Jason, The hint of unhappiness with the standard of currency of ads in the magazine is well put. In fact I received personal assurances from the editorial staff, (after complaining that the joke had gone on far too long), the offending ad would not appear in the next (current) issue. Well, perhaps they just forgot.
Putting that aside, I did attend the last ACM as an observer. There were a lot of people there and all were as passionately interested in our sport as any I have seen. The group spent the day (and obviously many other days apart from this one), dealing with the challenges that our modern times present to enjoying our sport. I was pleased to note that the state reps all seemed to be willing to work together on the issues tabled whilst I was there, which has not always been so evident in the past. The development officer role is admirably filled, and Terry has some definitive goals and soundly based plans to achieve them. We are well represented. It is always easy to snipe at the lead group , they are visible targets for easy shots without reprisal. Which is yet another reason I will be receding into the ranks soon. But be in no doubt- these unpaid overworked persons are trying their best to help promote our sport. I look forward to seeing you at the Camden Safety Seminar on 17th Nov. Glenn McLean RTO/Ops NSW Central * There are two thing needed to fly- airspeed and money* ----- Original Message ----- From: jason armistead <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, 9 November 2001 12:39 Subject: Re: [aus-soaring] GFA AGM info (was re: glider wanted) > Quoting Mike Borgelt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > Do I detect a faint hint of ongoing unhappiness with the magazine and > > its "perpetrators"? > > Here comes the sigh from the list members again ... "oh no, more magazine > bashing !" > > I can understand the sentiment of Mike's comment though - I also seem to recall > that a canopy (Arrow ?) from Benalla had likewise been sold some time ago yet > still appears each month in the GFA Classifieds along with the aforementioned > Hornet. > > A few of my pet peeves: > > There has been a recent series of articles to do with electrics and radio on > trikes. WHY, oh WHY can't the editor and sub-editors at least agree that maybe > we we use radios and electrics too ? These articles have a GENERAL interest, > not just for the trike pilots, yet they (and even the writers to some extent) > seem to like to stick their heads in the sand and pretend they're targeting one > audience i.e. the one that concerns THEIR discipline. With some small > editorial changes they would be relevant to more disciplines (with appropriate > icons at the page top) e.g. trikes with radios are like gliders (with radios !) > and motor gliders (with both motor and radio) and maybe even paramotors (I > presume these have radios fitted ?) > > If the powers that be can't even amalgamate the magazine, then what hope did > they really have of amalgamating GFA with HGFA ? > > I am also finding the "advertorials" a bit tedious. I mean, we all know that > Bernhard Eckey is the ASH/ASW agent in Australia, but do we need to have cover > photos, centerfolds and test flight reports each month ? Mike - maybe you > should write a B2000 article, complete with sexy centrefold shots of it and > then you wouldn't have to worry about paying for advertising ! LOL > > On the plus side, it was good to see an article on the Gloucester ridge camp - > just a bunch of ordinary club members from the grass roots of the GFA > membership having a great time. There should be more of this. And also Cath > Conway's article on her son's experiences in a glider. That's got me head down > writing an article about my experiences, and those of my 3rd generation gliding > 5 year old son. Watch AG in the new year !!! > > > Don't forget these same people occasionally interface with the > > government and claim to represent you. > > > > Pity they haven't faced an election. > > > > Slightly related, has the GFA annual meeting been held? > > Yes > > > Did anything happen? > > For one, the Autotug finally got killed off. > > See the November AG/Skysailor (just arrived a few days ago), where a whole > double page was devoted to names and addresses (physical and e-mail) of those > elected for the next year - in some ways it probably could have been covered > better on the web site (and I note that the ever efficient GFA webmaster David > Head has done just that - THANKS DAVID !). With the exception of those with e- > mail only accounts like Telstra Easymail, 99.9% of those with e-mail have web > access too, and if you want their e-mail addresses, you are far more likely to > look on the GFA web site than digging around for the Nov 2001 AG/SS. > > The AGM and ACM Minutes appear on the GFA web site, along with my > favourite "missing minute matters", for example > > WHO moved each item ? WHO seconded each item ? > > Where can "Joe Average" get a copy of all the reports which were submitted and > accepted by the AGM and ACM ? > > Why aren't the reports and presentations always given to the webmaster for > inclusion as part of the GFA web site ? Surely in 2001, EVERYONE can submit an > electronic version of their report. I for one would LOVE to see the Development > Officer's presentation as development and growth of our Club is a key issue > that interests our Committee. > > Could we PLEASE (at Club and State level) encourage better Minute keeping at > these meetings and more transparency through readily available reports and > presentations on the GFA web site ? > > A member kept in the dark is a cynical member - give us a bit of transparency, > and thus a chance to know about and participate in the process and we're more > likely to give you our trust. > > > Does anyone care? > > I do - see above. I'd like to think that my $157.30 each year gets put to more > use than just the magazine, and that I have some say in how that money is used. > > Regards > > Jason Armistead > > -- > * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. > * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message > * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information. -- * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information.
