David Lawley wrote:
The State associations are a complete waste of time and money, as for
the current system being democratic, well I laughed out loud at that.
It goes like this-club elects clubs rep, club reps elect state rep,
state reps elects board. If any of these reps decides on their own
view or favourite candidate is the one that should suceed, the
individual member has absolutely no way of changing this until the
next AGM, by which time the system is locked in for another year.
Hmmm
I do not think GQ is a complete waste of time - but then I am involved
in it and so I may be biased (but similarly, uninvolved people may be
biased the other way). Some things that GQ has done over the last few
years...
1. Taken a very strong lead in pushing the safety barrow,
particularly in terms of safety management. There's not much (yet)
visible to the general membership yet, but all the talk is
starting to have some impact at the GFA administration level, with
the Ops panel discussing Safety Management Systems at its upcoming
meeting and with a GQ member with significant expertise in this
area as a guest speaker.
2. Rapidly realised the possible impact of FLARM, mandated FLARM for
all GQ competitions and helped clubs fund the acquisition of FLARM
units by loaning funds for their purchase. GQ also purchased a
number of FLARM units for loan to pilots (particularly Juniors)
flying in Qld comps.
3. Pushed (and continues to push) strongly for open governance within
the GFA. I have to admit that this has not yet really had any
significant impact as there remains strong resistance at the Board
and Executive to inviting the membership into issues as they arise
rather than when a position has already been established (at least
to all intents and purposes).
4. Changed its elections to direct election from the membership
rather than through club representative, including the provision
for a postal vote.
5. Provided financial and other support to the Juniors.
6. Provide financial assistance to distant clubs (ie outside SE Qld)
so that they can send representatives to the GQ AGM.
7. Rapidly adopted and implemented the coaching system across the
state, with activities ranging from week long and weekend coaching
sessions to specialist lectures in the city.
As a matter of course, GQ has also for many years done a number of other
things, such as
1. Provided some financial assistance to WA pilots flying in Qld
based competitions.
2. Underwritten any losses from running a particular comp in QLd (eg
resulting from getting rained out or some such).
Finally, let's be clear about democracy - as I've indicated above, the
GQ membership directly elects GQ officers and the committee. This
includes the Board representative. Further, our quarterly meetings are
open to all members, advertised on the mailing list and web site.
Upcoming issues are also frequently discussed on the GQ mailing list.
I am not sure just how more democratic we can get - but if you have any
suggestions please let me know.
I have no idea how other State Associations operate - I am only involved
in GQ. From external observation, however, it does seem to me that a
couple of regional associations are in some strife. However, there is
value in the state associations if they are adequately run as it allows
local initiatives to be run. However, as with the GFA, it requires
people to be *involved.*
Over to you!
--
Robert Hart [EMAIL PROTECTED]
+61 (0)438 385 533 http://www.hart.wattle.id.au
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