Nonsense.

You do indeed have the right to demand answers : it is a membership organization and the members do in fact "own" it. Absent members, AMA would not exist, period.

Having said that, the folks "inside AMA", e.g. the paid employees and the volunteer officers are people just like you and me. Acting like a horse's backside won't get you to the top of the list to be served any more than it would anywhere else.

Making an ordinary, reasonable, straightforward request for information will always net you a correct answer (not necessarily the answer you wanted). It may take a day or so, because like everyone else in the world who has a desk, the staffers and volunteers are more often than not literally swamped.

If you want answers, start with your local District Associate Vice President - that's why they hold the appointment. If you don't get a response in a reasonably timely fashion (like a few days, because most AVPs are among the 9-to-5 crowd) then escalate to the District Vice President. If _that_ doesn't work, keep going up the 'ladder'. You can also query the appropriate staffer in Muncie, for administrative matters.

Never had a Muncie staffer fail to respond, and only ever got one answer which wasn't precisely correct (the staffer involved had been 'retrained' by Jim McNeill to give incorrect answers on that particular subject).

Your premise is all wrong : members do indeed have the right to ask questions. Members also have absolute control over who represents them in Muncie.

Alas, far too few members ever seem to exercise that control. Too many ballots go in the dustbin every Fall.