Well here goes, My lube is heating up.

I will go thru and see how many I can please with my answers, in regards of:

Reply #93

"why there cant be nationals held at various ranges throughout the nation possibly eastern one year and western the next"

This matter was brought up some time ago from a member in AZ.
We told him to send a proposl to the board so we could see about what could be done, We told him to let us know what range he planned on using and get himself a crew to run the matches, and we would sanction it so the assoc insurance would cover liabilities, and let us know how many targets he'd need etc.
Well it turned out he expected members of the board to do all the work, use our personal time and funds to come run it for them. Nothing else was said when we siad no we can not do that.

"why cant there be representation by proxy on the board where members vote by proxy....."
Because the By Laws forbid votes by proxy, we have to follow the rules and by laws. Everything is written out in the by laws and how to make amendments.
"What does a club affiliation get for a club other then their name in the magazine"
Club affiliation has always entitled clubs to be able to set ASSRA club records,  It has always been written in the bylaws and rule book.
"Not all can travel across the nation to participate so why cant the association travel to make it fare for all to participate..."
Neither can the board.

A member has the ability to contact any board member via phone, email, letter to propose ideas and questions, I am like Ed, I have had very few contacts from members suggesting or asking questions.
I am not clarvoient, I haven't a clue what is on the mind of a member in good standing. And will not use my time to quiz all the members.
Believe it or not we folks on the board have lives of our own and things we have to do and enjoy doing.
PLUS other duties for the assoc.

OH  yes, as for not printing affiliated club scores at one time. I remember the board arguing with the editor to do so and he refused.
But we got the blame..........

Eventually we bought the range. To finance the purchase LIfe memberships were offered for the first time. Aquireing the range and its improvement has always been the purpose of the life membership fund. 
4.) I don't know who started the myth that a huge portion of the money that you spend on dues goes to holding matches at Beesons Range. The 3 National mathces pretty much pay for them selves. Most of the money that comes in for dues is spent on publishing the Journal. 
5.) Election of board members. First read the constitution, there is nothing in it that precludes a member from anywhere from becoming a board member. How board members are chosen in in the constitution. How to change the constitution is also there. I am not against changing the constitution to make the annual meeting voting process open to more members but how is it to be done? It it one thing to have an idea it is something totally different to figure out how to make it work. 
In the past we tried to add an outside board member Jack Dexter was elected to the board. During his 3 year term of office he never attended a meeting not in person not on the conference call phone meetings. You can see why the members feel a little burned. 
6.) Records: When I joined the board there were some members that felt the only match records that we should keep were of the shooting done at Etna Green. I have worked hard to change that I felt that if we did not keep record of record setting achievements of ASSRA members that were set at local club matches there was little reason for shooters to join the Association. I worked hard and got the rules changed and though I have repeatedly begged for Schuetzenmeisters to send in record setting targets for inclusion in the ASSRA record shores list. Not one target has been sent in. NOT ONE. I have specifically said that old targets would be admitted and yet one one has sent in a target. Apparently it is more comfortable to hold the grudge than to help fix the problem. 

40 Rod

Well, I would like to thank both KAF and 40 ROD for answers to my questions and as I see it now it would appear to me as things will remain as is! Status quoit!!
Which is unfortunate for an organization which is "in spirit" what we would like to be part of.
In 1988 some of us from here traveled to Golden for our first Coors event. We had read about it and while there I met a gentleman named Charlie Dell who spent every available minute with us. Myself and Ralph McDonald had so much in common testing bullets, lubes, and we had our own cut barrel smith RKS who was more then willing to experiment with anything our minds would come up with.....
Charlie was shocked that there was this small group of single shot guys that had common goals, he was truly excited .. and with that he had a vision of the ASSRA spreading we discussed many things and Charlie became a great friend until his last days...
What I visualized while sitting with him those days aren't what I see now or in the future....
I in-visioned was growth and diversification more association shoots attract new members. First hand interaction, is where members of the BOD do have to travel and promote the association as with other associations.
We travel 4500 miles a year in the USA to matches and since 1988 Ive never seen, talked to, or met anyone representing the ASSRA other. And seriously how can this survive without someone making an effort to spread across the country. As far as a journal is concerned I don't bother reading any journals if I have time I read on the internet, or work in my shop. So as Ive said in the past move forward and put the journal on the internet and see the membership grow. "I know I know" not all are on computers but strangely as it might seem look at what your own board has claimed there are more people on the forum then members!!!!!!!!
Is that not a clue that many people use this form of communication now!!!!!! People will pay to read it here I promise you!!!!!!!!!

singleshottom;

So, with all due respect; is it your contention that members of the Board should spend 3-4 months a year each, uncompensated, traveling to every match at every ASSRA Club?

For comparison, I shoot several NRA  sports.  In 25 years of shooting on the west coast (Highpower, Smallbore Prone, Silhouette, and Bullseye Pistol), I have NEVER met an NRA official either.  Local clubs who are NRA Approved or NRA Registered who organize, promote, host, score, and clean up after matches, yes.
But NEVER have I met anyone on NRA's Board, and the NRA has a budget of millions of $.

I'm honestly trying to understand your point here... 
HOW on earth would the ASSRA, with a FAR more limited budget than the NRA, send Board members to (I'm guessing here....) 20 different states, maybe 7-8 times a year?

Every other shooting discipline I've ever come across relies on the LOCAL match director to be the representative of the Sport and of the Governing body.  NRA, SSUSA, IPSC, SASS, etc, all have LOCAL VOLUNTEERS who do the promoting, organizing, stumping, mailing, and whip the shooters into a frenzy for the good of the sport.

Maybe my view is skewed by the fact that I am a board member for my local gun club, and I run (on average) 15 shooting events every year.  I get there early, I set up (usually alone), I run the match... if I'm LUCKY I get to shoot it, I clean up.. I encourage shooters to come back... I try to get shooters to come out to whatever match I'm running NEXT month (or week).  I write up match results to send to whatever governing body runs that sport and I take pictures to write up for my club newsletter.
NRA doesn't "send a representative"... I AM the representative.
I volunteered. It's my show, and my responsibility to be the public face for that sport.

I learned long ago that if I want a match locally, it's up to ME to organize it.  After 15 yrs, I do get a little exasperated when I hear "The CLUB should" expecting someone else to do it.

I again speak for myself as a BOD member but I am sure many of the others feel similarly. We roughly have 2700 forum members and about 1700 ASSRA members world wide. This forum generates alot of good ideas for all to share. Alot of the good ideas presented end in the question why doesn't someone do that? It cannot be the sole responsibility of the 12 member BOD to do everyones bidding. Sorry, but we too have lives and the demands that family and jobs include. If you are holding an ASSRA sanctioned match that means you have an ASSRA member involved so that person becomes the representitive for the association and is the one to make sure all of the ASSRA match rules apply. If, like I said before, an exceptional target is shot then the range Schuetzenmeister has the obligation and duty to submit the target for record. But as 40 Rod pointed out, they just are not being submitted. Same goes for match results. We cannot print what we do not have. As far as regional matches, make a proposal to the BOD and we will get back to you. Again, if you expect the 12 of us to read your minds and do everything you can think up, sorry, you are going to be dissappointed for sure.

Ed

singleshottom;

No offense taken!  I'm happy to have civil conversation on disagreements!
Our experience obviously differs when it comes to national shooting organizations attending local matches.

Perhaps it is your writing style that leads me to think your approach was a negative one; if I have misinterpreted your meaning on ANY topic, I apologize.

You take issue with my comparison to NRA sports; that's fair.. it's not a perfect comparison by any means.

I don't take issue with people suggesting changes... 
What I readily admit sets my teeth on edge is people who say they want "change", without suggesting specific changes to be made, and suggesting how a small association like ASSRA with a 12 person BOD could actually make those changes, and perhaps volunteering to coordinate those efforts.

Most of the rabble-rousing for change on the forum comes from people who either wish things to be done FOR them, or from those who cannot get over past difficulties (and don't get me wrong, some of those past issues are genuine and troubling! but they are the past, when we should be focusing on where to go from here).

You don't strike me as someone who falls into either of those categories.

Oh, and as for what I "know" about the NRA... I KNOW that they get as few CONSTRUCTIVE ideas from shooters coming in to the Competitive Shooting division as (apparently) come in to ASSRA.   
Regional NRA reps are no more clairvoyant than 40 Rod claims to be

I'm going to throw out a general suggestion;
let's stop bitching about past injustices and focus, with gentlemanly discussion, not just where we want to go from here, but how each of us can do our own part to get us there!   

If you are no longer a member due to past slights, injustices, or disagreements, I can respect that.   
Please ask yourself; "How does re-hashing this past incident move things forward? "   
If it does, it does... if it doesn't - can we try to? Please?