Ken Mitchell writes:
<< I don't remember if it was in 98 or 99, I think it was in 98 that a
Steering Committee member told Jean that the SFR Solo II Steering
Committee was not interested in hosting the McKamey school in the Bay
Area. I know who was the committee member that spoke with Jean but
there's no need to mention that person's name. >>
I think this is a reference to me, though I don't remember being asked by
Jean if we wanted to have a McKamey School. I remember telling Barbara Ogg
that we weren't interested, and maybe Ken. I consider Jean to be a good
friend, even though I got a few laughs at the '98 talent show at her expense,
and we do talk, but I don't remember that conversation. There are several
things to consider:
1) There are serious commitments when arranging for such a school, one of
which is providing a site. We have not had an abundance of sites in SFR
proper in recent years, and could be booted from our sites at any time.
Being committed to a school that can only handle a few of Solo 2's more
affluent students at the possible risk of not being able to serve 200+ with
an SFR Solo 2 event makes no sense to me.
2) When I found out that Ken had a " McKamey contract" that prohibited him
from instructing in his OWN Region's school left a bad taste in my mouth. I
think that spoke of a "McKamey elitism." Current instructors, by the way,
have no such contract (thanks to Jean for changing that.)
3) Students in a McKamey school on brushed concrete can expect to add a full
set of tires to the cost of a school, so I don't consider it to be an option
worth considering.
4) Quite frankly, I don't see what's so special about their schools as
opposed to ours, other than the increased amount of seat time that the
limited number of entrants allows.
If the steering committee wants to offer a McKamey school at some future
date, and it doesn't cause us to lose a Round of our series or a school date
that can serve 60 students or so, and there is no financial risk to the
Region, it's okay with me.
CHD
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