NAMBA October 2021 Web.pub

Presidents Message (Continued from page 1) So, look in the mirror. Are you one of the people that are there to help out? Or, are you one of the people willing to let someone else make sure you can run your boats, enter races, and enjoy model boating? Over the many years I’ve spent in NAMBA, it has come to my attention that the people who do the least amount of work seem to be the same people that do the most complaining. If there is something you don’t like, fix it. If there is something that the local pond needs done before the next race, do it. If someone asks for help cleaning up the test pond, help them. It is that simple. NAMBA relies on members to volunteer their help. A very good friend and long time model boater explained it to me this way. After you have taken from an organization for years, it is time for you to pay back. And, if you are one of the people that will not pay back, don’t be one of the people complaining. Instead take the time to thank those folks who have been and are doing what it takes to keep NAMBA running. Who is NAMBA? NAMBA is people. It does not matter how much money you spend on your boats and equipment. Every NAMBA member has the same rights to vote, help make decisions, lead the way, and enter events. Spending a lot of money happens in all hobbies and sports. NAMBA members can spend as much or as little as they want for model boats and equipment. Don’t expect a premium pit area because you have an expensive trailer. Don’t expect special treatment because you have beautifully painted boats. NAMBA is not a country club for the wealthy. We are an organization trying appeal to everyone. NAMBA clubs and districts should treat everyone alike. Of course we form friendships within the model boating community. But friendships should not influence racing rules and how the judges make their calls. What scares me the most about NAMBA’s future? There are quite a few things that concern me. How do we attract new members? How do we keep the members we have? This is a big concern and has been a big concern for many years. We attract new members by being friendly to spectators and each other. Nothing gets rid of people faster than poor behavior at the race site. We not only discourage potential members, we also lose race sites. If you are at a race, practice day, or even a pond cleanup day, remember that people can see you. If you can’t control your temper or your language, you are hurting your club, the property owners and NAMBA. Common sense tells us to behave properly when we are in public. We have to treat each other with respect. We have to treat the site owners with respect. We have to treat the public with respect. Unless you own the race site yourself, obey the rules the site owner requires. Clean up after yourself. If you do not clean up after yourself, someone else has to do it for you. The old adage, “Your mother does not work here, clean up after yourself”, is appropriate. Who will step up to fill the various offices? If you look at the past several years, you can see that is the same people, year after year, that fill the leadership roles. The same people volunteer to be Chairmen. The same people are willing to be District Directors for more than a few terms. Of course it is good that these people are willing to serve. But, unless new people step forward and fill these positions, NAMBA does not get the new outlooks, the new ideas, and new enthusiasm. Obviously, I am one of those people who has been a PROPWASH 2 October 2021 NAMBA officer for too long. I am happy to say that someone else is willing to step up and fill the office with new ideas and new enthusiasm. Now, ask yourself are you willing to step up? Are you willing to present new ideas, new viewpoints and renewed enthusiasm? It is easy to help. Show up at work days. Volunteer to work at the local race instead of just race. Make certain the race site is cleaned up when everyone else has left. Offer to help your District Director. There is no money involved, but there is a sense of accomplishment. Can we keep the best insurance coverage we have enjoyed for almost 30 years? This is a scary problem. There are a few members that do not care about anything other than themselves. We continue to hear about NAMBA members drinking at local races. We continue to hear about NAMBA members smoking marijuana at local races. Just because you are old enough to drink alcohol or live in an area that allows the personal use of marijuana, do not think you are allowed to drink or use marijuana at a NAMBA event. Drinking has been a problem at NAMBA event for some time. The marijuana problem is recent. The District Director, CD, or event organizer must enforce the rules prohibiting alcohol and/or marijuana at a NAMBA event. If the offender does not comply, that member must leave. If they refuse to comply or leave, it is up to the District Director to apply our zero tolerance policy. Offending members will soon find that their NAMBA membership has been lost. They will not be allowed to rejoin for a period of time and they will not be allowed to enter NAMBA events. If you want to keep your NAMBA membership, use the alcohol and marijuana somewhere other than the NAMBA event site. A few years ago, there were examples of members threatening to sue NAMBA officers. It is difficult to take on the responsibilities of the NAMBA office when people threaten to sue you if you do not agree with them. To protect NAMBA of- ficers from expensive legal expenses, we expanded NAMBA’s insurance policy to cover legal expenses NAMBA officers might incur for doing their job. As some members have filed suits against NAMBA District Directors, we have relied on this insurance coverage. However, the number of suits has seemed to grow. Members who don’t get their way, turn to lawyers. NAMBA officers respond by turning it over to the insurance company. The insurance company hires big law firms to defend the NAMBA officer. So far, not one legal complaint has resulted in any kind of compensation. In every event to date, the suit has been dropped. The complaining member has spent a lot of money and gotten nothing in return. However, the insurance company has spent a lot of money as well. That combined with some foolish accidents, has cost our insurance carrier much more than what we typically pay in premiums. I am surprised that we still have the same quality coverage. If we continue to cost the insurance company large sums, they will drop us. And, once we are dropped, it will be difficult to replace the coverage with anything similar and at greater expense. When you look at NAMBA members drinking and/or smoking marijuana at a NAMBA event: when we have angry members suing NAMBA officers instead of the individuals involved: the insurance coverage for every other member is jeopardized. We all need to think about what our actions mean to every other member.