APBA elections a sad day for APBA

[1hshawwpba]

All members of APBA received ballots for election of board for APBA and only approx. 14% of the membership chose to vote! That is sad, everyone complains about insurance and issues going on with current operations of APBA but when given a chance to vote out the old supporters of those who make the decisions on issues that effect the membership, the silent majority stands back and complains about issues and growing cost of insurance and sanctions while we watch the membership continue to drop. If you voted enjoy the team you selected, there will no change as we are going to continue to have the same poor leadership at the TOP of APBA and week president that will not stand up and make the tough decisions needed to put safety ahead of personal agendas and membership.
For those who did not make the effort to vote, don't complaint or ask why your membership cost are so high, insurance coast will go up 25% this year and the lack of change as the CURRENT team has gained more supporters for the future years to come.
Enjoy the ride and get out your check book! It will be 2 years before you get another chance to effect change if YOU WISH TO TAKE TIME TO VOTE AND BUY A 43 CENT STAMP TO MAIL YOUR BALLOT!

Re: APBA elections a sad day for APBA Today, 12:16 PM

More great news from your new APBA board and president that was elected by the new BOD members!
The inboard race that had the accident that we all will pay for in higher insurance cost due to race management of the race not following the our own insurance set back rules (whom are leaders of APBA and inboard commission) have collectively voted along with the new elected BOD and agreed to pass the higher insurance cost on to all divisions instead of having the Inboard VP pull the funds from the Inboard promo funds! And they also have agreed to raising all category insurance approx. 25%.
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!! (sorry it is not steak knives)
THEY HAVE NOW AGREED TO ALSO RAISE YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEES FOR NEXT YEAR TO COVER THE LOSS COST!!
Don't expect any additional benefits from the added membership fees, you still will get that great APBA sticker and your plastic membership card for your $$$ what a great deal!
Enjoy the ride, and get out your check books!

[DiGia54D]

Pretty sad indeed. Hell I only ran in Kingston, Tenn and I voted.

[treadguy]

Me too, Wayne.......

[Fastjack]

At least votes came from Shapleigh Maine

[Bob Rusnak]

I really can't say anything or vote as I am not an APBA member. We make one APBA race a year and just wish we could run one of the National events but APBA mandates we have to join for the year. It never was this way. Although I have asked many times why you can't register for the event like it use to be. I never got an answer. Just my opinion.

[Big Don]

Howard, while we have not always agreed.

I will agree with you on, it’s pretty sad that only 14% of the members vote. We all hear a lot of complaining about this is wrong and that is wrong, but when give the opportunity to vote, we (they) don’t.

Problem is, every person you ask will say they voted.

[ajennings4p]

Don I think what we need to ask instead of saying to vote, is to mail it in!! Sure anyone can vote, but if you don't mail it in it won't make any difference!!

[daveracerdsh]

It is sad that only 14% of members voted....maybe we should change the way the ballots are sent out...how bout you get your renewal in the mail in september, with the ballot enclosed...you can't renew membership unless you send ballot in...something like that. Details would of course need to be worked out...but 14% is pathetic....

[bill van steenwyk]

[QUOTE=daveracerdsh;n439613]It is sad that only 14% of members voted....maybe we should change the way the ballots are sent out...how bout you get your renewal in the mail in september, with the ballot enclosed...you can't renew membership unless you send ballot in...something like that. Details would of course need to be worked out...but 14% is pathetic....[/QUOTE)



Can't say I am smart enough to solve this problems. Lord knows I have made a point about it since HR has been in existence, and even before the internet age.

I can remember back in 68 when the membership was MUCH greater than it is now, even in the category I was involved in, still only a high of 20-25% of the membership voted, so it you take the total of the membership back then and the percentage that voted, it is about the same or maybe even a little more. Why more, easy to answer. Just go back to Howard Shaw's 1st post on this thread. It is very simply because that 14% has something to gain by voting, and the rest of the membership doesn't. APBA is unwieldy and it is too hard (almost impossible)to get change, plus the same old folks, or ones with the same ideas that haven't worked, are still in positions of power in the organization AND LIKE IT THE WAY IT IS, and everyone else is too apathetic or powerless to do anything about it.

I would agree with Dave's thought, that maybe the way the ballots are sent out should change. Just wish I was smart enough to have the answer to the problem, but it is not my problem anymore. Maybe,just maybe some of the older RACING members who have retired could have some good ideas that don't have ulterior motives behind them. Unfortunately that is against human nature. And then they would have to get elected so you got the same old problem all over again.

Very simple, when the leadership changes, the organization will, and at 14% voting (the same 14% each year) I would have to agree with Ron HIll.
APBA is circling the drain.

Maybe what is needed is some Draino to unclog it.

[Shane_B]

Maybe APBA can set up a voting section on their website where members can log in and vote - that might get some more votes in (I know my kids and their peers do everything via the web, can't be bothered with mailing in anything - that's why several companies do the mail in rebates because they know there will be a large percentage that will neglect to do the effort to send in the rebate forms). But even with a website set up for secure voting, bet the percentage will still be low due to rationale stated above...

[Racerkyle20]

I've already copy and pasted this into an email to Ryan Berlin and Mark Wheeler. Suggestions like this can be emailed to the APBA leadership. Our emails are listed on the website for things like this. Thanks, I hope we can do this in the future. Makes all too much sense.

[chuck w]

In addition to the voting section anyone running for a position should be required to give a breakdown of all classes and what direction they want it to go. Be clear to people exactly where you stand. Let us know what your plans for the future are. There has not been a single new racer that i have spoken too that knew who to vote for.

[Racerkyle20]

In the mailing you get from APBA for the ballot there is a section of who is running and why. So I'm not sure if these new racers you speak of did not see that in their ballot, or if they simply missed it. Sorry those folks didn't see that portion of the ballot.

In addition to that I personally wrote a FB post explaining why I wanted to run for APBA BOD. I'm probably not 'friends' with all APBA members but I'm 'friends' with a good majority of inboarders and outboarders. So those folks saw my post and knew I was running and why. I got over 200 'likes' so I know at least 200 people saw the post, I'm sure more saw it though.

My personal hope of now being on the APBA BOD is to be able to increase membership through cross category promotions like what Dave Hale and Stock Outboard are doing with H1. Expanding that to having smaller CSH/JH races at those events. We can't have H1 without the smaller categories and getting a new generation of drivers to become the J Michael's or Jimmy Shane's. That's just a start. But if folks want to be all gloom and doom right now because of a few minority opinions that's unfortunate. Things like voting are important and the suggestion Shane_B made above is already in the inbox of the APBA president. So please take the time to make those suggestions you think can help membership. People are listening you just have to make sure the right people hear. APBA BOD email addresses are on the website. If you want to communicate with them, by all means please do so. Hope we can do some good things in the years forward.

[chuck w]

Sounds like a good idea posting your thoughts on fb however i dont go on fb. I wish i did read what you posted. I enjoy taking the time to read what direction people want to go. I mean no disrespect but everything on the ballot looked the same. They usually started racing in j and have been involved there whole life blah blah blah. A specific class breakdown i think could help. There is more too it than growing numbers and getting new people. Lets not forget about all the boats engines and Kevlar parked in basements and garages. Why??

[DiGia54D]

Ok, Has anyone thought of maybe having ballots AT ALL THE NATIONALS? The last 2 Stock/Mod Nationals had incredible turnouts.. How about having drivers fill the Ballot out as part of registration ( Mandatory ). That way the majority of DRIVERS get the votes in. That would be probably 40% plus instead of 14%. Still mail them though for the people that don't go to the nationals that year.

[Graham 18ce]

wondering if there is a percentage breakdown by category? How many Stock/Mod/Pro vs Inboard verse none active memberships...
percentage of active drivers is likely higher than that 14% offers up...just a guess though...

[Karl Dyle]

Being a "new guy" to all of this I think we should all think a little before getting so negative. The total number of APBA members are NOT involved with the various outboard categories ( SO, MOD, J , PRO ) and if back in the " heyday " they had double the voting participation, not 79 or 93 % participation. The fact that today's members can't send in the ballots by 9/14, are you really that shocked? Boat racing is a time consuming hobby. Not all APBA members are that serious about it, probably a lot bigger percentage today, then back in the day when it was all so important to so many. Just like EVERYTHING else involved with the outboard categories, change is necessary to stop the " circling the drain" so to speak. I even had my two J Drivers vote, although they were most certainly disqualified, lol. There are now, as there was back in the day other options, organization wise to APBA. some of these organizations most certainly were formed by people that were not all that enthralled with the the way that the APBA, and it's specific categories , races and rules were being handled. All of the people involved with running the APBA, are in a no win situation. If 100% of them were polled, I'm sure a shocking majority of them would gladly turn over responsibilities to all of these people that tell them how to do EVERYTHING! Go to the races, any race, all the same people, are consistently doing all the work to put the race on, probably way smaller of a percentage than 14% , even if you were just talking about the outboard categories. To quote the captain, " just sayin"

[Smitty]

Haven't been a member in a long time, but Howard is an old pal (I think I sold him his first alky boat) and the discussion was interesting, so here's a reaction:

In elections for local/state/federal offices or (in WA) initiatives and referendums, lots of people don't vote because they don't know the candidates or the issues sufficiently well, and I would bet this is true of APBA elections as well. In my county a Voter's Guide, which runs to many pages in the big elections, is mailed to every voter and provides statements by each of the candidates rather like resumes, with some biographical background and political philosophy and maybe some assertions about particular issues. Better yet, for each ballot measure the proponent organization and the opponent organization each writes up a statement, pro and con. Naturally, in the limited space of the Voter's Guide it isn't possible to go into depth, but it still is often enough for a voter to see who and what he should support or reject. Naturally, there are some races that you can't get a handle on; unless you are personally involved, how do you know who should be Fire Commissioner or who should be a judge, for instance? So in these instances, I don't cast a vote.

The relevance (I hope) of all that is supposed to point out that members may be disinclined to vote when they don't know the players. The conscientious member knows he shouldn't just vote for the local guy who is running for the national office when he has only heard of the other candidate, who might be a better choice. Just being an APBA member doesn't mean you have all the inside dope on what goes on at the national office and who is or isn't acting in the Association's best interests. So how do you cast an informed vote? Howard, I'm guessing a lot of non-voters are not so much too lazy to mail a ballot as they are thinking that since at best they have only heard a part of one side of whatever the issue is, they might as well leave the voting to the members who are up on these matters. It isn't nearly enough just to read a one-paragraph bio from each candidate that says, "I'm John Doe, have been racing in these classes in these categories since whenever, and will listen to your ideas and work for the best interests of racing, yadda, yadda."

Therefore, maybe the answer is to define the issues and the differences in the candidates with on-line debates. This would force them to be specific, to answer pointed questions from a moderator and/or from the members, clarifying where they stand and the quality of their thinking, and in the case of incumbents to explain and defend their record. Sure, sometimes this could get quite heated, but it sure would give the members a better idea of who should get their vote.

Anyway, it's an idea . . . .

[1hshawwpba]

You have a great idea but the current leaders know that the 14% voting is to their advantage and they don't/would not commit to opening up to what they want/will do. After all they have controlled the APBA BOD for last 10 years and the membership and financial status continues to fall to record levels! Good to hear from you Smitty!