i have been a member of aerc since somewhere around 1980. i have seen
some good and bads things come into aerc. i believe that cash awards
will be detrimental to aerc. if a ride wants to put up prize money, then
aerc
should not sanction that ride. i believe that there were money rides in the
70s
that came and went for lack of interest. again, money ride = no
sanctioning.
in fact, i think that there are too many year-end awards given to the
membership.
i think that the awards should be given to only the top three places in a
division.
also, if you want to participate in any awards type program, then that
member
should pay an additional cost to the yearly membership fee at renewal time.
the rookie of the year award is another bad example of monies for awards
being
spent. this program should not have been discussed with the general
membership.
the board should have veto this program immediately.
"to finish is to win." we do not need any prize money to complete a ride.
being
part of a group of people that put on a yearly ride, we do not and hopefully
will
never put up prize money. we pride ourselves on putting on a quality ride
and
sharing our part of the country with those who enter our ride. we really
down
play the awards thing and go more for the completion thing.
.
there is too much money being spent with less members renewing their annual
membership. i believe that aerc should listen to the members (even to those
who do not have email) at the convention and try to increase our membership.
aerc needs to look at its current operation and start some type of cost
containment
instead of raising the annual membership fee. the awards program is one
spot
where money could be saved immediately by eliminating the number of awards.
aerc needs to act soon or there will be no members.
again, thanks for soliciting input form the membership and i will be
interested in
the results.
/s/ joe larkin