SSA Member Questions/SSA Leadership Answers

J. J. Sinclair wrote; in the thread, Grand Jury on SSA

'I don't necessarily agree or disagree with the accusations that have been made here on RAS about the conduct of those responsible for the operation of SSA. RAS has been operating as though it was a Grand Jury, impaneled to investigate the SSA. I wouldn't answer the questions either, here on RAS.

So where does that leave us? Accusations have been made and not answered. This only fuels suspicion in the minds of SSA members. I recommend all the accusations be taken up at the next board meeting in January, 2003. Put it on the agenda (blue book) and give all parties sufficient time to prepare their answers. I see this as the only way to clear the air and deal with this mistrust. We do have a right to a straight forward answer to these questions. SSA directors are you listening?' JJ Sinclair

I'm making this a new thread, as I do not want it to get lost in any others. I think JJ has the right idea. I do believe the SSA leadership has a responsibility to respond to questions from the SSA membership. Additionally, I firmly believe that the RAS is not the forum for this response. My reasons being that:

1. A person asking a question should at least have to identify himself 2. The person asking the question to the SSA leadership should expect an answer only if he is an SSA member 3. Questions should be asked in a civil, gentlemanly way.

JJs idea of addressing questions, not accusations, (but surely one knows that accusations can be put in the form of a gentlemanly question) in a formal manner to the board is an excellent first step and one of which I am wholeheartedly in favor and fully support.

Of course, the one drawback to submitting the questions to the board is the timeliness of the answers. Current methods of asking questions and getting quick responses, i.e. communicating with your directors and with SSA staff for some reason do not seem to be completely satisfactory to the membership. I believe that the SSA leadership is reviewing communication vehicles as we speak to determine if there is a 'fast response' method for accepting and addressing questions from the membership. There certainly may be times when the question(s) will need to be addressed by the board or a subgroup of the board as the question may generate the need for policy changes or at the least a review of current policies. However, a 'fast response' system would keep the member who asked the question informed on the status of his question/concern.

In reviewing the latest list of ras comments I believe the following is at least a start on the list of questions that the membership would like to see addressed by the SSA leadership. 1. Why is the SSA headquarters in Hobbs? 2. Has there been any thought in moving the SSA headquarters? 3. Specifically, has there been any thought to moving the SSA headquarter near Washington, DC so that our leadership can have better communication with the FAA and other lawmakers. 4. What is the salary of the SSA President? 5. How is the President's performance evaluated? 6. What process is used by the board to determine the President's salary? 7. Is it appropriate for the President's wife to work for the SSA given that the President oversee the staff and, hence, his own wife? 8. How was the decision made to hire the President's wife, i.e. who was involved in the decision? 9. Does the President's wife ever travel at SSA expense? 10. What happens to the frequent flyer miles accumulated from the SSA staff travel? 11. Why was the SSA mission statement changed?

I will personally submit these questions to the Chairman of the Board and ask that they be addressed, no later than at their next board meeting per the suggested method of Mr. Sinclair. I will inform you of his response.

I sincerely hope that this approach or one similar to this approach will help the entire membership see that the SSA leadership has but one objective - to manage the SSA in the best way possible for the members. I know of not a single person currently on the board who has a personal agenda other than to help manage the SSA to the best of their ability.

Frank Reid

Thanks for this posting, Frank.

Excellent post Frank.

My whole point of not being a member of the SSA currently is its total lack or respect for its membership and its views. If the questions you pose will be answered correctly and a plan of action comes out of it then this is all good.

The days of the 'screw them they have no right to ask' are over. This was shown with the recent DJ posts subsequent open letter about the investments. It took a lot of barracking and posting on here but we got an answer. It might not have been the answer we were looking for but it was a statement from the SSA and the people involved with the funds.

We (members past and present) need to see the SSA being more responsive and less elusive to members questions.

The SSA needs to get back to promoting the sport and sport flying and be less racing centric as it is now.

That's my 2c....

Hell if you get the questions answered and a plan of action put in place I might even rejoin.

Al

Good post Frank, you might add one more;

12. Is it appropriate for the President of the SSA to accept the position of secretary of the IGC? Who pays the travel expenses to IGC meetings and does his IGC duties have an adverse affect on the duties he is paid to perform for the SSA? JJ Sinclair

Great job Frank! Regarding item 11, I believe we were wrong to do this. Yes, I realize I was one of the guilty parties. Anyway I have taken your lead and formally asked my directors to begin work on changing it back.

JJ Here's an excerpt from a response I gave to another member directly by email that sounds like it is germaine to your question DJ

'3) It is my understanding that our representative to the IGC is Eric Moser, and that Larry Sanderson is the Secretary of the IGC. Has the SSA, at any time, paid any of Mr Sanderson's expenses involved in acting as the IGC Secretary? I have asked several SSA board members this question, and no one has given me a yes or no answer

3. Eric Mozer is indeed our representative to the IGC, volunteers his time generously, and travels at his own expense. Having a seasoned World Class contest pilot in this job is a huge plus for the SSA on the world stage. In the Fall of 2000, Eric alerted people that the IGC Secretary job was going to come up for election, and urged that Larry run for IGC Secretary. The key purpose, other than further projecting SSA internationally, was that this would give us two, rather than one vote on IGC policy, contest matters, Badge/Record matters, etc. Larry obtained specific permission from the ExComm at that time, won election, and has been serving since. He tells my that this requires 5-10 working days a year of his time, and (economy) travel twice a year to meetings, mostly held in Europe, the last just recently in Kosovo or Croatia or someplace equally unromantic. His expenses are indeed paid by the SSA as part of the travel expenditures above. My personal opinion is that this access to the key worldwide body regulating soaring is well worth the cost of a couple of plane trips. Others may disagree.'

Thanks for the information, Bob.

Just out of curiosity, what were the issues / thinking that prompted the change in the first place... Doesn't sound like something that would just 'come up'. And it is hard for me to imagine a rationale...

Wondering,

Larry Goddard

Thanks for the reply, Doug. I have recommended to a couple of Directors that a *Blue Ribbon Panel* be appointed at the next meeting to step back and take a long hard look at the What? Where? and Why? of SSA. Key questions should be; Where are we? How did we get here? Where do we want to go from here? This panel should be made up of members from all geographic areas (east, central & west) and members who have expertise in Clubs, FBO's, Recreational Soaring and Competition. There should be *no holds barred* on the areas the panel looks at including the location of headquarters and those we employ to run it. They should take a hard look at those areas we can afford to support and those areas that are beyond our means. Recommendations should be presented to the full board for action as they see fit.

At the present time, I do not have a very good feeling about where we are and where we are headed. JJ Sinclair

Great idea.

Larry,

I'm not sure I remember exactly. I think the rationale was that the original statement was 'stale' and the the SSA had and was changing and need a new stated purpose.

I well remember the 'Old,' Stale SSA. When I flew a pretty good flight in a Schweizer 1-26, back in the'70s, an SSA staff member would be one of the first to phone and ask details of the flight and offer to help write an article for Soaring magazine.

It was called 'Fostering & Promoting' back then and the staff member fully understood the importance of recognition to encourage even a newcomer to the sport with an article for their peers to read.

Fostering and Promoting is no longer in evidence with the 'New' SSA.

And membership has declined 22% in the past 20 years. The few of us left are having fun, but perhaps more fun would be had if there were more of us.

Tom Knauff