". But it's much harder for them to actually vote against a legitimate club (the Torrey Hawks) which has been applying to the Council since 2007 than to say they're "satisfied". That's why they still haven't taken a vote on the Hawks' application in the 3 years that it's been pending. Bill's acceptance of this under-representation for our sports demonstrates that he's a puppet of the concessionaire. The concessionaire supported Bill in the recall (with a big sign right on the front counter!!) and now Bill is paying them back by selling out half of his Region. Disgusting.

Finally, it is shameful for Bill Helliwell to distort the facts as he has to the USHPA Board. It is shameful for Bill to use his position as Director to promote his club above another. I never asked for the SDHGPA to be removed from the Council. Instead, I have always advocated for the Council to contain ALL viewpoints and to represent ALL of our members. BOTH clubs have valid viewpoints and valid concerns. That's why BOTH clubs should have a vote in deciding what should happen at Torrey. I have stood for fairness for all sides, but Bill Helliwell has not. His willingness to cost USHPA thousands of dollars to have me recalled is clear proof that Bill (and his supporters) want all the marbles at any cost. They want to control everything and are not at all interested in sharing any oversight at Torrey. If Bill is allowed to have his way, and if Bill is able to keep USHPA from supporting all of its chapters fairly (as we voted in Spring of 2010), then he will be lending even more support to the need for an alternate national organization for our sports. I have spoken to Rich Hass about this, and I am hopeful that he will work to uphold the resolution we all passed last spring, and I am hopeful he will work to ensure that all of USHPA's members and chapters are fairly represented by USHPA. I ask all USHPA Directors to endorse fair representation. I ask all USHPA Directors to keep their word with regard to the resolution we passed last spring. That will increase our member's faith in USHPA and in its ability to keep its promises. I'm sorry to have to bring this to you again, and I had hoped that the Spring vote would have settled this matter. Unfortunately, the record shows that it did not. Let's have USHPA follow through with its resolution and move forward as the organization that our members deserve.

Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski
Club Secretary - Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club

Hi Joe (cc/bcc others),

Thanks again for your distribution of the minutes and the agenda.

I again ask that the application of the Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club be added to the agenda for the November 15th meeting. Our club applied to the Soaring Council in writing on September 12th of 2007, and we have applied in writing and in person at every meeting since that time. The Council has still not voted on that request as outlined in the Council's own bylaws.

Our club has continued to grow and we currently have over 220 members. We have held our regular club fly-in / meeting on the Second Sunday of every month for nearly 2 years, and we have contributed to the Gliderport by donating a "Hook In" sign for the hang glider launch and by bringing a renewed interest in hang gliding at that site. We have hosted book signings and supported the National Hang Gliding and Paragliding Day events at that site.

The Soaring Council remains unbalanced with 3 representatives for the sport of RC flying and only 2 representatives for the sports of hang gliding and paragliding - combined. USHPA has passed a resolution to increase our combined representation at that site, and the obvious candidate (in fact, the only candidate) would be the Torrey Hawks. So I once again ask that the addition of the Torrey Hawks be added to the agenda for the November 15th meeting. Please let me know if this can be done or not.

Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski
Club Secretary and Founder - Torrey Hawks Hang Gliding Club

Here's what I got back from USHPA Regional Director Felipe Amunategui:


A response like that is totally inappropriate from a Regional Director to a USHPA member. If anyone wants to know what's wrong with USHPA, it's on display right there.

Hello Fellow Directors,

I just wanted to write a quick note thanking everyone for
the recent Board meeting. I appreciated the discussions,
and I appreciated getting the Board's support for adding
another USHPA Chapter to the Torrey Pines Soaring
Council. So ... T H A N K S ! ! !

Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski
858-204-7499

Bob,

You are welcome. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Rich

Bob,

I want to remind you of the words you uttered during general session: "If you grant me this I will never bother you again". Now that your interests have been fulfilled, I appeal to any thread of integrity you may have: R E S I G N!

Felipe

Hello Filipe (and others),

I believe I communicated that if the Board voted to endorse USHPA's representative to give fair representation to our clubs on the Soaring Council (which it has), then that issue could be handled locally by our representative (Ken Baier). So as long as Ken is working diligently toward that goal, then it becomes a local matter with USHPA's support (as it always should have been). In that case (which currently exists), there is no need for me to bring it to the Board and you will not be hearing from me regarding that issue.

But that's not saying I would resign my Directorship or stop performing my other duties as a Director. It just means that the Torrey issue is being handled locally by USHPA's local representative with USHPA's clear direction to support a more balanced Soaring Council. Thanks.

There are still several other issues that I believe deserve some attention, and I will continue to work toward them whether I am a Director or not. I may lose the recall, but I believe I will still get a significant number of votes. Those people don't disappear just because there's more votes on the other side any more than hang gliding should disappear if we have more paragliders in USHPA. Both sides will still deserve representation, and I will work toward that. If one side is adamantly opposed to giving the other side that fair representation, then that condition will often result in a split and the formation of a new organization. I am hoping that doesn't happen, but it's not in my hands. I will point out that we have two clubs in San Diego because the SDHGPA refused to appoint any biwingual representatives to the Soaring Council. Instead they only appointed PG pilots with close ties to the concession. It's that kind of arrogant behavior that fuels the desire for alternatives. I hope USHPA won't go down that road.

And that brings me to my final few points. I have asked for some very reasonable things (like more open voting by the Board). It would be wise for USHPA to recognize these as positive suggestions and work to implement them regardless of your like (or dislike) of me. By embracing good ideas from any source, USHPA can show that it can rise above petty personality conflicts to work for the good of our sports. But if it cannot do that, then it will demonstrate the opposite. At this last Board meeting, I asked to discuss the "Accountability Amendment" at both the O&B committee and the general session. Both Dave Wills and Lisa Tate refused to even allow the topic to be brought up for discussion. This violated even the simplest rules of order, and I will be interested to see how that shows up in the Board minutes! My point here is that we need to move past these "I don't like you, so I'm not going to vote for anything you propose" attitudes. My message of thanks was targeted at those who demonstrated their own ability to rise above petty politics by voting to support adding a new Chapter to the Soaring Council. Those were not votes of support for Bob Kuczewski. Those were votes of support for doing the right thing despite Bob Kuczewski. That's the high road, and I encourage all Directors to take that route.

Thanks again for a great Board meeting!!

Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski

Now that we have been properly chastised and educated by Bob, let’s look at some facts. The board did not endorse the USHPA’s rep to give fair representation to “OUR CLUBS” on the soaring council as Bob stated. The passed motion read “to increase OUR SPORTS rep. on the TPSC. Big difference here. (if you listen to the Soaring Council tapes - which I have - you'll find that Brad is putting words in my mouth here. I made it clear that the Board voted to increase our representation and not specifically add the Hawks as he is implying) In fact, the board went out of its way to remove Bob’s language that named his club, the hawks. (That's not accurate either. I agreed to a friendly amendment to change that language during the discussion of the resolution. That's not the same as the board going "out of its way to remove to remove Bob's language". Brad is again distorting what really happened) 2 days after our BoD meeting, Bob attended the TPSC meeting. Anyone want to guess how the USHPA motion was misrepresented? Do you think the hawks were named specifically as the club the USHPA endorsed adding to the soaring council? (At one point I did mention the Hawks, but I followed with clarification that the Board had only voted to increase our representation. There was no attempt at deception as Brad is implying. Furthermore, in the three years that the Council had been meeting, there was only one club that's ever applied. So it was pretty obvious that we were talking about the Hawks. Even so, I repeated the Board's language as accurately as I had it so there would be no question. Brad knew that and was lying to the Board in his message. We can check the tapes if anyone questions this.) Let’s hear your version of events and language Bob. Somehow I am sure it will differ from all others that attended the meeting. Is this

An example of “the high road” Bob?

Your statements that imply the SDHGPA has no representation on the TPSC that isn’t PG’er or concession controlled is but another example of your propensity to twist the facts to fit your presentations. (Brad is trying to put words in my mouth here as well. If you read what I wrote above, I said "I will point out that we have two clubs in San Diego because the SDHGPA refused to appoint any biwingual representatives to the Soaring Council. Instead they only appointed PG pilots with close ties to the concession." That is absolutely true. There were no hang glider pilots at all on the Soaring Council from the time that the Council was restarted until the Torrey Hawks applied for admission on September 12th, 2007. That was prior to Jim Wright being appointed and prior to Brad Hall being appointed. So my statement was absolutely true that we had two clubs in San Diego because the SDHGPA - and even USHPA - refused to appoint any hang glider pilots until AFTER the Hawks applied for admission. The record is clear if anyone wants to check. It's also true that the SDHGPA tried to appoint Gabe Jebb - the concessionaire's son! - followed with several other PG pilots with close ties to the concession. Brad either knew all of this and lied in his message to the Board, or Brad is just unable to remember the facts. Either case does not speak well of him as a USHPA Director.) Jim Wright is a long time hg pilot and recent pg pilot with far more flying talent, and experience at Torrey, then you can ever hope to have. He is the SDHGPA rep and is serving his second year as such. A fact well known to you. (Again, Brad tries to imply I said something that I didn't say. Maybe his reading comprehension needs work. I didn't say that the Council didn't have hang glider pilots. I said that we have two clubs in San Diego because the SDHGPA refused to appoint any biwingual representatives. They only appointed PG pilots with close ties to the concessionaire, and that's one of the primary reasons the Hawks were formed. The fact that both the SDHGPA and USHPA immediately changed their representatives to include hang gliding pilots AFTER the Hawks applied is further evidence that those changes were made for the explicit purpose of keeping the Hawks off the Council. I had asked the SDHGPA for an HG or biwingual representative for months and they ignored that request until the Hawks applied. Brad's inability to follow my logical point here is either a sign of diminished capacity or of outright deception. Brad's similar misrepresentation of the Soaring Council to the USHPA EC and USHPA Board is likely at the heart of many of our past problems.) He does not work for or represent the concession. Your saying so does not make it true. I served As USHPA rep to the TPSC. I am a hg pilot. I did not serve the wishes of the concession.

(First of all, both Brad Hall and Jim Wright have served the wishes of the concession. Heck, Brad Hall allowed David Jebb to pick Doug Poirier for the Soaring Council even though Jebb had a conflict of interest in doing so. Brad Hall deceptively covered for Jebb by saying that he (Brad) had picked Poirier when Brad didn't even know who he was until AFTER Jebb had sent Poirier to the Council representing USHPA! Second, on every issue, whether it was fairness for pilots kicked out, or fixing the $100 outside tandem fee, or adding the Hawks, or any other issue, both Jim Wright and Brad Hall did exactly as the concession wanted. They were Jebb's puppets on the Council. But even though that's all true, that wasn't what I said anyway. I said that "we have two clubs in San Diego because the SDHGPA refused to appoint any biwingual representatives to the Soaring Council. Instead they only appointed PG pilots with close ties to the concession." That clearly refers to the pilots - like Gabe Jebb, and Roy, and Scott who did have close ties to the concession - prior to the Hawks applying. But again, Brad Hall either didn't have the reading comprehension to understand that, or he didn't have the honesty to properly represent it.)

Again, your saying it is so does not make it true. In fact in many cases, your saying anything is grounds to suspect deception.

(I didn't say what Brad said I said ... so he's lying by implying that I said anything untrue. His comment about "your saying anything is grounds to supect deception" is Brad Hall's way of calling me a liar without backing it up in any way.)

Let me get this straight. You are telling the BoD what the wise thing to do would be? There has not been a single thing you have done as a RD that could even remotely be described as wise. (My proposal of the Accountability Amendment was very very wise. Even if I didn't do a single other thing as RD, that proposal alone shows Brad Hall to be a liar.) To imply that all who don’t agree with your view are guilty of petty politics is but another example of why you are so universally despised. (I am not "universally despised". I got more votes supporting me in the recall election than most Directors have ever gotten. That's proof of Brad's lies and/or gross exaggerations right there. Done.) You have been the undisputed master of innuendo and smear tactics. (I don't use innuendo. I come right out and call you a liar Brad. No innuendo at all. I don't use "smear tactics". I just tell the truth about what you've done, and you end up smearing yourself.) You have threatened many on the board and accused many of unethical and “possibly illegal” actions. (Directors have a right to know everything about what is happening in their corporation. The Directors of USHPA represent the members who are the ultimate owners of the corporation. This is borne out by their ability to hire and fire the Directors during our annual elections. It is improper, unethical, and possibly illegal for the Executive Committee to hold meetings which bar Directors. Period.) You have cost the association a great deal of time and money with you self serving actions. (If you're talking about the Secret EC meetings, it was Lisa Tate and the EC who chose to bar Directors. The costs are theirs. If you're talking about the recall election, then it was Doug Poirier, Bill Helliwell, and the Torrey concessionaire who couldn't wait until the fall election and forced the recall. To blame either of those on me shows your own twisted viewpoint. Furthermore, my actions were never "self-serving". My actions were taken to represent the pilots who elected me and who have had no other representation through you.) The high road is way beyond your reach. (I have been open and above board in all of my actions - often copying the EC and the Board on my communications. You, on the other hand, went behind everyone's backs to write your letters to Councilwoman Donna Frye and who knows who else. When you were asked to produce your communications, you stonewalled, until I had to get them from the Councilwoman herself. You Brad, are a sneak, and you have no grounds to make a statement like that about me.) Following the smoke trail of burning bridges leads us directly to you. (Nice imagery, but that doesn't make it true. It just makes it a flowery lie.) There is not one organization, starting from the first day you came on the scene a few years ago, that does not want to be rid of you for good. (I ran unopposed as the Torrey Hawks President for 3 years until I voluntarily stepped down to encourage a new President this year. That's one organization that you seem to overlook. I guess those 200+ pilots don't count in your book. I guess all the pilots who voted for me in the elections don't count either.) No need to list them all, you know exactly who they are. If, as you allude to on the forums, you are ready to start a competing org., please, move on and do so. (Welcome to the US Hawks!! ) You have done enough damage here. (Any damage has been done by you and your puppet master David Jebb. Jebb mistreated good USHPA members at Torrey for years, and you sat by and covered up his dirty deeds. I've just come along to expose this filthy mess, and that doesn't look very good on you - does it Brad?)

Brad,

Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. I am not responding to the rant, and we should do our best to just ignore this type of writing. We have to just keep an eye on hard facts such as monies spent in unnecessary legal consultation as just one example of how disruptive this has become. (Whose fault was that Felipe? A director asks to attend an EC meeting, and the EC consults their lawyer. Whose fault is that?) The fact is that through very hard work from a lot of people for a long time our organization is in a path of continuous improvement, and Bob is disrupting this without reasonable justification. We have to stick to the facts. (Did it ever occur to Felipe that I may have been elected by pilots who wanted to see some changes at USHPA? Did it ever occur to him that pilots might have wanted some help from their national organization with the problems at Torrey? Did it ever occur to Felipe that pilots might want to know how their own Directors were voting? Did it ever occur to Felipe that pilots might want their Directors to know what the EC was doing? I guess not. To him, all those actions were simply "disrupting" his status quo.)

All I did was remind him of what he said, and I also expressed a wish. I think there is nothing wrong with that. (Doing some justification and back-pedalling here Felipe?) So I am not looking to defend anything other than the way we have done business in this organization for years, which keeps improving as time goes on. (How does it keep improving when suggestions for change are shunned?) My observation is that this guy drains resources and is destructive. (I've asked for reasonable changes - open voting, open EC meetings, support for chapters and pilots. The only resources being drained are by those who resist those reasonable changes.)

I have no investment in his issue either way, and I have no beef with him at all. ( )

My concern is that a lot of effort has gone into improving the workings of the organization, and this guy interferes and disrupts the improvement process unnecessarily. (Boo hoo. How about open voting? How about open EC meetings? How about supporting chapters and pilots?)

I have attempted several times to approach Bob, to listen to him, and to understand where he comes from. (When?) From a logical/rational perspective, his arguments may have merit. (Yup. So why haven't they passed? Oh yeah, "But we don't like Bob so we can't pass anything he suggests." Felipe and many members of the USHPA Board are worse than a bunch of Junior High girls!) I have also helped to generate some discussion on his issues in the hopes of eliminating the need for a coercive approach to his aims. Nothing seems to dissuade Bob on his unnecessarily destructive process. (So, how's that Accountability Amendment coming along Felipe? How about the resolution to increase our representation on the Soaring Council? I've been off the Board for a full meeting cycle now, and nothing has been done. But blame Bob's approaches for USHPA's failure to do what's right ... even after he's gone!)

I object the process whereby Bob goes after his goals because it threatens the very entity that he is relying to accomplish his goals. It amounts to a form of coercion that knows no limit: "the end justify the means" approach. As a member of the board with a fiduciary obligation to the organization it concerns me greatly to have a board member that so explicitly adopts this approach, rather than collaboration. Hence my statements. (My approach is simple. I ask for what is reasonable. When my reasonable requests are blocked, I do my best to shine the light on whoever is blocking them. You can call it whatever you like, but that's what I do to accomplish reasonable goals. I'm sure it's not comfortable if you're the one blocking blocking those goals, and to that, I say "boo hoo" ... and get over it.)

What else can be said about this? We have a newcomer among our midst who appears to have no perspective or regard for the effort that has taken to bring the organization this point, (sometimes called a fresh set of eyes) and who is willing to destroy whatever is necessary to accomplish his goals even after ample efforts from many have been made to invite him to participate constructively. (See my approach above. I ask for reasonable things. If you're willing to bring the house down rather than grant open voting by the board, open EC meetings for Directors, and support for chapters and pilots, then you're the ones willing to destroy whatever is necessary to keep me from accomplishing my goals.) Other than calling it by its name, I don't know what else to do.

It is not his ideas or interests; it is how he is going about it that concerns me, and these are just my concerns. All I have done is make a record of such. (If that were really true, then rather than tearing me down, Felipe should be figuring out a way to use his own "superior skills" to accomplish reasonable things like open voting, open EC meetings, and chapter/pilot support. Checkmate.)

Now I am going flying. We do this for fun! Remember?!

Felipe