Sunday, October 24, 2010

Why is Maggie Engvall Regional Director?

Archiving information is one of the primary purposes of this Blog. Here is the time line and the things that pushed Maggie in to being Regional Director.

They say that great minds talk about ideas, mediocre minds talk about events, and small minds talk about people. I tend to leave out people's names to protect both the innocent and the guilty. I would rather talk about what than who. So call me a mediocre mind and here we go.

In the interest of full disclosure, Maggie had thought long and hard about running for Regional Director in Region One this time around. Contracting MRSA at the Rochester Convention really set back her progress with her foot. When it was time for Candidate Statements and such there were a lot of things on her plate and she decided to give it a pass.

But a post was made on a local Kite Club E-Group remarking how every position was unopposed, why vote?

POST: Subject: Ding Dong is the AKA Dead? (yet)


What a subject title! Now you all know why I don't quit my day job and become a poet...

I've been playing 'catch up' and I just took a look at what will be my final AKA candidate election statements (as I'm not planning to renew my AKA membership). It looks like all the candidates: President, and the Regional Directors for regions 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 are "running" unopposed.

I
t appears that I can save the price of a stamp. Why bother voting? The AKA could save a few hundred stamps (assuming there are a few hundred members left) and not bother to send out ballots.

It looks like I'm not the only one making my voice heard by leaving the AKA. In fact, under the circumstances, it appears leaving the AKA is the ONLY way to make your voice heard!

Hopefully the "candidates" remember to vote for themselves...I guess this will make for something of an anticlimax when the election results are announced at this year's convention.

Keep looking up,

That incited a response from the Region One Regional Director. The RD seemed to think that taking off their RD hat gave them carte blanche to be derisive. In defense of the RD, they thought they were protecting the honor and the innocence of the E-Group. Somehow, it did not quite come across that way.

I am writing today as a long-time member of NYKE. For years the pleasure of being a member of NYKE has always been ”because it is about kiting;".... until now.

The reason I joined NYKE was because I found its members great people to be with. I have sent and continue to send new kite fliers to join NYKE for just this reason... because it has been a pleasure to be with the group that doesn't spew the hostility and negativity as displayed in the attached email.

How disappointing to read from one member so much venom, and sarcasm expressed towards another organization. This behavior is often seen, but I have not seen this type of maliciousness expressed on the NYKE network and I really hope this is the first, last and only time a message such as this one is received . We all have opinions of kite clubs and organizations, the people in them and the people that run them. However to have one individual use NYKE's kite club's network to trash another organization is beneath NYKE.

Yes, we all have opinions and yes, we might be unhappy with things at the AKA, but other than 'one individual personally bashing another organization' what was the purpose of this tirade? It reminds me of a child stamping their feet because they don't like it.... Was it helpful in any way other than to give one member a soap box to pontificate his negative and sarcastic views? Did it make recommendations, suggestions or points of interest to make things better (I know, it's been done in the past... maybe it needs to be done again) or, how about jumping in to volunteer to help? Or, if you don't have something to contribute, go stamp your feet somewhere else. I'm still confused about what the point of this rant was other than one member's need to sound off so he can hear his own voice.

NYKE was the kite club that set itself apart with a standard of not letting itself get dragged down by email 'bashing'. I hope this is not a preview of things to come from NYKE.

As there is no way to have a positive response to any type of email bashing, let this be the end of it.

NYKE...Thank you for being NYKE!


Just for the record, it is not very effective to correct negativity by being negative.

This post really got Maggie's attention. It really peaked her pique. She sent out Posts to Region One Groups inviting people to write her in on their AKA Ballots. She was not a candidate, there were no Candidate Statements sent to every AKA Member in the Region. It was just word of mouth and public sentiment. She got 60% of the vote.

I could be wrong, I have no way of knowing, but I strongly suspect that a successful write-in for RD is unprecedented in the AKA.

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