Bob Thompson suspended from WBCCI for expressing his opinions about the IBT

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by eubank

Larson's post was in a different thread on the WBCCI forum:

WBCCI Forum -


Lynn

That was a canned response wherein miss-information was disseminated by the President of the club, our leader?

[eubank]

Originally Posted by LI Pets

That was a canned response wherein miss-information was disseminated by the President of the club, our leader?

I don't know! The message in that particular thread was the only message that Larson posted on the topic, as far as I know.

Lynn

[bredlo]

Starting with the elementary school PTA...
to Boy Scouts,
to everything about high school,
to dysfunctional boards of University trustees,
to angry condominium board meetings...

it seems you can't get any group of people together without feelings getting hurt, egos bruised, charters and clauses being quoted, interpreted and re-interpreted, and finally big dust ups that leave people ostracized and battle lines drawn.

Like others have already said, this is a hobby. I'm pretty sure it does no one any good to get their blood pressure up over club rules, when that blood pressure could instead be headed south by spending more time Airstreaming, and less time in meetings...

[Minnie's Mate]

While, if I read Mr. Larson's response correctly, at face value it was not what Bob Thompson had to say that got him suspended, but how he said it that got him suspended. Several have agreed that he went a little too far with some of his comments, but it is agreeable that his impassioned e-mail was to point out disappointments in recent events in the administration of the club. Can we not agree that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?

[dufferin]

Originally Posted by mistral blue

August 26, 2008

.....

5. Normally the number of filed grievances in a year, even several years, is extremely small (maybe one). This is a tribute to our Members and their commitment to our ‘Code of Ethics.’ However, this year at the 2008 Bozeman International Rally, three (3) grievances were filed with the International President. The details of each grievance are still under the ‘Confidentiality’ umbrella by the Ethics and Grievance Committee and the International Executive Committee. In regards to these three grievances, each member needs to know and understand these following basic facts:

.......

So we know that one grievance was against Bob, one is against Leo Garvey who is the 3rd?????

Would it be the other candidate that ran from the floor????

I would really love to hear about it!!!

So someone can tell who is the 3rd one.

The confidentiality is an umbrella for those who don't want to be criticize.
Why do you think every trial is public : to make sure a fair justice is hold.

My decision is made I send tomorrow a grievance against Jim Franklin for his statement.

ENOUGH NOW.

[RedSHED]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

...Can we not agree that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?

Actually, you catch the most with fresh manure.



Seriously though, this movement needs a t-shirt and a slogan ... Hundreds of them at Madison in July.
Worn at the appropriate venue, this could actually send a message.

Maybe a flag too?

Nothing sarcastic or crude. Too easy. Also too easy to dismiss. IBT members get home, every picture has one or a dozen of those conscience nagging garish yellow shirts with "FREE BOB" on the front and back.

[joecolao]

Apparently there is no such confidentiality clause in the By-Law of WBCCI.
My understanding is that it has just been created so the facts can be kept from the membership, or our IP is getting wrong information from others.

[dufferin]

Originally Posted by joecolao

Apparently there is no such confidentiality clause in the By-Law of WBCCI.
My understanding is that it has just been created so the facts can be kept from the membership, or our IP is getting wrong information from others.

that is actually typical of dictatorship.

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by RedSHED

Seriously though, this movement needs a t-shirt and a slogan ... Hundreds of them at Madison in July.

Worn at the appropriate venue, this could actually send a message.

Great idea, but be sure to park your unit at the Friends of Bob (and Leo) rally nearby the International, so that the Executive Board can count the trailers that aren't registered at the International to see how much $$$ their actions are costing them.

And, even though us Friends of Bob attendees won't be able to enter the International Rally buildings without a rally ribbon, we can certainly hang out with our buds in the parking areas, which are open to the public. (Unless the WBCCI wants to spend a lot of money on barbed wire and checkpoints! )

[cameront120]

Sounds to me like the club needs to disolve, dump the rule book and the folks in charge. Then regroup and re-organize with a new committment to its membership and a guide outlining what the club is about and how it functions. Scrap the rules that have nothing to do with camping and fun. If the units are what really make the club what it is, why is there a need for leadership beyond the local or regional level? Seems like bureaucracy exists where none is really genuinely needed.

[jayray5]

As the kids say---way too much drama! Who feels the need to be in a group that makes you jump though hoops JUST to be "involved". Let us camp and enjoy the occasional AS sighting. I have met some great AS folks with nary a mention of WBCCI.

[goransons]

I'm a total outsider, so I understand I lack much of the background knowledge of the group. That alone probably makes in none of my business, so please excuse my over simplified thoughts. It seems to me there are really two choices for people wanting the club experience stated in the emails/posts

1. Address/continue to address the system and press for changes (which will be slow but would preserve the group as a whole)

2. Split off and create a new club that takes the "best of" concepts (or at least what that group values as the best) and leave those ideals/people with different view points for the existing club to enjoy/experience. This would "split" the hobbie per say, perhaps more, perhaps less than the division that exists already.

It sounds to me like some regions have already laid a foundation for #2. To me, whether it is #1 or #2 we eventually want to become part of a really fun, relaxed camping group and just hope one of those two happen so there is a club atmosphere there at all.

My wife and I had been members of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) and watched that organization run in the red and abruptly disappear entirely this year, largely from a disfunctional, misorganized national level board. This happened after a poorly attended international conference caused significant debt and declining membership. We've been very involved both in membership, leadership and funding of other music organizations at the state level but just have had to many irons in the fire to get involved in IAJE or other clubs (such as WBCCI) at that level. Now people are left with nothing.

IMHO it simply comes down is the WBCCI as it currently exists worth to the members seeking change the efforts needed, or is it in their best interests to form a club that better fits them.

[norsea]

Originally Posted by cameront120

Sounds to me like the club needs to disolve, dump the rule book and the folks in charge. Then regroup and re-organize with a new committment to its membership and a guide outlining what the club is about and how it functions. Scrap the rules that have nothing to do with camping and fun. If the units are what really make the club what it is, why is there a need for leadership beyond the local or regional level? Seems like bureaucracy exists where none is really genuinely needed.

I could not agree more.

As I have stated in other threads about the WBCCI and the ongoing trials and tribulations the members are suffering.

I am firmly convinced that the structure of the organization makes it virtually impossible (meaning VERY difficult) for the individual member in a unit to have any impact at high levels. What I find to be a shame is that the club was deliberately structured this way. It definitely was NOT structured to be a "bottom up" driven organization.

Just one look at the 74 pages of the bylaws should remove all doubt that anyone could possibly have about this. If you're not convinced take a look at the section that defines what a member in a unit must do to get a change to the bylaws put before the membership for a vote of approval. Incredible.

Anyone interested in joining us in the establishment of a new Airstream club please PM me.

Jim

[Tom Nugler]

OK. I tried to stay out of this but the Heinekens I’ve just enjoyed at the start of a long vacation have loosened my tongue.(Fingers?) It’s been said "Don’t complain if you don’t vote." I just voted with my checkbook.
I sent in my 70 bucks last week as a new WBCCI member to the Wisconsin Unit, with the express desire to attend the International. Now this news of the latest parliamentary B.S. from the current administration has hit the Forums. I don’t know Bob Thompson, but I know injustice and political dirty tricks when I see it.
A long time former member warned me that I should keep clear of the WBCCI. However, once again it becomes abundantly clear that newer, younger members are sorely needed to transform the Club into an organization that will be relevant to us "Boomers". I’ve got 13 years to retirement. It hope it doesn’t take that long to effect a change.
I’ve read this thread from start to finish, again, and would like to make a comment on the proposed responses to the expulsion of a respected member. No disrespect to anyone intended.
Sending voided checks, withholding dues to the last minute and scribbling on applications won’t have an impact, as it would appear these transactions aren’t handled by those at the top. Turning numbers upside down may be a bit impractical. Holding an alternate rally at an off site location is IMHO is going to be as effective as going to the RNC convention and protesting in the cordoned off area out of sight and sound of the main event. The leadership won’t see, hear or care about your message, even if they did in the first place. In fact they may be more than happy to see you take your dissention, "blogs" and get the hell out of their club
The Chinese Communists running the Olympic Games the last two weeks had a solution to the problem of international protesters. As reported on NPR this week, they set up an area in which to protest in plain sight of the venues. All you had to do was apply for a permit. There were 77 applications. None were granted and the area remained empty. Foreign protesters in unapproved locations were carted off to prison and released after the games.
You need the "In Your Face" type of approach. No, not the chanting, marching, sitting in the hallways waiting to be dragged off by the Cops protest we all enjoyed in ’60 and ‘70s. The T-shirts, hats, upside down Unit flags and pirate eye-patches are an excellent start. The Leadership needs to see how strong the sentiment is among the members.
The rank and file members need to start drafting a slate of progressive candidates now, build support during the winter and have them ready for nomination from within long before the International.
Maybe this rant would have been a better fit over at Save Wally. I joined up over there too. Maybe a new member in an established Unit can’t do a thing to promote change. Maybe I’m over estimating the will of the membership to effect change. I do know that you gotta start somewhere and sometime soon.

Tom.

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by Tom Nugler

Holding an alternate rally at an off site location is IMHO is going to be as effective as going to the RNC convention and protesting in the cordoned off area out of sight and sound of the main event. The leadership won’t see, hear or care about your message, even if they did in the first place.

Tom,

I respectfully disagree. Depending on what all you sign up for, the WBCCI collects a few hundred bucks per unit rally fees for the International and a couple hundred more if you want 30 amp electric. So if a few hundred people come to Madison for an alternate "Friends of Bob (and Leo)" rally, it's going to cost the WBCCI tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue--people who obviously would have come to the International rally had not the Executive Committee shot itself in the foot (again) with these disciplinary actions. That fact will not be lost on the management of a club which is currently forecasting a $50,000 loss for 2008.

The Executive Committee doesn't seem to care much what the members think, but they very much care when they don't reach for their check books.

Another reason they're going to notice a Friends of Bob rally is that the International always gets coverage in the local news media, and the news media are going to notice the controversy. And the news media like nothing better than controversy.

If these disciplinary actions are not reversed, and soon, it is going to be a disaster for WBCCI. I am hoping that they will be reversed.

Best,
Nuvi

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Dues is coming due... I will be withholding mine until this mess is straightened out. I will send a letter to the president of the IBT explaining why. The club is loosing membership and now some are withholding their dues too. This could be a venture that could explode in my face, for I love camping with my unit and was very much looking forward to the Cherry Blossom Rally next April. If Leo is suspended or expelled for something as simple as trying to get the club as the people want it to be, well, then I just will not be a part of it.

[ZoominC6]

Originally Posted by jayray5

as the kids say---way too much drama! Who feels the need to be in a group that makes you jump though hoops just to be "involved". Let us camp and enjoy the occasional as sighting. I have met some great as folks with nary a mention of wbcci.

10-4!!!!!!

[Ed Emerick]

[QUOTE=Nuvite-F;609206]Tom,

So if a few hundred people come to Madison for an alternate "Friends of Bob (and Leo)" rally, it's going to cost the WBCCI tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue--people who obviously


The problem is that this won't draw 100s of people, the group at the International won't notice and it won't make an economic impact at all.

Tom, welcome to the WI unit, I'll save you a beer and a chair under my awning!
Ed
Past President WI Unit
Past President VAC

[purman]

I just sent in my Membership to the 4CU to join, I don't think an alternate rally site is as strong as holding an alternate rally within the International rally.. Protest within the International rally.... What are they gonna do Hook up you trailer and tow you out... Thats what tongue locks are for... The Media would really have a hay day with that one.... and the WBCCI would not be able to ignore a hundred protesters within the rally... They could if you were of site....

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by Tom Nugler

A long time former member warned me that I should keep clear of the WBCCI. However, once again it becomes abundantly clear that newer, younger members are sorely needed to transform the Club into an organization that will be relevant to us "Boomers".

Tom,

IMO this is the right approach. Join in... participate... show folks how to do it right. For the same reason that folks don't want to wear tuxes and the like... they also don't want to spend their leisure time at a protest event.

I also like your T-shirt idea. Nothing like a visual que demonstrating the impact of a particular point of view.

Glad to have you as a fellow WI member.