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> organisation is heading, as well as the fees charged to get there. Policies
> such as the current fee increase, the drug-testing mess, the new computer
> system the hefty raise for management were all implemented without a vote of
> approval from the membership, which I find offensive, as it resembles a
> little too closely what is happening in our state and federal capitols.
I have to say something about this. The AERC is not a democracy (and if
you look back in history you will not find much by way of successful
democracies...but that is ENTIRELY unrelated to endurance). The AERC is a
representative organization (with volunteer representatives no less).
The general membership elects people to represent them giving them the
power to make decisions on the running of the organization for them. If
you don't like the decisions they are making, you can volunteer to do the
job yourself, and run for director (yes, Terry, I understand that you are,
and you have my vote). These are rarely ever heavily contested elections
and the cost of nomination is...$5...so it ain't like it's gonna set you
back a fortune to run and lose (like in political campaigns).
It is my understanding that many of the members do not even bother to
return their ballot (I have been guilty of this myself, since I don't have
strong opinions one way or the other about who represents me...at
least...so far I haven't, so I'll let the people who do have strong
opinions have more weight in their votes---this is called abstaining,
btw).
To suggest that all matters should be put to a general election
is.....absolutely absurd,, would be a logistical nightmare, and extremely
expensive...all that postage, you know.
I must admit, I cannot say that I think the $10 registration fee was
"sprung" on the membership as there has been rumblings and suggestions
about it for a couple years now (in fact, I think I recommended it to them
right after they upped the annual dues as a better way of doing "fee for
service"). I know that it was mentioned in a letter to the editor a few
years back. The directors did not pick this idea out of the clear blue
sky, and I perceive it as a way for the AERC to NOT have to resort to
raising annual dues for....non-riders.
Incidentally, you don't have to have the AERC track the mileage on your
horse for you, you CAN do it yourself, and if you are only going to a few
rides a year that would be simple.
My personal preference would have been for them to charge for
participation in the annual awards program, since awards are a big cost
for the AERC, and keep track of the 1000 mile horse program as part of
membership. This makes it so that the people winning the awards are the
ones paying for them, but lifetime membership gets you lifetime
acheivement tracking for your horse.
If not enough people want to participate in the awards program to generate
enough money to buy awards, then we know that there isn't that much
interest in the awards themselves....and we shouldn't be giving them.
Additionally, when I compare the $10 for registration for my endurance
horse compared to the $100 that I pay to the AHSA for lifetime nomination
in their awards program ($35/year) and the $125 lifetime that I pay the
PHR for the Silver Stirrup awards program ($30/year), I figure this is a
bargain.
kat
Orange County, <Calif.
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