In a message dated 6/13/02 11:19:23 PM Central Daylight Time,
dave2020@mindspring.com writes:
> 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.
Dave, Dave, Dave ...
Frankly, it's a good thing this is a voluntary position because you could
never pay me enough to deal with this kind of stuff :-)
First off, I either misrepresented myself or was misunderstood if it came
across that way. The Atlanta Region has been a very strong supporter of the
hosting SEDiv Solo2 Series, especially due to Ben. I was speaking personally
to Ben Thatcher regarding an active role as a Divisional Steward, not the
Atlanta Region members or their general support for hosting the series. I
realize that sometimes it's difficult to separate between the two.
As far as a divisional event in Atlanta this year, from my perspective that's
not an accurate representation. I'm sure Barry Saney has his own perspective
and hope he'll express it as he sees fit. I don't keep logs on this stuff,
this is what I remember. Yes, Barry and I spoke about a divisional early on
and Barry was very enthusiastic to host an event. He always has been. Barry
is a saint & gentleman in every way. Ok, maybe he's not a saint but I
wouldn't want to insult him by calling him a nice guy :-)
I was approached by several Atlanta Region members regarding a possibility of
securing AMS as a divisional site. Barry was not directly involved in this.
I made a decision to pursue AMS over Turner Field because at the time it
seemed like we had an inside track to accomplishing it. In the end, we got
the same old AMS run around. It turned out to be a bad choice for which I am
fully to blame. Teri Pulliam warned me and I didn't listen. Totally my
decision and my fault. AMS is like an old flame who made a sap out of me; I
loved that site.
After that Barry and I began to discuss Turner Field again. Some issue came
up regarding the event schedules at Turner Field being cancelled or changed.
At the time we were conversing via email, I happened to be on the road
travelling heavily between work and personal business. As I recall, there
were delayed responses to email between both of us. I never assumed that
Barry was ignoring me. Concluding that I was ignoring Barry was incorrect.
That's one of the problems with email. I don't think I should have to
apologize for not devoting my every minute to handling divisional business.
The delays in this conversation were no different than the delays I encounter
with almost every hosting region. No other region ever accused me of
ignoring them during our lengthy discussions, so I'm not sure how that rumor
got started.
Prior to all this, we scheduled an event at Knoxville after Robert Carpenter
called me on my phone and nailed me down to do a divisional for the Dogwood
Gran Prix. The site fell through, no fault on ETR. I was already in
discussion with GCAC regarding a Ft Myers event also from early on in the
year and we came to terms very quickly to get the first event going.
During the delay between Barry and myself, I entered into discussion with CFR
regarding Gainesville Raceway. From a timing perspective, I didn't have a
clear answer back from Barry yet about the Turner Field scheduling situation
and had to make a choice about Gainesville. CFR has tried to host an event
several years running, but had some site issues. This was a done deal and I
made a decision to run with it because I was determined to get three events
in this year. I was sure we'd get a strong turnout at this site.
When Barry and I got back in contact about Turner Field schedule openings I
was also entering into discussions with Coastal Empire regarding Roebling
Road and CCR regarding CMS (Kershaw). Between the three I decided not to
have a divisional at Turner Field. I'm totally responsible for that
decision. Had I known that the AR members were going to take it so
personally that the divisional wasn't going to be in their back yard I might
have decided otherwise, but didn't. Instead, I chose to let another region
have the opportunity to a host a divisional, the same opportunity that has
been extended to AR so many times in the past. Driving from Atlanta to
Gainesville, FL and Savannah didn't seem like a big deal to me. Plenty of
people have driven a lot further to come support Atlanta events, all the way
from Miami, FL as I recall.
About a month or two ago I got an email from Ben all hopped up about there
not being an Atlanta divisional. As most of you know, there's usually no
love lost between us, especially when we take each other the wrong way. I
tried to make it clear that I had already decided against a Turner
divisional. A decision is a decision; nothing more, nothing less. I didn't
want to be pestered about it and probably wasn't as PC as I should have been.
I did tell Ben that he should contact Karl Rickert asap and begin petitioning
for an AR event in 2003, which I believe he's done. I have no say in it.
It's totally between Karl & AR. I mentioned the same thing to Barry at the
last AR event. For some people, my 2002 event decisions are not popular.
For others, they are. I do sympathize with the northern divisional members.
The northern event got canceled and they have the biggest burden for
traveling this year.
Otherwise, it's difficult for me to sympathize with someone complaining about
drivng 5 or 6 hours to come compete in an event when I drive 9 or 10 hours
just to come put it on for you. Turner Field is only a 2 hour drive from
where I live in Montgomery, so my drive to the other event sites is a lot
longer too. The Wiregrass Region offered to let us host a divisional in
Ozark this year. That's only a 1.5 hr drive for me, but the 2002 divisional
series selections aren't about how far I have to drive to serve you. It's
about realizing that there are many other regions in this division that
deserve to have their day in the sun too.
The response from AR members has been surprising for me. I've known a lof of
you over the years and expected a bit more compassion for all the people who
year after year made the long haul to support an AR divisional. The Florida &
Carolina members have been particularly supportive of AR events. Is it
really asking too much for you to give your support to them, as they have
done for you so many times in the past?
Now for the golden moment of truth. Despite what has been stated, there is
no entry cap at the Gainesville divisional. It was just a well-intended
ruse. A month ago I told Karl Rickert to stop posting names on the published
entry list when we hit 160, but to continue accepting entries as people
inquired about whether or not there were entry spots still available. I did
this because this event will be bigger than anything we've ever done before
and didn't want to get crushed by everyone waiting to the last minute to
register, as they always do. The fact that somebody who thinks they know
more about the divisional series than they really do had to go shooting off
their mouth about divisional caps just happened to push my red button
yesterday.
your humble punching bag, :-)
Mark Sipe
SEDiv Solo2 Steward
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