Revelations galore in posted minutes of Exec Committee
|
While poking around usatf.org, I came across the minutes of two recent conference calls — meetings of the USATF Masters T&F Executive Committee. Check them out. Although Secretary Jeff Brower’s notes are brief, they speak volumes about what’s going on behind the scenes. One example: National Masters News publisher Randy Sturgeon on November 3 made a pitch to have his USATF stipend doubled from $5,000 a year to $10,000. (That’s still up in the air.) But the most telling revelation is national chairman Gary Snyder’s efforts to overhaul the records process. In his November chair report, he says: “I have identified the following areas as candidates for change: 1. Form is awkward and complicated. . . 2. Records set at certain meets such as Millrose Games; Penn Relays, etc., should be accepted via a different process. 3. An online status for individual applications should be developed. 4. An MTF appeal process (should be) put in place.” Yowza! Great ideas!
The only sour note: Gary announced in September that he’d decided to “terminate”
his blog.
“He is going to revert to his previous method of creating a monthly
email/report,” the minutes said. “We can expect the first one around the middle of October.”
His October report said:
As many of you know I have used email in the past to keep masters
updated on ‘what’s happening’ and tried to convert to a blog. The blog
failed! First it did not fit well into my style also people told me
they missed receiving information sent to them rather then going to get
it.
Of course, Gary missed the point of a blog — immediate public feedback.
Had he posted more often (I count about a dozen entries in five months), he would have attracted an audience and given folks a chance to express themselves, ask questions and feel empowered. Email does little of that. It’s a very limited exchange.
Oh well.
At least progress is being made on a new USATF masters track Web site — one that would be info-packed and easy to navigate. The current one, which few people visit, is poorly designed and hides all the juicy stuff.
Stay tuned on a new site. It could be ready in January!
One Response
Gary did not seem to understand the purpose of a blog. It is to engage in a discussion-not just to send out information. The discussion never happened on his blog – perhaps the lack of freqquency? Unless one subscribed to something such as Bloglines – who would search for it day after day in hopes that he might post something?
The email he sends out – requires that one first of all know that he does this – I discovered this through a comment on Ken’s blog! Hello Gary – through a blog! Now I am on his email list – ie – I got one email.
Sending out an email now and then – does not start a conversation with Gary – or anyone else for that matter.
Apparently that is precisely what Gary wants – no discussion – and precious little information for that matter.
This is not what I would call a great leadership style. Hello Gary – come in Gary – are you on planet earth – are you listening? Discussion is a two-way street – dictators do not want discussions. Hum……..
Leave a Reply