First off, I want to thank Mark, Karl, Ben, and everyone else involved in
pulling off events, be they Regional, Divisional, or National. That said,
as someone who helps run Atlanta's events I am rather irritated at the
notion that anyone in Atlanta hasn't tried to help with the SEDIV Series. I
know for a fact that Atlanta has asked to host a Divisional on SEVERAL
occasions. We asked as early as last December, and as Recently as a month
ago, and several times in between. We are the largest Region in the
Division, and a Central location in the Division, and yet the responses have
ranged from being ignored, to being told outright that there will be no
Divisional in Atlanta under any circumstances.
I don't know you Mark outside of email, and though I consider Ben a friend I
am the first to admit that he can be abrasive. That said, it sucks for
everyone if personal dislikes / agendas / vendettas get in the way of
hosting events. Let it be known to all who are listening that Atlanta wants
a Divisional in 2003. We have the staff and equipment to pull it off, and
quite frankly, a 175 person cap would mean less work than our local events.
Regards,
Dave Hardy
89 SM
> Ideas are nothing new. Anyone can generate them. Greatness doesn't come
> from an idea, it comes from action. It's easy to sit back and say
"somebody
> else should do this, and somebody else should do that" when you never have
to
> face the realities of the situations being faced by the somebody else's.
>
> I can't speak for the other divisions, but the SEDiv Solo2 program is
> administered by just two volunteer people with real lives and jobs outside
of
> Solo2. One of the reasons I took over the SEDiv Steward position is
because
> nobody else was interested in stepping up to the plate. I'm fortunate to
> have somebody like Karl Rickert at my side making the same amount of
> sacrifice, as well as the dedicated people who continually attend and help
> out at the SEDiv events. Otherwise the SEDiv Solo2 program would have
folded
> "again" because nobody else was willing to pickup the torch. To some
degree,
> the Nationals folks are in a similar situation, not everyone is a paid,
> full-time staff member. I guess you could say we do this for our own
selfish
> reasons; it makes us feel good in our hearts to do our part in trying to
help
> other people enjoy the sport we love and hold dear.
>
> If this is such a great concern to you, why aren't you getting directly
> involved? We don't need back-seat drivers, they are a dime a dozen. We
> desperately need those rare people willing to sacrifice themselves for the
> benefit of the common good through positive action, not destructive
> self-serving sniping. Oh, that's right. You turned down my offer a month
or
> so ago to let you become the SEDiv Solo2 Steward for 2003. You've done a
> great job participating in Atlanta on the regional level, but don't make
the
> mistake of thinking that you're now elevated to passing judgment on other
> programs with which you've had little or no direct participation in
> executing.
>
> Just out of curiosity, when were the last divisional/national events you
> attended? By my recollection it was the Atlanta SEDivisional in Nov/2000
and
> the Meridian National Tour in Feb/2001. Not that your lack of recent
> experience with either program really matters. This is just your same old
> move trying to root the seeds of potential discontent to push an anti-SCCA
> agenda. For those of you who haven't been around all that long, this
dirty
> little agenda comes crawling out of Ben's hole every couple of years.
Same
> agenda; different day, but old news just the same.
>
> Otherwise, this is all rather premature. Having so many events cap out
for
> so many National/ProSolo events in the same year is a phenomenom new for
> 2002. The SEDiv event at Gainesville is the first SEDiv event I know of
to
> ever to get a cap. The SEDiv cap there is 175, at past SEDiv events we've
> been lucky to get over 120 participants. The first 2002 SEDiv event at
Ft.
> Myers set a new attendance record at 143. BTW, aren't those are the same
> events you complained about their location and inability to generate
> participation? This level of competitor turnout is new to us. Something
> must be right somewhere for so many people to want to attend. Maybe we
all
> deserve to be spanked for not looking into our crystal balls and
forecasting
> a major increase in participation for 2002.
>
> It takes time to respond and address this new level of participation which
> only occurred this year, but that level of logic and understanding doesn't
> fit into your agenda, does it? Then again, what do I know? I've only
> attended 3 National Tour, 4 Pro Solo, and 1 SEDiv event so far this year.
>
> Mark Sipe
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