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Thread: Hightower Resigns as EAA President/CEO

  1. #101
    steveinindy's Avatar
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    So, what do we agree on?
    1. Direct voting on representation (no more proxy votes)
    2. Continued focus on assisting members
    3. Inclusion rather than exclusion of folks interested in all of the aspects of homebuilding instead of focus on one or two aspects.


    Any others?
    Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

    "I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.



  2. #102
    Jim Heffelfinger's Avatar
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    There have been many voices that EAA (Corp) is isolated from the members and chapters. It has lost touch with the original mission and that Rod was ‘too corporate’
    During the last 2 years I have had the opportunity to speak personally with Rod; Once while he was on one of dozens of grass root tours. One of the complaints from an attendee was that National was out of touch – speaking to Rod on tour. I have never met Tom
    Rod frequently flew one of his or one of the Corp planes to events, commonly with relevant staff. Did Tom personally fly much as CEO? I don’t know .
    Rod’s family was highly invested in the Stearman restoration project. It was very clear from the beginning that Rod had family as a priority in his life. I never read about Tom working on plane projects as CEO.
    Rod was brought in as a “corporate type’ to redirect and reorganize a large 58 year old organization that had not changed much in several decades. He and the board knew that without change the organization was not heading toward long term success. He did that by returning to the roots that EAA was founded on - but not the way they were done back then. He outlined his vision and apparently with board approval implemented it. I believe every one of his elements has been put into place in two years. (It was moving fast.) Most importantly bringing Homebuilding to the senior leadership team.
    EAA had a feeling of a volunteer organization from my perspective – was that the way internally? If so, having redirects, solid objectives and tight time commitments placed on staff might have received a lot of push back. There was no doubt from my perspective that Tom and Rod were cut from different cloths.
    Any organization, especially one with a dynasty, is really uncomfortable with change. Since the average age of 10 year and longer members is way north of 50 – change can be even more painful.
    It’s not the same – it never will be – it’s a living organism - that redefines it’s self over time no matter what we do.
    Perhaps Rod was brought in as a stirring stick – shake it up and move on. Only a few know the truth and they have confidentially.
    For me – I liked the change – it was exciting and dynamic. It was moving – IMHO - for the most part positively.

  3. #103
    steveinindy's Avatar
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    One of the complaints from an attendee was that National was out of touch – speaking to Rod on tour. I have never met Tom
    Rod frequently flew one of his or one of the Corp planes to events, commonly with relevant staff. Did Tom personally fly much as CEO? I don’t know .
    I often wondered the same thing. In all the time I've spent around EAA chapters, I can't ever recall hearing of Tom doing much with the chapters and even back during the 1990s the local chapters I dealt with all had a very "detached" feeling. I can only recall crossing paths with Tom once and that was at one of the first AirVentures I attended. It was very brief and he didn't seem terribly friendly towards any of the folks around him. The friend I had with me at the time made a comment about him being "socially awkward" and a "fish out of water" as we walked away.

    By contrast, Paul is one of the most gregarious people I've ever met. One of the local chapter presidents years ago (before the prequels came out) compared Paul and Tom as being the "reverse Skywalkers" with the father being the virtuous and respectable one with the son being the one with unclear issues that could "lead to the dark side" (the chapter president's exact words in front of the chapter). I don't like to judge folks on a single meeting but I've heard the same sorts of things from a lot of folks over the years.

    There was no doubt from my perspective that Tom and Rod were cut from different cloths.
    Rod always reminded me more of Paul than Tom did. No disrespect to Tom intended but as far as personalities go that's my impression. However, one is not always like their father. In my case, my father and I are distinctly different (My dad is quieter and reserved until he gets to know people well and I am, obviously, not).


    Since the average age of 10 year and longer members is way north of 50 – change can be even more painful.
    That's putting it mildly. I once heard the joke be made at one of the annual dinners by Paul himself that the only organization with a higher average age for long-term members is the AARP. He said that one of his staff liked to tell that joke and he had "stolen it" as his own.

    For me – I liked the change – it was exciting and dynamic. It was moving – IMHO - for the most part positively.
    Same here. The EAA had become stagnant under Tom's leadership (which is not the same as him being to blame; correlation =/= causation) and it needed to be prodded to grow once more.
    Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

    "I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.



  4. #104
    Flyfalcons's Avatar
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    Why does it "need to grow"?
    Ryan Winslow
    EAA 525529
    Stinson 108-1 "Big Red", RV-7 under construction

  5. #105
    steveinindy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flyfalcons View Post
    Why does it "need to grow"?
    "Grow" was a poor choice of words perhaps but isn't growth a good thing? The other option is to wither on the vine as the first and second generations of members die off through simple and complex attrition. Are you familiar with the "Red Queen paradigm" in biology? Basically it that you have to run in place (from an evolutionary perspective) as fast as you can to stay where you are?
    Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

    "I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.



  6. #106
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    Attracting new members isn't a bad thing, as long as it isn't at the expense of the mission statement of the organization.
    Ryan Winslow
    EAA 525529
    Stinson 108-1 "Big Red", RV-7 under construction

  7. #107

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    In theory, the majority of SPORT AVIATION content should be home built or at least be sport aviation.
    Call it the 50 percent rule if you want.

    But now, with the return of digital EXPERIMENTER (thank you Rod)the matter has been confused somewhat.
    The first two issues of EXPERIMENTER look good to me. One problem is that my favorite author and perhaps others are not really interested in writing for a digital.

    The digital has some advantages, with direct links to additional photos, video etc. Probably most magazines will be digital soon.
    Pelton sounded somewhat reassuring on the Aero-News interview. He said " we blew it" , referring to the $40,000 chalets.
    Good to see that confirmed. But other than that, the plan to cater to more general aviation continues, I feel.

  8. #108
    Jim Heffelfinger's Avatar
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    A bit off topic about Rod and his departure but this quote and others of similar wording has been around a long time. I believe it.
    “In this world you're either growing or you're dying so get in motion and grow.”
    Lou Holtz
    In my small chapter we have had 4 "Gone West" so far this year. We have gained 3 new members.

    Mission? 'keep the doors open' is an underlying mission for any business and association. I believe Rod did have a published mission statement.

    Chapters and members were complaining about out of touch - and then recoiled when they were reached out to. - Damn change.

  9. #109
    Jim Heffelfinger's Avatar
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    Digital is sadly the way it will continue - I like holding paper, having it on the table or in my brief bag - reminding me of dreams and desires - connections with things other than the daily routine . But it is so expensive and time consuming. There for a while most of SA was just print rehash of the articles off the home page. It was kind of a yawn.
    I am not too interested in the Mac articles but understand that covering a bit of certified GA might get some cross-over membership - those having an interest in something different - a bit more 'hands on' than the other flying mags.
    Moving E-AB out of the basements and isolated hangars is a good thing. You wouldn't believe how many people don't have an inkling about home built aircraft - even pretty world aware people. But then, I bet you do.

  10. #110
    steveinindy's Avatar
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    Chapters and members were complaining about out of touch - and then recoiled when they were reached out to. - Damn change.
    The question I have about that is "What do the people who say that the headquarters is 'out of touch' with the chapters actually want from headquarters in terms of involvement?". It's one thing to say that they aren't doing what we want them to do but it's a far more practical one to actually say "You know, I would like to see X, Y and Z". Remember that when you gripe about that sort of thing, it's not directly accusing the CEO or others who get a lot of the blame of not doing but rather you're basically insulting Hal, Trevor and Chad who we all know bust their behinds. That's why I think a "Can we get you to do X and Y? Z sometimes would also be helpful" would be much better than just a general complaint of disenfranchisement. Complaining in a vague way may make us feel better but doing so with specific points is much more likely to garner benefit or other constructive input.

    The issues with Sport Aviation, etc have been laid out repeatedly but I have yet to hear anyone spell out what exactly this disconnect between the folks in Oshkosh and the local chapters is exactly. This is a serious question as I have not seen much change since I first become involved to varying degrees with local chapters back in the 1980s and 1990s. If we can improve things to make it even better, I'm all for that so let's hear it.
    Last edited by steveinindy; 10-28-2012 at 06:38 AM.
    Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

    "I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.



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