I am trying to follow this thread on the ride fee increase for next year. Are those that are against the fee increase upset because of the actual $1.00 per ride increase or are they upset because of the way they feel the board went about voting on the increase? I have seen it requested that the proposed budget be available and I have not seen this addressed by any board members that post. Is the budget available for members at this point? If it is not when will it be available? It seems there is a lot of grumbling with how the board is being run (meaning the directors e mail list and disclosing a budget) that have nothing to do with the actual fee increase yet this fee increase seems to be the lightning rod that set many off. Do many discussing this on this list and the AERC list really feel that the fee increase is not necessary? Or is this just an accumulation of animosity with some about the manner in which the board conducts its business?
I keep seeing references to how the board voted. Is that public record now and if it is why hasn't that been posted to the list? If how the board voted hasn't been made public why is there reference to how the vote was split? Now I am really curious with all the references made to this vote on ridecamp. I guess it would be nice to see how all the directors voted especially since we have regional elections coming up. For those that are strictly against a fee hike it will be simple enough to find out how your regional directors voted and you will be able to take that into account with the upcoming election. With DAL elections two years away, keep track of their voting record on issues that concern you so you can make knowledgeable decisions on how you want to be represented.
The matter of how business is conducted by the board is a much trickier issue but certainly does deserve discussion by membership. I just don't think that combining the fee increase debate and the way the board conducts itself does either issue much justice. It seems to make each issue a little more blurry instead of bringing clarity to the discussion. I do find it distressing when I read from a former director that she was discouraged from sharing information with the membership she represented. Of course, there may have been a reasonable explanation which we haven't heard and this was with a past slate of directors so perhaps this would not happen with the directors we have today. But it is a topic that is worthy of discussion on an endurance riding list and in my opinion is certainly a more welcome topic then some of the silly threads that have taken off in the past. I must say that I do find it a little distressing that some of the posts insinuate that there is some big conspiracy going on within the board. These are all basically people we see at rides every week end as fellow riders, RMs, or ride vets that volunteer a lot of extra time to the sport as directors. I am not a Pollyanna as I am sure a few individuals are on the board for more than altruistic reasons BUT I am willing to assume that the majority are working for the good of the sport. I do believe that it would be much easier if the board were more willing to discuss issues brought forth by members and I will say that it seems that many on this year's board have been more open and more willing to post and discuss on the two main endurance lists, Ridecamp and AERC list then in the recent past. Thank you for that! But perhaps because of the recent past when numerous posts like the "budget" thread are ignored, it does give the impression that those on the board are not willing to publicly discuss a particular issue or a controversial issue and hope that thread will just die down. How hard would it be for a board member to answer John Teeter's request on viewing the budget? It is either available or it is not....pretty simple....
Just as I assume that the majority of board members are working for the greater good of the sport I am also at this point going to assume that the majority of posts criticizing the actions of the board are being fueled by the same concern of doing what is best for the sport of endurance and not personal vendettas and wars that are being aired in public. I hope that some of those that are the most vocal are running for a slot as their regional director or will consider running for a DAL position next year. I have read some great ideas on alternatives to fee hikes like opening up lifetime memberships, etc.
