chriswelker

When you see Glennduh Bangsus or Ed Scott ask them why Chris Needles retired.

My drop zone, West Point Skydiving Adventures, was the only DZ to participate in the inspection program as soon as it was available back in 2002, I think.*** I think you work for USPA, don't you?

it made seem as if your quotes were after you were elected.*** You noticed that,too? Unfortunatly the uspa lawyers didn't nor did anyone else in a decision making position.Kinda sucks don't it? Chris Welker

while you feel jan did a lot of damage to USPA, many of feel she didn't and when reading over the suit, it's is clear that Mr. Welkers statements were just as or more damaging.*** My comments that were made about skyride were made before I was ever a RD. Not to mention some of the things that I was quoted saying were not even my words. For anyone that cares I was never ever contacted by USPA lawyers regarding the skyride case. Due diligence? RIGHT. Chris Welker

Well, if we did inspections, exactly what would we be inspecting?*** Why don't you ask the people who came up with the DZ Inspection program in the 1st place, the GROUP MEMBERSHIP committee. D. provide guidance and direction for the DZ VoluntaryCourtesy Inspection Program, Section 3 of the Group Membership Manual The GM committee came up with this self serving BS and guess what in all the years this program has been around would anyone care to guess how many USPA GM DZ's signed up for a inspection? Well the answer is ONE... and they failed miserably. Ed, why don't you talk to the GM committee and ask them this question...So, exactly what would this inspector be looking at? I bet they don't have a very good answer for you our the association. 7-2.3 FUNCTIONS It will be a function of the Group Membership Committee to— A. promote group member adoption of policies, practices,and procedures, including the the USPA Basic Safety Requirements, that enhance the safety of skydiving B. develop and disseminate information found in Section 4 of the Group Membership Manual, USPA Skydiving Aircraft Operations, concerning the safe operation and maintenance of aircraft used for skydiving. C. supervise and direct the administration of the Group Member Program, Section 1 of the Group Membership Manual D. provide guidance and direction for the DZ VoluntaryCourtesy Inspection Program, Section 3 of the Group Membership Manual E. instill ethical business practices among group members F. promote communication and the sharing of ideas among group members G. consider issues before the board that affect the business interests of group members H. assist in the planning and conduct of the USPA Drop Zone Operators Conference Chris

West Tennessee Skydiving has a Cessna 195 basically set up like a Porter but you can only do 4 + camera. Climbs well to 12,500 or more if needed. Mullins' place is real nice. [email protected]

They would be jumping without liability insurance and in the event of an accident, they might just walk away leaving someone else holding the bag. *** There is a very easy simple solution to that comment. If my memory serves me correctly, when you jump at most DZ's non- or GM you are required to fill out a waiver and show proof of rig being in date. Just ask the jumper to provide proof of libality insurance whether that be in the form of a USPA membership which provides upto $50,000 or a verifiable personal libality policy with a min of $50,000 worth of coverage. I have no plans to be a DZO, ever; however, if I was it would not make any difference if the jumper was a USPA member or not just as long as they play by my policy and have PROOF of personal libality insurance and major medical insurance. If somebody "walks off" I would eat it.It would be my responsobility to protect me and my business not some association or gov. agency from screw ups. Chris

7-2.1 INTRODUCTION The Group Membership Committee of the board is established by Article VIII, Section 2 of the By-Laws as a standing committee. This section outlines the purpose,function, procedures, and responsibilities of the committee and its chair. 7-2.2 PURPOSE The purpose of this committee is to represent the interests of group members before the board and for the benefit ofindividual members. 7-2.3 FUNCTIONS It will be a function of the Group Membership Committee to— A. promote group member adoption of policies, practices,and procedures, including the the USPA Basic Safety Requirements, that enhance the safety of skydiving B. develop and disseminate information found in Section 4 of the Group Membership Manual, USPA Skydiving Aircraft Operations, concerning the safe operation and maintenance of aircraft used for skydiving. C. supervise and direct the administration of the Group Member Program, Section 1 of the Group Membership Manual D. provide guidance and direction for the DZ VoluntaryCourtesy Inspection Program, Section 3 of the Group Membership Manual E. instill ethical business practices among group members F. promote communication and the sharing of ideas among group members G. consider issues before the board that affect the business interests of group members H. assist in the planning and conduct of the USPA Drop Zone Operators Conference 7-2.4 COMMITTEE PROCEDURE A. The committee convenes during the board meetings. For simplicity and uniformity, the following committee procedures are recommended: 1. Previous work of the committee should be reviewed. 2. Recommendations to the board or president should be formulated. 3. A member of the committee should be designated by the Group Membership Committee chair to draft any recommended resolutions or other documents, if these have not been previously prepared. 4. Proposed drafts of resolutions or other documents should be acted upon by the committee and those approved should be submitted subsequently to the board or other appropriate authority. 5. New matters to come before the committee should be considered. 6. Projects for further research should be assigned to committee members or other interested parties. B. At other times, the committee may also conduct business by mail, fax, e-mail, or conference call. 7-2.5 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR The Group Membership Committee Chair— A. is responsible for ensuring that the functions of the Group Membership Committee are satisfied B. leads and coordinates committee projects and assigns specific tasks to committee members C. chairs all committee meetings and presents committee reports to the board D. ensures that the president and other necessary personnel are kept informed of the committee projects and progress Below is the USPA conflict of interest stuff. When you look at it you should realize that every time a GM DZ votes or has any input on ant type of GM policy it is a CONFLICT OF INTEREST. 4. Identifying, reporting, preventing, and eliminating financial conflicts of interest on the board a. A financial conflict of interest occurs when a board member compromises, or appears to compromise, his or her duties in carrying out USPA policy because of an external relationship that directly or indirectly affects the financial interest of the board member, any family member, or any associated entity. b. Board members may not make or participate in the making of a decision or vote on any matter if there exists a financial conflict of interest. c. Intentional and/or flagrant violations of this policy may be considered grounds for removal from the board in accordance with the constitution and bylaws. d. Procedure (1) Any board member may bring a "point-of-order" motion if that member believes that another board member is voting on an issue that would constitute a financial conflict of interest. (2) The president must then rule if the member in question may vote on the issue. (3) If the president rules that the member will not vote, that member may bring an "appeal" motion. (4) The appeal motion does not require to be seconded. (5) The full board or a quorum thereof would then, by a majority of a ballot, decide the issue of allowing the board member to vote. e. declarations (1) All board members must declare in a written, dated, and signed statement at the time of their election all financial interests, direct or indirect, in skydiving related businesses of their own, those of any family members, and those of any associated entities. (2) This includes but is not limited to drop zone operations; parachute equipment manufacturing, distribution, and sales; skydiving instruction for hire; and jump aircraft operations for hire. (3) This statement must be updated in a timely manner. USPA GOVERNANCE MANUAL • SECTION 1: GOVERNANCE Chris

Another fine example of why the GM program should be dropped. In this case, I'm sure the head shed would say the "fee" is a way to keep fairness in the system by forcing a surcharge on non-member DZ's (which, USPA would say, need to pony up money for resources needed to process the course's administrative tasks pre and post-course that member DZ's pay for in the annual GM dues). But, as any businessperson will tell you, any fee, fine, or any other hike in costs simply results in a price increase (somewhere) in the products and/or services the business sells.Quote The following e-mail exchanges between me and the bod are a fine example of what the problem is..the BOD themselves(most of them anyway) I don't make it a practice of sharing my e-mails but we gotta do what we gotta do. Sherry, Please add the following agenda item to the Group Membership Committee: There was a motion that was put forth by the Group Membership Committee at the Winter 2000 BOD meeting that makes non-Group Members pay a fee for holding a rating course. The motion was voted on and passed by the full bod. This motion needs to be reconsidered to allow non GM DZ's to hold USPA rating courses without any added fees since it is a Violation of Anti Trust laws to exclude or charge non-GM DZ's that compete in the same skydiving market as GM DZ's because in the eye's of the courts USPA could be considered a TRADE ORGANIZATION(could be a coin flip )and could possibly cause the USPA another Anti Trust Lawsuit.Not to mention that it causes an unnecessary burden on the due paying individual members that the rating program was designed for anyway. The rating course program is a benefit to the individual member. I have researched all GM documented material and nowhere can I find where the rating programs are a benefit for being a GM. We had a USPA AFF rating course at Mike Mullins' DZ back in May of 2000 when WTS was a non-GM and we did not have to pay any type of extra fee but my wife and I did spend around 2k to go to a BOD meeting the Summer of 1999 to petition the BOD for an AFF rating course to be held at WTS because Glenn Bangs(when he was the Dir. of S&T) told me that WTS could not have a rating course at WTS because the BOD said so. In actuality there were a couple of words in the USPA rating course contract that needed to be changed and that was all. A motion was put forth and voted on by the full BOD and passed and we held the rating course. I know that it can be changed back so let's GIT' ER DUN! Thank you for taking care of this in advance. Chris Welker USPA Member #121707 Hi Chris, Sherry forwarded me your email regarding non GM DZ's to hold a USPA course without the fee. I discussed this matter with Ed Scott. It has been hashed over and over and at this time, I don't feel it needs to be added to the agenda. In addition, we strongly feel that this is not an Anti-trust issue. My reluctance to add it to the agenda is not to disregard its importance to you, but rather one to progress the items that are on the agenda. We don't want to waste important time on items that we feel have little or no traction to progress. The fact that this has been brought up in the past with the same result reaffirms my decision not to add it to the agenda. If however, a significant change or new issues have surfaced regarding the item, then that would substantiate adding it to the agenda. We simply can't be rehashing old items without a significant reason to. If we did, the USPA BOD would never move forward. It is hard enough as it is. I realize that it was a huge expense to attend the BOD meeting in the past for you. However, I encourage you to attend as I do everyone. Thank you, Frank Casares USPA Mountain Regional Director Chris, I fail to see your logic in this matter. I could understand if I was preventing a DZ from becoming a GM and there was a personal gain from it. However that is not the case. Why a DZ would not want to become a GM is beyond me, but that is their choice not mine. A conflit of interest would involve a personal gain for either myself or my DZ. I can't see any gain whatsoever by not putting an item on a agenda. You have more than ample opportunity to voice your opinion in front of the BOD. It doesn't have to be an agenda item in our committee as you well know to have the full attention of the board. I will however, if time permits, will address it if brought up in our committee by any USPA member during that time. Frank Logic: It was okay at the Summer 1999 meeting for a non-GM DZ to hold a USPA rating course without any fees, then at the Winter 2000 a motion is put forth and voted on and passed by the full BOD to charge a fee to the non-GM DZ's to hold a rating course that ultimately benefits the USPA and all of it's members. YOU DON'T SEE THE PROBLEM WITH THIS? WAKE UP MAN! The GM program has made a TRADE ORG. our of our association. The two interests need to be separated. "NO man can serve two masters." Just do the right thing. Chris Welker USPA #121707

I see the conflict of the USPA trying to be both a individual member organization, and a trade organization.*** The following is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the GM chair.I will be suprised if I get a reply with a reasonable explaniation Frank, Could you please give me an explaination why it isn't a conflict of interest for you to be a GM DZ owner and be the GM committee chairman? You realize you have a Financial Interest in this Skydiving thing, right? To me having GM DZ owners maiking decisions on the GM committee is like the inmates telling the warden who is going to guard them. I guess it is time for you to ask Glennduh what to do now. I do expect a relpy. Chris Welker USPA #121707

hey chris, nah, i was awake :-) i was more commenting on how i liked your story.Quote Max, I am sorry for snapping. My father just passed and I am still a little edgey and not thinking 100%. I apologize. Your Friend Chris

in my term on the BOD, i've never felt (LOL) that President Bangs (LOL) ran things like (LOL) a (LOL) dictator (LOL)Quote Were you asleep? Bangsus answers to nobody but his own reflection. If you don't do it his way he will attempt to disccredit you or remove you from your committies. Jan is very intelligent and Glennduh can't stand it that a woman is smarter than him. Chris

***You can still speak however you so choose. However, you are now speaking for the government, not as a private citizen - and you may be held responsible for your words.*** Can you back this up with case law? On second thought, who really gives a rats fart anyway. All we do as skydivers most of the time regarding USPA politics(myself included) is bitch, moan and complain with usually no results. The only reason I ever became an AFF I and got INVOLVED with USPA's bod's was because we had a death at WTS(non gm dz) in 1999. Glennduh Bangsus,when he was director of S&T,made the death report sound like the death wouldn't have occurred if the jumper had been at a gm dz vs a non-gm dz. I called him up to express my displeasure at his unprofessionalism, lack of cl/ass, character and general disrespect for the deceased's family and friends.We did get into a pissing contest. I requested to hold an AFF cert course at WTS( a non gm dz at the time.) Glennduh told me no and when I asked why he said because the bod said so. I called his bluff. My wife and I went to the next bod meeting and got the course. It was worth the 2k plus all the other fess associated with the the AFF course(x's2 for me) to see the smoke rolling out of Glennduh's ears.I was sitting next to him when the bod said yes to us. The bod was very disfunctional in 1999 and things haven't really changed much since then because of LACK OF INVOLVEMENT by the USPA membership. If you want to know what the heck is going on with the USPA start questioning your RD and ND's.If the answers don't jive, find out why by asking someone else.I still haven't found anyone in 9 years involved with the bod or hq that can give you all the correct answers all the time, so sometimes you have to ask a bunch of people to come up with the correct answers.You might even have to get off your mouth or keyboard and do something. The whole Jan thing is a bunch of fertlizer.Glennduh is using Jan as a smoke screen to devert the attention away from the real problem, himself. I was on the bod 1 term. After my first meeting I was wondering why the heck I was needed there or anyone else for that matter since Glennduh runs the bod like a dicktatership. Yes, the system is broke. It will stay that way until more people are willing to take the effort to fix it. Have fun, I am. Chris Welker

BULL SHIT! Winged Warriors Discuss a program by which DZs would offer a comp tandem to any returning wounded vet who wants to make a jump. USPA wants to tell DZOs to 'give away' free tandem jumps. Big DZs may be able to do that, but what about the small DZs that might lose a significant portion of their income by such a policy. I don't think this motion will pass, but it is on the agenda. The USPA GM program HOSED US, NOT JAN. No man can serve to masters. Mr. Welker

If I remember correctly, USPA's insurance will protect you ONLY if you are involved in an incident while jumping at a USPA member DZ. Ergo, requiring USPA membership for insurance purposes is pointless for a non-member DZ. Not saying your statement is false, just that if it's true someone's not paying attention. If I am incorrect, please let me know, but also point me in the direction of your source. Incorrect. Source: Me. I filled out paper work to have a flap replaced that was damaged by a USPA member and the plane was operated and owned by a non-GM at the time.The insurance company paid the claim. The 3rd party liability insurance policy states that the incident/accident must occur at a DZ.

My name was mentioned in the lawsuit more than just once:however, I was misquoted, my words were taken out of context, I was quoted on stuff that was not said or even posted by me. All of the things that was sited for posting were done when I wan not a USPA RD and all of these things were posted before the lawsuit anyway. When did it not become OK to state the TRUTH in this Country. I was not even contacted by USPA attorneys (2 differnent firms btw) to answer the alligations. So how was due dilligence preformed? How can anybody take the rap for something when all the questions haven't been answered in this matter?

Yes WTS (MUllins' place) is a USPA GM

To continue with Gary's theme I would like to offer just a few suggestions to get the situation under control. 1) If your USPA dues are due don't send them in promptly. USPA BY-LAWS Section 4: Delinquencies Notification of failure to pay dues or other indebtedness to USPA, when due, shall be sent to the delinquent member within thirty (30) days following the delinquency. If the said dues or other indebtness shall not have been paid whthin thirty (30) days after mailing of the notice, the membership of said individual or group shall be terminated. This will get Glenn's and Ed's attention and then we can get RESULTS right now. 2) Stop voting the same people in every year. It really is time for a change. If you keep doing the same thing you usually get the same results. 3) Demand answers from your RD and ND's now. Take action TODAY like Gary wrote and hold your elected reps. feet to the fire. I personally think this is just a SMOKE SCREEN to take the focus off of the Executive Committee's BUNGLING of the skyride lawsuit and poor leadership abilities. I have worked with Jan and the BOD and she really cares about the regular skydiver and especially the new skydivers. Jan knows here stuff and is one of the most intelligent people I have ever known. That being wrote, some members of the current USPA BOD's are threatened by her. Of all the things the BOD's need to be working on, this impeachment crap is just that, a bunch of CRAP. It is time to wipe the USPA clean in the next USPA elections.

Because the Boy Scouts receive tax dollars/public funding*** I believe the Boy Scouts are a PRIVATE MEMBERSHIP org, just like the USPA; therefore, they receive no public funding. Do you really think that the Supreme Court of the USA would have allowed a publicly funded entity to exclude gays from membership? When B&C sued the USPA they cited alot of restrictive free trade mumbo jumbo. The Group Membership program is a TRADE ORGANIZATION that excluded 3 members because they don't like the way they run their business'. The Group Membership program is as worthless as tits on a boar hog that derives portions of it's funding from the Individuel Membership. Chris

You will be going faster with a bag lock. It is a HIGH SPEED mal. Hey you may have made a new skydiving discovery. I would like to see you put your money where your mouth is. Why don't you get with Billy Weber so he can set the perameters of the mal up, you jump it then come back and share your findings with the forum. If you would like to put some money on the deal I'll bet ya $1000 you will be going faster. Chris

Time for the Group Membership program to hit the bricks. Chris Welker

Skydive Dallas. Owner is Dr. Lee Schlichtemeier. He is the USPA TRES. and a member of the EXEC.committee. Chris Welker

***as for those who tell me "you NEED to have that mtg. Interest, for a write off".... Fact is , that the standard deduction,, around 14,000$ is waaaay more than any itemized list would be,,, including interest, taxes, med expenses etc......*** Excellent point, but most people don't understand that it is better to send the GOV. taxes than the bank more money. Example if you had a $1000 house pmt. X's 12 = $12,000 taxes on 12k for me is $4200.SO why would you send the bank 12k to keep from sending the GOV. $4200 Yes I am living debt free and loving it! Chris Welker

Jack Daniels is not a Bourbon. It really is in a class by itself. Jack Daniels is Tennessee sippin Whiskey. Chris Welker Tenn. Squire

Could be a rack & pinion problem. It could be something a simple as a belt, or maybe you need to add some power steering fluid to the reservoir. FYI make sure the timing belt has been serviced. Timing belts on vehicles need to be serviced every 60,000.If your car had 127k when you got it, then it should have been replaced at 120k. I would follow up on that. Chris Welker