 |
Well, I think Jeremy is a nice guy, too! We are fortunate to have him as a member of our disc golf community. He is gracious and generous in his dealings with those new to the sport and others wanting to take their game a step forward. I have marveled at his disc golf skills and benefitted from his generosity in sharing the things that have made him a top level performer in our sport. He has earned my respect and admiration for his passion and dedication for the game. We could do much worse, and honestly have, with past elected representatives in this position. It is not the fault of any individual, past or present that we are where we are where we are at the present time – but it is time to move forward. We are simply maturing and growing. We are at a time in the evolution of our sport where you have a significant influence in the choice of the direction our sport grows and legacy you leave for future players. The question is: do you want to move in a direction that is continually at odds with itself or are you ready to start fresh and let go of past resentments and perceived disappointment?
So let me correct and clarify some things posted about me. I am old – 56 plus change. I am one of the eldest of 13 brothers and sisters. I cannot recall a moment of my upbringing where I was not attending to someone else’s needs or concerns in tandem with my own. I did the same in my military service, training how other to do their work in interesting circumstances. I lived hard for the times and experienced strange and miraculous things. Subsequently, I worked in the trades for years (Oil, Chemical, and Atomics). I quit that line of work (and a comfortable early retirement by now!) to pursue a different degree and profession where I could pay forward and give back some of what I felt I had gained through my undeserved good fortune. Yeah, probably stupid…
I have been married to the same woman for a long, long, time, raised three children and buried one. I played my first round of “chained” disc golf in 1979 in Tustin, CA. I attended the first World Disc Golf Championships and marveled at the talents of “Ashley Whippet” and many other legends of the game. I DO have picture proof (my deceased oldest daughter and me where I am wearing the 1979 “Worlds” shirt and a full head of hair, priceless!). I was a 30-60 mile a week runner for many years (bad hips now), solo free climbed unsuccessfully with a passion (documented medical records) and rode motorcycles fast and furious with all sorts of people (more medical records). I rediscovered disc golf in the late 80’s in Southern California for a short period of time and then found my way back to the course about 6 years ago (not the “3” Jeremy states). I have played terribly as a pro for the past 2 years and won multiple amateur competitions prior to that. I keep my PDGA and SDGA and Official’s cards current because I think it is important –but not because I agree with everything either organization does.
I have been a part of many work parties and did what I could to improve our courses over the years. I recall Jeremy at some and not at most…we could easily have worked on the same amount over the past few years and not noticed each other. Yes, Gordy and Bob (among others you might not get along with) are my friends, we disagree often, and we work through it and move on. I likely consider most of those reading this post a friend and am willing to do the same work I do with Bob and Gordy. I don’t expect my friends to be saintly – (nor me to them, I hope). I am not easily frightened or intimidated by anyone. If needed, I can fake it well enough. I have hired many and fired scores of people in a long professional career. I know how to run a day to day business and understand how to make that work. Currently, I work with the mentally ill and assist a staff of 150 plus to care for these folk years in and year out. They call me the boss where I work, but my mind says that I work for them.
I have formed more friendships and warm acquaintances playing disc than I could ever have imagined! I am getting old enough to know that I will not live forever and have no time to get involved in petty squabbles. I will listen to you and your views as long as it makes sense or until you run out of air -no sweat! It is what I do best.
Jeremy seems to hint at the idea that I don’t have the vision or focus to represent the Membership. What I think is that you have a choice between two different approaches to how you reach the end of the course. For instance, Jeremy and Jeff Crum’s last posts on the forum include what are essentially endorsements for nominees for open Board positions. I believe this is inappropriate and unproductive. It is not only unfair – (especially coming from Jeff’s position as a current elected official) but can result in people voting a “ticket” type of measure when in actuality nothing of the sort exists. These positions are distinct and separate deserving your scrutiny based on individual talents, abilities and merits. “Ticketing” can back fire (It is the, “I don’t like Jeremy so I won’t vote for Sean” type stuff we need to get over) or results in a suspicious or resentful Board if the “ticket” does not get voted in intact. I say, Lobby to your heart’s content outside of the public forum but keep the forum airwaves clear for people to do their own thinking. These are the types of things that tear organizations apart and create suspicion and resentment. We all want level playing field when we hit the course.
I like the competition with others but I realize that the biggest challenge is my own head and the true mark of my game is the quality of the time I spend with those I am playing with. In the end we turn in our cards to be scored but what makes it most memorable is the good will we create together.
Points:
Sekani will happen. It is the clearest business type project to come our way if we do it right. The key word, “partnerships”.
People’s was dead on arrival as a full 18, period. Unless we are looking at a 9 hole putt and play in the front for the community we should think about moving on, permanently and forever. The failure was more a Parks and Rec miscue than anything else. The motive for Parks and Rec for having us there felt faulty and I said so publicly from the very beginning. I don’t automatically give my trust to anyone at City Hall. That chunk of land had major issues and rightly so if you have any association with Native American heritage and culture. Neither, should we be eager to be ANYWHERE to curb other users behaviors on a chunk of land at someone else’s request without our own discernment process. There are other Parks and Recreation acres out there that are not designated. We can start looking at the maps again and develop a 3-5 year plan.
We can maintain and improve our assets at High Bridge and Downriver. I think we should be spending a good portion of what we have on the books in course improvements. We do not need to have thousands of dollars sitting in an account. We need a “prudent reserve” of a couple or three thousand at the most to take care of business and trust that if something big comes up we can find the funding. Holding on to big money that is not earmarked for a specific project causes more grief than it is worth and is a major issue with many members. – me included. Well, that is enough for now and the most I have talked about myself in a long, long time.
I think I can do you a good job in the position. It is my nature to find common ground and move forward to the future. Thanks for the read and see you on the course! Tim
|
|