Originally Posted by
Phil
I agree that simply letting your membership expire is a viable option and I've been contacted by many members who are seriously considering letting their membership lapse. I've also exchanged messages with former EAA members who re-joined so they can simply participate in raising the members awareness about an inequity of votes issue.
I can offer my perspective on the issue and will communicate what I've communicated to those considering the lapse of membership route.
In order to understand my perspective, we all have to agree that the EAA is far to valuable to the aviation community to destroy or let waste away. There is a tremendous amount of value within EAA in the softer areas such as legacy and brand recognition, but also value in the more defined areas such outreach to Young Eagles, work in Washington, and cooperative partnerships that mutually benefit GA. Regardless of how anyone feels about the overall effectiveness of EAA in these areas, we all have to agree that the EAA is valuable and it is worth fighting for.
With that said, my message to those considering the lapse of membership route is to please keep renewing their membership. I can understand not wanting to pay for something that you don't feel you are receiving equal value for, but without members the EAA would struggle to survive and we would all be destroying a great organization. Members are needed to keep the chapter communities healthy, they are needed to volunteer as staff members at AirVenture, they are needed to fly Young Eagles so our neighbors kids can have an opportunity to become pilots someday too, they are also needed to be the barometer of EAA leadership so that at the highest levels the organization can be managed in way that reflects the needs of the general membership body.
So whether you agree or disagree with this specific effort, I would encourage all of you to maintain your memberships. And if you feel like there is a specific area where the EAA can improve, then be the barometer for the leaders and get involved in rallying other members to bring it to their attention. That's what we are doing here and without members it wouldn't be possible.
On the topic of lawyers and class action lawsuits, I don't even want to go down that road. I'm a believer that litigation has become the crutch of our society and that common sense is a far more reasonable approach. In this case, there is clearly an inequity of votes issue and we don't need a lawyer to demonstrate it exist. As members, we can spotlight it and then ask the EAA to do something about it. It's really a common sense issue and I have no intention of leading a class action lawsuit against the EAA for a common sense issue.
Thanks,
Phil