Site/Chapter Insurance

[Harrison Ruffin]

     RRRG requirements for USHPA chapters are to have more than one club officer and a safety officer. DAR does not meet these requirements as we only have a treasurer since our president resigned. Our application will not pass underwriting. By waiting until August to elect more officers we are only delaying our insurance certificate. It would seem to be in DAR's best interest to comply with RRRG requirements as soon as possible. We should have a club meeting to elect officers to the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and to appoint a Safety Officer immediately. In the meantime our application is deficient and incomplete. In the interest of oversight and transparency there should be several club members with access to the RRRG process. This is the case with other clubs.

     The DAR website should be updated to reflect that we only have a treasurer. Inaccuracies on the website are not in the club's best interest.

Blue Skies

[Jennifer Cohoon]

Thanks Harrison,

Yes I spoke with RRRG again just yesterday and he anticipates sending the updated requirements to us next week. I also messaged Nico to set up a time to finalize his requirements for his property. Figured I'd set up a club meeting after I heard back from Nico on a timeframe that way we can tackle all the issues at once. I'll be putting out an agenda with all the requirements we'll need once I get all the information and then members can vote on how we proceed.

Maybe a club meeting at the end of July or first week in august... anyone?

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[heather amaryllis]

Thank you Jen,

I would like to suggest an online vote ASAP for new officers... Followed by a later meeting to address other issues that aren't as time sensitive....

Trevor resigned over a month ago on June 8th, and posted this comment in his resignation email:  

"Section 5C of the bylaws for our club states how my Resignation should be handled. You are all to vote on someone from the active members."

The lack of officers is one of the main issues regarding the insurance renewal.  Why the delay on voting in new officers? 

Heather 

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

Unfortunately, I'm not available to do this right until after the 20th. I intend to provide a write-up soon after with all the pending issues. 

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

As well, the main reason that I was planning to do it all at once is so that we have a complete picture of everything that is needed and whoever decides to take it on knows exactly what they are getting themselves into. 

On Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 12:11 PM heather amaryllis <ha....@gmail.com> wrote:

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[heather amaryllis]

Thanks Jen, 

I don't think you need to be anywhere in person for the club to vote in new officers... and actually my understanding is that we as members without a president can go ahead and do that without you if you're unavailable. 

Is there a reason you know of that we don't need new officers? If so please explain. 

I know there are a multitude of issues, but we don't need to wait and address them all at once, we can at least elect officers in the mean time. 

Thank you,

Heather 

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[heather amaryllis]

Thanks for your explanation, that is a very valid point. 

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[Jason Flannery]

I support an in person meeting and will pay my dues in person as well when a date is chosen. Cheers

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

It's not that it's an in person thing. I'm just saying I'm not available to coordinate anything until after the 20th. Also we still don't have official details of the requirements and won't for at least another week or 2.

Just to be clear, we will likely need to vote some more board members to get involved but currently we are just waiting to hear back from RRRG so we can assess what that involvement needs to be. Also, I did not accept Trevors resignation and we are still compliant per our bi-laws at this point. Until we know more from RRRG I don't see a need to rush for voting new board members but if the members want to move forward with something by all means, go for it. 

In the meantime, I assure you that I am not able to and will not make any choices without a club vote. I'm literally just waiting on details so I can share them with everyone and we can make choices based on everyone having time to see and review the new requirements. I just got off the phone with Steve at RRRG and went over what to expect from some of the requirements. They will mainly consist of site guide updates for all of the central Oregon sites, not just Nico's property. He stated that he would be willing to work with us so we don't have to do them all at once but I assure you it is a paragliding mountain of paperwork. All possible of course. Like I've said before I will share more details as soon as I get them. 

But please be patient, RRRG is very busy and they assured me that they will get the list of requirements to us as soon as they can. I also want to add that it doesn't help our case to have multiple people calling them. If you have questions please contact me first. If you question that I am not doing enough to help get us through RRRG then let's discuss and resolve that here next. Then if that doesn't work, start calling him.

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[heather amaryllis]

Hello Jen,

Trevor resigned officially, there is nothing in the bylaws that states that your acceptance is needed to make that official.  However the bylaws do state what to do in the event of an officer resigning. 

#5C - In the event of a resignation of a club officer, nominations will be solicited from club members and voted on. 

There is more work to be done to get the club compliant with USHPA and RRRG than one or two officers should have to do. That is why they ask that we have at least 4 officers and a safety officer. So no one expects you to take on more than the position you signed up for which is treasurer. You can hold two positions like President and treasurer, but we still need at least one more person to be VP and Secretary. And that's not Trevor because he officially resigned. But RRRG and the USHPA board are tired of our club kicking the can down the road, and would prefer to see our club elect 4 officers and a safety officer to demonstrate our commitment to making a healthier community and stronger club. 

FYI, Steve asked me to call him. 

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

Like I said go for it. I just told you what I was waiting on and when I thought that information would be available. 

If people want to do the voting now go for it. Who is stepping up and volunteering for these positions? 

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[Harrison Ruffin]

Jen,

     I believe as Trevor stated in his resignation that there is a process, we nominate individuals and then vote. If there are club members that are interested is serving, they should speak up now. We can then nominate those who express interest and then vote them in.

    I would like to add a few items to the agenda and possible vote at the next meeting. As these items directly impact club/landowner insurance and possible litigation, I feel thier expediting is in order.

     1. We add to the club bylaws the mandatory requirement of a club safety officer.

     2. We add to the club bylaws the mandatory requirement of site liaison officers for each club site along with a protocol for how we deal with new/visiting pilots. This would include a vetting process(there is a process in the USHPA SOP's to do this) , on site intro, club membership and USHPA currency, at a minimum. There should be an enforcement mechanism to ensure that visiting/new pilots follow these rules

      3. We add to the club bylaws some language about flying under the influence of alcohol or drugs along with some sort of enforcement. The idea here is there have been two incidents involving pilots under the influence. With this history and no rules or enforcement we are setting ourselves up for potential litigation. In court it would go something like the club was aware and has nothing in place or on paper regarding this issue. The lack of rules and enforcement along with the history makes us sitting ducks.

     4. We add to the club bylaws the mandatory requirement that to use the private land or any of the sites covered by club insurance that you must be a current USHPA P2 or better and a current member of DAR. The San Diego club as most clubs have these requirements for all of their sites public or private. There should also be an enforcement mechanism to this rule. 

It is my feeling that these rules would help with insurance and potential litigation as well as reduce the number of incidents. Rules like these have helped promote a more safety conscious culture in clubs like Ruch Valley, Santa Barbara, San Diego and at Point of the Mountain, just to name a few. Pine Mountain had it's first fatality a while back and we had a close call yesterday. Let's be proactive or at this point reactivate and put something in place to show that we do have a culture of safety in our flying community.

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[Snowmoparaboarder]

I think another good addition to the clubs bylaws would be that no one with commercial interests at Pine Mountain should be able to hold Club officer or board member positions as it could result in a conflict of interest or self-serving decision making or policies.

Which incidents at Pine Mountain were caused by pilots under the influence? I am unaware of these incidents? Are there incident reports documenting this?

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[heather amaryllis]

Ok so the club is in need of three new officers, for President, vice president, and Secretary. Plus a safety officer. We need these positions filled in order to get our USHPA club chapter insurance and the site insurance. We have been given a pass for many years, but are not in good standing to be granted another pass. When we have incidents at our sites, it endangers the whole country and free flight across the nation. We are not in a bubble.

I believe the goals of having these positions filled is to foster a strong community of pilots who are committed to Site Preservation, Preservation of the FAA exemption that allows us to fly anywhere, basically preserving our ability to enjoy our sport. This involves accident prevention and mitigation, nurturing a culture of safety, and respect for those who allow us to fly and use their property including public and private lands. Understanding the years of effort and trailblazing by those who have fought for and won the rights we enjoy, and also to have a diverse representation of all the groups who fly in our area. It would be awesome to have a Hangglider, speed flyer, PPG, etc. Even though these activities are currently not allowed at the private site, our club is supposed to encompass all the sites in the Central Oregon area. Please correct me if I'm wrong here or if you disagree. In a relatively small community, it's inevitable that each and every one of is may end up contributing in some capacity. Probably half of the members have held officer or other positions in the past. Maybe it's like Jury duty, only it's optional and more relevant to each of us.😂

Please, please, please if you are willing to have a go, these positions don't require a lot of time as long as there are enough officers to share the responsibilities. 

Please send Jen a private email at deserta...@hotmail.com if you would like to be considered for a position. (Jen, are you ok with this? ) When, and if we have any volunteers we can then take votes. 

Any other members who have comments, objections, changes about this process please do chime in!! 

Hopefully,

Heather 

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

Thanks Harrison for putting something forward that we can work with. Anyone interested in taking a position please speak up. If you have any questions feel free to message/email me, I'll do my best to help you understand what the roles entail. 

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[Harrison Ruffin]

I did not say that  pilots under the influence caused the incident. I said the have been two incidents that involved pilots under the influence. As all reports are anonymous I don't know who the pilots was. The other incident I was involved in the rescue and the injured pilot expressed remorse about being under the influence I included it in my report to USHPA and AIRS. There were other responders who witnessed the pilots statement. In the interest of not blaming or pointing fingers and privacy I will not divulge the pilots name. 

    Are you against or for enacting these rules?

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

Hey all,

I will be putting together an agenda in the next few days for a meeting to discuss and vote on the topics that are being brought up. If you have suggestions or ideas that you would like discussed during this meeting please post here or if you would rather you can email at deserta...@hotmail.com

It seems that most people would prefer an in person meeting to discuss the items. Does the 20th @ 7pm, 22nd @ 1pm or 25th @ 7pm. I am open to other suggestions as well but just throwing some dates out there.

Also, if you are interested in taking on a leadership role please reach out.

Thanks,

Jen

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[Darrell Malick]

Restating this suggestion by "rideand" just using different words:  

"I suggest we disqualify anyone who has a proven track record of being willing to invest their time, money, energy and resources to our sport from being an officer or board member."

I disagree.  Those are exactly the people who would do the best jobs.

[heather amaryllis]

Hi Jen,

I'd like to suggest maybe having a Telegram chat that is the official chat group for the club.  I suspect that the google group email is not reaching some members, and the general trend with other clubs is to have a telegram group.  

I also noticed that in the Rogue Valley club they have 3 (I think) levels of membership depending on how local the member is. The levels each have different voting rights and different fees.  I personally believe that only current members should be able to vote.  

I'm ok with most of those dates.  

Thank you,

Heather

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[heather amaryllis]

Hi Jen,

In addition to voting members being current members, I also believe that officer positions should be held by current members. 

Thank you,

Heather 

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[Harrison Ruffin]

20th at 7 works for me. Thank you Jen.

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

Just a heads up, it will likely be more than a few days before the agenda is prepared as it will be a bit of an ongoing document but I will do my best to have it out at least a couple days prior to the decided meeting date so people can review.

I will post all this stuff on the telegram group pine mt telegram group as well but feel free to pass the following links to anyone you wish. I think that google groups is best since it is most available to everyone. You don't need a specific app/device to use. 

https://t.me/joincohgpa

https://groups.google.com/g/desertairriders

The positions that are needing to be filled to meet USHPA chapter requirements are as follows (also see below)

President, Vice President, Secretary and safety coordinator. We are working on putting together a more accurate description of these positions for people to review. Again if you are interested in a position or have questions please let me know you can ask here or email me at deserta...@hotmail.com

Everything else that has been posted regarding this meeting will be thoroughly reviewed and added to the agenda for discussion. We will discuss and vote at the meeting. 

-Jen

USHPA Officer requirements that we don't comply with 

C. Chapters must have a minimum of four officers, to include President, Vice President, Secretary,
and Treasurer. No member may hold more than two offices at a time. The office of President, and
Vice President cannot be held by the same individual.
D. Not less than 60% of chapter officers must be USHPA members. Non-pilot chapter members may
serve as chapter officers provided they do not hold more than 40% of the elected officer
positions. The 40% limit does not apply to non-pilot officers who are USHPA members. Expelled
or suspended USHPA members may not be chapter members or serve as chapter officers.
E. Chapters are required to appoint or elect a Safety Coordinator responsible for encouraging safety
and helping develop and implement site risk assessments and safety protocols. The Safety
Coordinator must be a USHPA member but is not required to be a club officer.

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[Nathan Braun]

Through all of this diplomacy I would like to remind people of the human factor.

The original cause of the closer was gross negligence by non members teaching and flying from the primary LZ.

The club officers were contributing, encouraging and qualifying this behavior.

This is just the truth. Not an attack.

They haven't even acknowledged this. This will be the issue moving forward however it is presented.

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[Jennifer Cohoon]

This is not a true statement. Please do not continue making statements like.

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[Nathan Braun]

It's true

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