J_R

Hi Dave

As this election season closes, I want to thank you for taking the time, effort and patience to answer our questions . You have given us some insight to those that run the AMA. You have also shown that the internet can be an acceptable means of communications between the leaders of the AMA and the membership. While many, including myself, were concerned about how you would be treated here, the membership has shown they can be reasonable in the method they chose to seek information. Even when your views were different than those of the members, you have been able to give your reasons for opposing views and gain the respect of many. I hope others will learn from your venture into cyberspace.

I would also like to thank all of the candidates for running. It’s a very thankless job in all to many instances. For anyone to volunteer their time, effort and resources to lead the AMA, in an elected office, is a very selfless endeavor.

Regardless of the outcome of this election, it’s truly wonderful to know that people such as yourself are willing to take on the task.

Jean-Pierre Rondot (J_R)
AMA 732

BillHarris

Agreed , wholeheartedly, J_R. Although there has been a lot of kicking screaming and ranting during the campaign, it has been for the most part a good effort by all.

I would like to thank you for providing a sense of online stability and direction. Hopefully our effortd will not have been in vain


--Bill Harris
AMA607983 and proud of it.

quint-rcu

My Feedback: (24)

May I also add a thank you for putting a positive face on this AMA election cycle. Your prompt and thoughtful responses are a refreshing difference to the perception of a distant and autocratic AMA. You have my vote anytime!

quint

the-plumber

Indeed.

Outcome notwithstanding, thank you for the effort.

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

In my very first post, I stated that it takes a lot of courage to get involved in a forum such as this, and I hoped that it would be of benefit to both parties - the membership, and to you Dave. I agree 100% with JR, and I commend you first for taking part in this forum, and second for the timely replys to the questions asked. I think that you did a magnificent job, and win or lose, you will always be regarded as a man of wisdom, a man that shares his views with enthusiasm toward the future, and above all an honest man in all respects. My hat is off to you, and from what you have shown here on RCU - you certainly deserve to win.

To JR - let me say that in your many many responses to all the AMA posts, not once have I had reason to take issue with you. You also are a man of integrity, and I am glad that you are on our side.

Dave Mathewson

I was going to post this in my campaign discussion forum but I saw this thread and thought it’d be appropriate here. I want to thank Marc and RC Universe for creating a forum and giving me an opportunity to discuss the issues with you that you guys felt were most important during the recent “campaign season�. I can’t say I didn’t have a little apprehension when I decided to do this but I have to tell you there was not one post made during the last three months that I felt even approached a level that could be considered objectionable. In fact, before Marc removes that forum I hope to be able to print out the majority of the posts made and save them since I think they clearly showed a trend regarding what issues are most important to you.

I think we proved, at least in this case, that a reasonable exchange of ideas can and did take place in an Internet setting. I can tell you that during these discussions (and I believe this had a lot to do with the level of courtesy and respect shown by everyone) I received calls from not only other VPs but from AMA staff members who wanted to follow-up on and discuss some the issues we were talking about. I heard from several who thought that there were many good posts that were on target and provided some “food for thought� for everyone.

Finally, I want to thank those of you who supported me with the time and effort you put in on my behalf and for your vote. For those of you that chose to vote for one of the other candidates, thank you for at least taking the time to listen to what I had to say.

I would expect the election results would be known and posted sometime early next week, almost certainly before Thanksgiving. Win or lose, I’ll be around for at least another two years and intend to use some of what I learned here when making decisions that set the direction of our organization.
Thanks again,
Dave

Gordon Mc

My Feedback: (11)

A big ditto to the thanks that have already been posted here.

I know that if you do get the job, you still won't be able to keep all of us happy all of the time - but the simple fact that you are willing to be more "open" than the current leadership has been, means a lot to us.

Cheers,
Gordon

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Dave,
Do you think your experience will encourage the AMA to sponsor our-mail forum for members? I know there are still VPs that want nothing to do with such, but I think it would be a great way to get information out in a timely manner as well as involve the membership as moderators (maybe one from each district to share the load). Waiting three months for the publishing cycle just doesn't cut it in this world of opportunity. Hoping that someone will remember to check the AMA web site doesn't do much rapid communication either. We need an AMA forum that all members can post to.

Red S.
AMA 951
Leader Member
District V

Dave Mathewson

Hi Red,
My guess is that it’s still a little optimistic to think that there would be enough support on the EC for some type of an AMA sponsored on-line forum. I thought what we did during the last few months here on RCU was a very positive experience. But there’s still the stigma associated with online forums that continues to be perpetuated by a few on occasion. And things like that create a lot of apprehension. I realize moderation would eliminate a lot of this type of thing but moderation opens a whole new can of worms.
On the other hand, I’ve had a couple of online forums in my district for quite a while now. I’m comfortable with ours. I’ve told others, if I should be fortunate enough to win the election I’d like to have some sort of forum where I could communicate with the membership. I agree there can be a lot of advantages here, timeliness being one.
I don’t know what the future holds. I do think that we’re making small moves in this direction. I know Bob Brown in 3 recently had a new website created that includes a forum feature. I think it’s fair to say he’s cautiously optimistic about how it will work out. If it works out in 2, and 3, and 8 who knows where it will lead.
Dave

PS. A wrote this offline to cut and paste here. I thought it was interesting to see the new (at least to me) disclaimer in red from RCU management that appeared above the reply box. It, in a way, validates the point I was trying to make in my first paragraph.

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

Let me chime in here. Dave I want to congratulate you on having the back bone to come here like you did and open yourself up to what could have been a very rough 2 months, ya did good my friend and hope you do well with the election. Now to all the other misfits, I also want to thank you for the way you conducted yourself during this period as it sure did make my life a lot easier. I did come in a lot at first to make sure all of you were behaving and in the last month I barely came in to read, now that I appreciate more then words can convey. I only wish that others in other forums would take heed and do the same thing.[&o] Again guys thanks for handling yourselves in a very mature manner, you're the greatest!

BillHarris

You played to a tough room. You handled some tough questions well and showed good leadership material. My discussions about our local district problems with the (hopefully former) incumbent have not been nearly as fruitful. The "internet setting" can be worrisome if one party is trying to stonewall or as an agenda.

We should know any day now on the outcome of the campaigns.

--Bill

Hossfly

Another THANKS, DAVE, from here. As I have said before, You're the light at the end of the tunnel and that light ain't Newark!
If DB wins this election, I predict he will again consider it a mandate to run over the EC in whatever manner he wants. Please don't be afraid to hang tight in your own views, and with your leadership, you might well gain enough support to resist his attacks on the modeling communities.

From a recent issue of America's 1st Freedom I quote a paragraph in an article about Stealing Elections with Provisional Ballots. "Boss Tweed, the corrupt politician .... //SNIP//.... once said that it's not the voter who counts, but he who counts the votes."

Perhaps, in case you do not win, there might be some reasons to investigate the relationship between the large number of ballots returned to AMA headquarters and the final outcome of the election as reported by an auditor selected and paid for by the AMA. "....he who counts the votes." [sm=idea.gif]

Hossfly

For all to see: There is some support on the current EC for better communications directly to the membership. When I was a DVP (VI) and lived near Chicago (UAL Pilot) I communicated to my district via mail and my monthly column. As I now understand there are restrictions on such reporting via the columns.

Such censorship really grates my bottom. I fault the individual EC members for allowing such. I fault individual EC members that will not take their concerns to the membership.

As your EVP I will either get the EC to allow my column to provide such detail information or I will have a private AMA Member-Only web site where all concerned can be informed of AMA business. Definitely such will be well established within the first year of my term.

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

So, you are very clearly saying that the auditor is lying, that the election was rigged?

Hossfly

AWWWH Curtiss, you make a statement and punctuate with a question mark. So I'll leave it to your reading ability, and that very creative spaced-out imagination of yours to get it all together.

If an election was stolen, I surmise that one could not patent the operation as it has certainly been done before.