I would like to know what does everyone see as the biggest topic of discussion in their region or what is their agenda?
I don't completely understand the question. Are you asking us what is the biggest area of concern within our home regions?
I am wondering what your agenda is...what is the bug people are putting in your ear..everyone has a mission.
I have no "agenda". I love flyball. I love NAFA and I just want to make things better. Maybe I'm naive but, I think we need to think more along the lines of possible things instead of getting bogged down into who did what to whom, etc. This is a sport that I do to have fun with my dogs and sometimes.....I'm having more fun in life than people who don't play flyball. They don't know what they're missing
...so you are just there to kinda take on what you are told?
I would take on whatever is on the Board agenda....
The exchange I'm quoting above is between myself and a competitor taken from the candidate chat held on 11 October, 2007. For all of the issues and topics discussed and the concerns that flyballers have, what they really want to know is the hardest piece of information to obtain. What are you thinking? What is your "agenda"?
This is an exerpt taken from Activism on The Flyball Blog:
How do you really get to know that candidate from a on line chat? How do these candidates get to know you and what your (flyball) needs and wants are? How many of them have been to other regions and raced? I don’t mean just next door region but regions outside of their norm? How are they going to represent the people in flyball from across the country if you have never been out of your own region? How are you going to get input from other flyballers? I am not sure that one of the candidates will bring anything new to the bod as she is always on line supporting everything that the current bod is doing so what makes us think that she will be there for all of us and not just what the current bod thinks? Thinking outside of the box and not moving SLOWLY is what NAFA needs at this time.
How do you really get to know that candidate from a on line chat?
Several years ago, I was confronted by this very challenge for the same reasons that these people ask this question. I didn't believe that the people serving NAFA on the Board were serving the needs of the public. I also believed that the delegates were being challenged by the fact that our organization was scattered throughout North America and it was very difficult to make essential information available to voters so that they could make an informed choice when casting their vote. What could I do?
I went to the flyball list and posed some questions to the candidates that were of a very general nature. Why did I do this? Because, I wanted the candidates to reveal their "belief" system without any leading on my part. Why would I do that? Because I perceived that the real problems on the Board was not embedded in specific issues. It was the lack of curiosity of the Board in general. What do I mean by curiosity? I mean that the majority of individuals serving on the NAFA Board at that time already had all the information about issues and matters that worked their way onto the Board agenda that they felt they needed. They did not question, they did not investigate, they did not include the "public" because they already "knew" what was "in the best interests of flyball".
What happens when you stop being curious? When you have all the information you need or want? Well, you stop learning for one thing. You stop being neutral and you develop a bias. There is no longer the presumption of innocence in any matter that comes before you whether that matter is one of a disciplinary nature or simply, an "idea". Things may be easy from that point of view but, (and this is "Just my Opinion") they are hardly fair.
How do these candidates get to know you and what your (flyball) needs and wants are?
My answer is to ask questions. Ask alot of questions. ...but, on "Flyball Chat" the candidates don't get to ask the audience many questions. They may pose the types of questions they would want answered before reaching a conclusion and taking action. ...and, I hope that those who participate on chat and those who later read those transcripts pay close attention to those "theoretical questions" because that gives us an indicator of just how curious they, as individuals, are.
Why? do I think that is important? Because my "version" of a good Board member gives every matter brought in front of the Board a fair hearing. Every motion carries with it impact on our sport. Board members should be aware of whatever their "experience" is that limits their knowledge. They should ask questions in an effort to learn what they do not know. That's how you take into account regions far from your own.
How many of them have been to other regions and raced?
That is a good question that hasn't been asked on chat as of yet but, for those whom this is important, I will answer directly.
I live in and race primarily in Region 1. That is Michigan and Ohio. I also have raced in Region 2, Ontario, Canada. I have also raced in Region 13 in Massachusetts and New York. I have raced in Rockford, Illinois. Lastly, I attended Cynosports last year and had a chance to meet and greet teams from several regions.
I would like to add that my team usually races in Regular Division 3,4 or 5 (depending on the size of the tournament) and Multi-breed. We regularly enter two teams, sometimes we double enter individual dogs. We have never achieved a Regional Championship or hosted a tournament.
For what it's worth, I agree that it is valuable experience to visit and race in regions outside of your own. But, it is not the only way to learn about the issues and concerns in these regions.
How are they going to represent the people in flyball from across the country if you have never been out of your own region?
That is the challenge of the entire NAFA Board. I cannot speak for any individual. This is only from my own viewpoint. The answer is to ask good questions starting with "Who does this decision affect? How does this affect them?" My personal favorite is, "What is it that I don't know about this matter? How can I learn what I need to know?"
How are you going to get input from other flyballers?
Again, I only answer for myself, not for the other candidates and not for the current NAFA Board members.
"Getting input" arrives in two ways. The first is through existing fixtures. There is NAFA Chat and flyball chat. There is my personal contact information and email address. There is my Blog. These fixtures exist but, they don't necessarily include everybody. What else might there be?
I've said in private that I want to make certain in my mind that everybody gets the chance to be heard. Not just the vocal ones but also the "ones who read and lurk but never post or speak." What does that mean? How can one hear the voice of one who is silent? The answer is to seek these voices out. To ask for input through surveys or a formal vote. To look at what is being offered at tournaments and how many entries are being generated.
I am not sure that one of the candidates will bring anything new to the bod as she is always on line supporting everything that the current bod is doing so what makes us think that she will be there for all of us and not just what the current bod thinks?
That could be me. I can't read minds and so I do not assume anything here. What the questioner doesn't know and fails to ask is why? Why am I always online on my blog, on The Flyball Blog and the flyball list supporting the actions of the NAFA Board of Directors?
The answer is contained purely within my perception. It's not that I think the NAFA Board is "perfect" or that I necessarily "agree" with everything they do. Far from it. I can think of many ways that NAFA can improve.
So, what motivates me to "support" the NAFA Board and run as a candidate? It is the deep desire to see to it that everybody gets a fair hearing. Not just the individuals and proposals that come before the Board but, also the NAFA Board itself. It seems that some individuals in their desire to improve flyball present their views in a somewhat narrow perspective. They assume that what "they" think is what everybody thinks. That makes it appear (to me) as though the NAFA BoD is not getting fair treatment. It is my nature to challenge lazy thinking and challenge assumptions.
How do I define lazy thinking? Lazy thinking is whenever we substitute our own assumptions for facts. Lazy thinking gives us answers but does not give us truth. It is our assumptions that say "I feel this way, therefore everybody feels this way." It is our assumptions that say, "I feel this way, therefore you should feel this way." It is our assumptions that fear, "If you are not for me then, you are against me." Our assumptions are not at all based in facts. Quite the opposite, our assumptions are not facts. They are the absence of facts.
Thinking outside of the box and not moving SLOWLY is what NAFA needs at this time.
I would like to clarify what I meant by the above reference to moving "slowly". I did not mean to hinder independent thought. Far from it. What I meant was to give true innovative and independent thought enough time for a fair hearing. In disciplinary matters, we must judge the accused before us from the presumption of innocence. It is not just the prosecution that presents a case. The defense also is given the time to be heard. We do not adjourn to return a "verdict" until both sides have fully presented their case. We do not rush to judgment.
The same responsibility is true in the arena of ideas. The Open Class is a new idea for NAFA competitors. Some will like it. Others may not. It all depends on personal opinion. The Board will not make a final decision for at least one year. It has made the allowance for competitors to make their own choices and question their own feelings. The one thing that the NAFA Board has refrained from doing is publishing an opinion. That is as it should be. The NAFA Board does not "own" NAFA. It's competitors do.
What do I want the public to "know" about me?
I want them to know what I "believe in" from my own words. I believe in "fair" treatment. That means keeping my opinions separate from the facts. It means challenging myself about what I don't know because I can't know it. (What others are thinking) It means listening to all sides of a question with the willingness to be persuaded. It means identifying what is others opinions and keeping those "opinions" separate from facts.
Why? is fair treatment so important to me? It is because I desire to be treated fairly. To be presumed "innocent" when I have erred. I am human and I make mistakes. That does not make me evil or conniving. It makes me human.
I desire that my ideas be given fair consideration. An idea is just an "idea". It should stand or fall on its own merits and not because I am the one who suggested it.
I desire to make my own choices. If I blindly accepted what The Flyball Blog "concludes" about NAFA, then I would just assume that NAFA is doomed for failure. It is interesting to me that whenever U-FLI is compared to NAFA, NAFA always loses. I might accept that if there were any "facts" offered to support the conclusion. But, what I read is the author's opinion which never is quite separated from "facts". That is why I challenge it.
What is "fun" for me is quite different from what is "fun" for anybody else. Why? ....because, nobody lives "in my skin". Nobody feels what I feel. I accept what I cannot know because, I can always learn it. All you have to do is ask a question. People can be honest with their opinions when respectfully asked.
That is my basic belief system. I realize that my candor here may have just cost me the NAFA election. Whatever the outcome of the election may be, I stand by my principles. I'm not asking anybody to believe as I believe. I'm just asking for a fair chance to be heard.
Good Luck and Good Racing.
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