Old wrote:

So who and what are we supposed to believe? Those that got us in this mess or the current mess.....or none of the above.

 

Good question, and you're right, this is a mess.

Here are my thoughts, just me, not speaking for the Board here:

To all of you that have been following this post, thank you. I am sure you are all just as tired of it as I am. But I want you to think about why this thread exists in the first place. It exists because a group of entitled, elite, members think they know better. They think they can choose a board of directors better than you can, they think they can jump in without fully knowing the current situation and run the club better than the current Board.

And the ultimate farce is that they think they can rip the current board out and have 2,150 grateful members ready to follow them to the ends of the Earth. What happens when a couple months later another "Concerned" group calls a unilateral meeting, has a small fraction of the membership show up at a location of their choosing and votes THIS "Concerned" group out? Is that really the way it works? Is that the way you want this Club to be run? What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.

Fortunately, our bylaws and Oregon law doesn't allow for things to be done the way they are doing them. If a group wants to replace the Board, there is a way to do it, just not the way this groups is going about it.

What they don't care about is that one way or the other, whether they are successful or not, they are going to rip this Club apart for no reason other than to stroke their egos. If they think that the membership will remain intact after all this, they are very sadly mistaken. The sad part is, it did not have to happen, but the "Concerned" group out of their "goodwill" toward the Club has put it at the greatest risk it has been in since the last time they were in charge. 

The other thing is that only 20% of the membership uses this forum at all, a much smaller number will actually see this post. But those older members that don't come on here will all have gotten that rather "official" looking letter and be duped into thinking it is legitimate, they don't know that at least four of the names on that list shouldn't be there, it will alarm them, and some will even make the trip to Morton. Is that really the right thing to do?

I'm fed up, I want to come on here and see seyser's photos, see machines that people bring home or are working on, learn from the the old 'hands' and experts that graciously come on here and share. I want to enjoy being a part of and a servant of this club.

This Board isn't perfect, but I know damn sure that we're trying our best. I know damn sure that we're working harder than the pay scale. And I know DAMN sure there ain't nobody lining up to fill board seats. Not even these clowns.

There's a lot of bitching about how this is a US Club, and how the number of board seats held by our oversees brothers and sisters should be limited. All I have to say to that is: OK Americans, I don't see a SINGLE ONE OF YOU lining up to lead this Club. You want Americans on the board, put your name in the hat and get to it, otherwise, shut up, and be glad that someone is willing to do the work.

You might detect that I'm pissed, and you'd be right. These people have used good member's names on their letter that did not authorize it, they have been deceitful in that they imply that they have "Been patient with and supported the current leadership in finding its way", and they say that they have been "trying alternate strategies". What a crock of condescending shit. No such thing has been happening. One of the leaders of this effort, Peter Bloom, dropped his membership at the end of 2018 and only rejoined the club on September 3rd this year. Gone for four years and now he knows better? Shut the door.
 
I'd ask you to tell these people to do it right, or get out of town. Call your meeting off, approach the board properly and actually work for the betterment of the Club.

If they or any group, wants to do it right and through the proper process, removes the board and installs a properly elected board, by all means do so, I have no problem with it.

What each member has to ask: Do you really expect that the people that got us into this mess in the first place, can magically, using the same ideas they had before, deliver a different result?

Kurt Bangert

Thank you Deas for your comment and Haus, you have some good insight. Haus, I do think that so far the BoD has taken the high road in this. My posts on behalf of the board on here have been blunt, but pleasant. We advised this group to not send the letter to no avail. This board wants to see the Club succeed and we didn't start the fight.

I didn't come to this Club for the politics, I didn't agree to be on the board so I could be political. One of the reasons I am even around this Club is that these machines give me an escape from all that, there's more than plenty politics available elsewhere if that's what you want.

ACMOC is not immune to the same forces at play with all clubs of this type, memberships are not growing in any of them. There are new "competitors" via YouTube and other social electronic mediums. We have a large segment of membership that has far fewer sunrises ahead than behind. These are just facts. Also, the club has missed a lot of opportunities over the years, to be relevant on YouTube, the Club should have been on top of that a DECADE ago, someone should have been on top of the social media accounts for years, and they have been ignored.

You don't grow organizations these days by having more in-person events or making more toys, or printing more magazines. I get that those were successful 20-30 years ago, but we're not back then. If I ran my business like I did 20 years ago, I wouldn't have a business. Fact.

A lot of folks just want to go back to the way it was, when heads turned the other way on things that should not have been ignored, when everyone could convince themselves that models would perpetually make the coffers overflow and that modernization could be ignored.

80%, Let me repeat that - 80% of the membership has never been on this website. An astounding percentage don't have email. Think about that for a minute. Really think about it. How many people do you know, that are under the age of 65 that don't have email and don't use the internet? 

Where do you think this club is headed if 80% do not use the internet? And now with the shenanigans of the "Concerned" group wanting to take us all back to the "good 'ol days", I ask you how can the Club survive it? They will tell you they have the answer. Yeah? 

 

I will just reinforce what has already been said. I can affirm that the Club has problems but we were working on them. Our problem with Chapters goes all the way back to when some of the "Concerned Members" were on the Board and chose to ignore these problems. This Board decided that the problem has been buried tor too long and was attempting to do something about it. Unfortunately, the way in which we went about it has proven wrong. We are admitting that problem and adjusting our approach. We will be asking the Chapter leadership to participate in finding the solutions to the problems at hand. They will be given sufficient information to be able to come to an equitable conclusion so as many as possible will be content. Now if they fail to do their duty, that will be on them. We tried and failed. It will be up to them. If they decide to not do anything and at some point in the future an accident happens at a chapter sponsored public event and lawsuits appear because the Club did not follow the proper rules, then my sympathies will be shallow at best. There is RISk out there in the world and we can ignore it at our peril

I will also say that I believe the "Concerned Members" have chosen a path that will be very destructive to the Club. Will it survive? I don't know but whatever happens, they must shoulder the BLAME!
Jan Meermans - retiring after 6 years of being a Director. I will always treasure the member support shown to me over those years. ..