Stephanie Hightower flunks outreach to masters tracksters
Last December, USATF president-to-be Stephanie Hightower addressed the USATF Masters T&F Committee at the Reno convention. Among other things, she said: “You all feel that you’re one of the invisible groups.” She promised to turn that around. This week, she had a grand opportunity to make good on her pledge. Instead, she punted. In a carefully worded reply to Anselm LeBourne’s masters group and the issues they raised, Stephanie basically said: “Trust me. You’ll like what USATF has in mind for you.” She also gave Anselm a slapdown, saying: “Please know this is not the best way nor protocol for approaching the board of directors.” In other words, know your place. Her note, typed in ALL CAPITALS, indicates she is clueless on email etiquette. Will she be as dumb on masters desires? We’ll see. “Trust me.”
Here’s what Stephanie sent several dozen folks:
ALL
AFTER READING THE BELOW EXCHANGE OF EMAILS, AND THRILLED TO READ THE PASSION AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE SPORT WITHIN OUR MASTERS RANKS, PLEASE KNOW THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY NOR PROTOCOL FOR APPROACHING THE NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AS DEXTER POINTED OUT, MASTERS DID HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE ATTEND THE ASSOCIATION WORKSHOP THIS PAST WEEKEND AND MY HOPE IS THAT ONCE HE REPORTS BACK TO GARY AND ALL OF YOU ABOUT THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN THE BOARD HOPES TO ROLL OUT AND PRESENT AT THE ANNUAL MEETING YOU ALL WILL FEEL CONFIDENT IN SHEDDING THE OLE BAGGAGE OF MISTRUST AND EXCLUSION AND EMBRACE A NEW CULTURE OF ACCOUNTABLILTY, INCLUSION OF ALL CONSTITUENCYS AND TRANSPARENCY.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM GARY, DEXTER, AND REX WHO CAN PROVIDE SUGGESTIONS FROM THE MASTERS COMMUNITY AND TO HEAR YOUR QUESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USATF'S STRATEGIC VISION. AND I AM SURE MIKE MCNEES AND DOUG LOGAN ALSO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM YOU AS WELL.
STEPHANIE
USATF CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD / PRESIDENT
11 Responses
Hey maybe she thinks that we are not only “old” but DEAF!
Back on August 10 I posted here regarding the issues that were being raised in Lahti, ending with the statement that “My goal is to work with the Masters Committee to accomplish as much as we can with the resources we have, and at the same time grow those resources.”
As Stephanie said, we are interested in hearing from masters athletes. I spoke to quite a few in Oshkosh myself and attended the Masters Executive Committee meeting there. I’m also well acquainted with Robert Thomas right here in Indy. Ken, as far as I can tell the only thing served by perpetuating a contentious relationship between athletes and USATF is the blogosphere.
I’m a collaborative guy by nature, so I say let’s get to the work at hand.
“As Stephanie said, we are interested in hearing from masters athletes”
blah blah blah
She appears to be clueless on email etiquette and grammar. The second paragraph is an extremely long run-on sentence!
p.s. I don’t think I’ll be sending my kids to Ohio State: “After graduating from Ohio State with a degree in communications…”
As a new member and Chair of the Masters Track and Field Committee on a local USATF organization I would appreciate any information regarding what is the best way to contact the BOD? Also, how is pertinent information disseminated down to the ranks and how can we/I access it. A final thought is please don’t stifle the comments or questions the membership may pose (no matter the venue) as it just breeds discontent and worse apathy. Plus, you may just find a gem of an idea now and then.
This may sound naive… but as a long-term critic of USATF’s oversight of Masters track & field, I am encouraged by what I hear Stephanie Hightower and Mike McNees saying these days. They are openly acknowledging that the relationship between USATF and the Masters Committee has been dysfunctional and that the mistrust and discontent which exists needs to be corrected. That is a HUGE step in the right direction.
For years, many of our initiatives have been thwarted by USATF due to lack of funding and/or autoritarian control by the National office. Let’s give these new USATF officers a good faith opportunity to change that. I am currently working with USATF staff to, at long last, launch a comprehensive masters web site in the near future. They have pledged to facilitate our web site aspirations, reversing their stringent policy of opposition. It remains to be seen how this will work out, but I am excited about working with Mike. I sincerely hope we are entering a new era of positive collaboration with USATF. But nothing will change, if we are not receptive to it…
I’m in total agreement with Dave Clingan comments.
Hi everybody. Ken, I think you’re fabulous and I really appreciate the work you do for the master’s community. But I really agree with Mike and Dave. I’ve always been amazed by how the most successful people can correspond on a contentious issue without getting negative. It’s something to see, actually. I think we should aspire to that.
And it’s not like we have much leverage, so we must have USATF on our side. It’s like burning money – only cost, no benefit – to have them think we’re jerks.
Sarah
Dave Clingan is 100% correct.
Masters have a choice: either try to work with the new regime in USATF or go do your own thing.
Suggesting in a public forum that Stephanie Hightower is an incompetent clown is hardly going to get you results within the USATF organization.
Well said, Sarah. At the end of the day, the goal is positive change and forward movement. Going on and on about what has or has not happened in the past is not how we are going to affect change. No matter what, negative attitudes or exchanges are not going to further anyone’s efforts for improvement.
I’m going to head smack down the middle of the road on this one. (Yes, I know that is where one is most likely to get run over.) I do think we need to point out where the USATF has fallen down on us, as Ken has done. I also think we need to cooperate with people who have shown that they are willing to work with us. Obviously, there are some serious problems, as Stephanie willingly admits. Everyone knows that the best antiseptic (figuratively speaking) is sunlight. We need people like Ken who will put the junk out there for everyone to see. Now what? Will we refuse to work with Stephanie because she missed a few grammar classes? Can we decide that she is, perhaps, still growing into her job? Maybe she needs to be reminded that input does not really have to follow some worn-out and uptight protocol in order to be valuable. Is it really going to be impossible to affect positive change within this system? Just some thoughts….
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