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Thread: EAA Board of Directors - a lack of diversity

  1. #81

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    Here is some diversity: http://inspire.eaa.org/2018/06/27/rc...4rUUVjN3NMYSJ9

    I have only met one board member and I suspect she was nominated after decades of volunteer service.

  2. #82
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    All this drivel would make sense if the EAA board was an openly competed position. It isn't. The board is entierly selected by EAA leadership because they hold sufficient proxies to swamp any "grass roots" attempt to someone else on the board. You can't even pull a "cumulative voting" scheme that is commonly used to allow minority shareholders to get at least one seat on a corporate board. So what you have is a bunch of aging, overweight, white males, with an occasional token alternate. For instance, the two woman on the board are only there because they occupy reserved seats for the heads of Vintage and Warbirds. The only other exception to the white old male farts rule was Jim Clark and he's gone.

  3. #83

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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    All this drivel would make sense if the EAA board was an openly competed position. It isn't. The board is entierly selected by EAA leadership because they hold sufficient proxies to swamp any "grass roots" attempt to someone else on the board. You can't even pull a "cumulative voting" scheme that is commonly used to allow minority shareholders to get at least one seat on a corporate board. So what you have is a bunch of aging, overweight, white males, with an occasional token alternate. For instance, the two woman on the board are only there because they occupy reserved seats for the heads of Vintage and Warbirds. The only other exception to the white old male farts rule was Jim Clark and he's gone.
    I am available if more underweight white guys are needed for diversity.

  4. #84
    cub builder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    All this drivel would make sense if the EAA board was an openly competed position. It isn't. The board is entierly selected by EAA leadership because they hold sufficient proxies to swamp any "grass roots" attempt to someone else on the board. You can't even pull a "cumulative voting" scheme that is commonly used to allow minority shareholders to get at least one seat on a corporate board. So what you have is a bunch of aging, overweight, white males, with an occasional token alternate. For instance, the two woman on the board are only there because they occupy reserved seats for the heads of Vintage and Warbirds. The only other exception to the white old male farts rule was Jim Clark and he's gone.
    FWIW, I don't think the derogatory adjectives add to the discussion. But the jist of your post is right on the mark. The EAA board is there to serve and promote themselves and they do not want outsiders on the board unless they can bring a pile of $$ donors with them. They also will not allow an outsider onto the board as they hold the proxy votes. Anyone that thinks the EAA board is an elected democracy is deluding themselves. That doesn't mean the board doesn't do any good or that a diversity based board would be any better. In fact, the fact that many of the board members can bring a lot of donation $$ to the table is good for the EAA, or at least Airventure Inc.

  5. #85

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    The most qualified for the position is the standard at the E.A.A.. The "diversity" attitude will make things not nearly as safe and sound versus having qualified people running the show.

  6. #86
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yellowhammer View Post
    The most qualified for the position is the standard at the E.A.A.. The "diversity" attitude will make things not nearly as safe and sound versus having qualified people running the show.
    I see that you are new to the forum and very, very late to this particular thread party. You can't make unsubstantiated statements like this. You can have an opinion but you can't have your own facts. I know, for some, it's in vogue and all the rage but you can't just make up s**t.

    Provide supportable, fact based evidence that proves your contention that "the diversity attitude will make things not nearly as safe and sound versus having qualified people running the show."

  7. #87

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark17 View Post
    Kurt- I am a “social justice warrior” as you put it. I am also in agreement with you completely on hiring the most qualified people period regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or any other category anybody can think of. I’m also a firm believer in social justice issues. Everyone deserves dignity, a sense of purpose, pride and a positive role in our community. We are fortunate enough to live in the wealthiest country on the planet. As such no one in our country should be homeless, hungry, sick or a societal outcast. Everyone deserves basic human rights and those are rights. If the Jeff Bezos’s of the world would simply pay what they are supposed to pay in taxes, as opposed to manipulating the system to pay zero in corporate taxes and then on top of it, receive 789 million in corporate welfare, maybe we could make America Great Again by ending homelessness, hunger and provide world class health care for ALL Americans regardless of income, class or social status. As a pilot, lifelong EAA member and proud American I stand up for what I believe is right. I think we can all work together as EAA members to help make not only EAA a better place but our world as well. We are all super fortunate to be in positions to own, operate and fly aircraft. Clearly to be able to do what we do, we have the financial capabilities that others might not. As such it’s our moral obligation to help when and where we can. For me, that means volunteering my time and aircraft to take disadvantaged kids up to Northern Minnesota in my 182 Amphib for a month every summer for floats, Fishing and fun. We work on life skills, Sea Plane Flying, Fishing, surfing, wakeboarding and in general have an amazing time. It’s not only great for the kids but it’s great for my girlfriend and I as well. I do what I can to have a positive impact on my community and I’m a firm believer in all of us doing the same thing. It’s simply the right thing to do. I follow the golden rule and I am my brothers keeper. It’s that simple. As EAAers and pilots, we all have that moral obligation and that’s what being a Social Justice Warrior means to me.
    Mark, while you and I may be on opposite sides of the political debate, I appreciate so much that you have presented your points respectfully and intelligently. Thank you for what you're doing to help get the kids into this wonderful community of aviation. Your tact is classically EAA! I agree that the Amazons of the corporate world should be paying taxes. However, fundamentally I just can't fault their accounting departments for being successful navigators of the tax codes. For me, the problem is with the tax laws and thus it is Congress that should be receiving the heat for drafting legislative Swiss cheese. And that goes for either side of the aisle in both chambers. Similarly, I don't think I should be responsible to pay for others' security as the world is tough enough on most of us.
    Consequently, and since you touched on healthcare in your post, I had a thought the other day that I believe could be a good compromise to a pair of current debate topics in the country. The first is the whole free college tuition movement. I vehemently disagree with the concept. However, I understand how supply and demand works, and this is essentially a supply and demand issue. We could talk all day about what the value of a degree is if everyone could get one for free or how we could address the fact that those who paid for their education last year are going to have to compete economically with the kid right behind them that is going to graduate debt free because of the stroke of a legislative pen. How is that fair? I digress.
    Anyway, my idea is this: let's make college free for medical students. The grading standards would remain stringent such that only qualified people attain their status as a medical doctor. This would result in a supply increase of quality primary care physicians. In conjunction with this, Universities would only be allowed to raise tuition proportionally to the standard inflation rate. No more free money scooping just because Uncle Sam has his pocketbook open. That should, in theory, help decrease the cost of care due to simple market competition. In conjunction with this, I recommend that there be a margin cap on pharmaceuticals. Developers would be required to show the ledger so that the cost of developing a new drug can be substantiated. In this manner those occasional 5,000% margins could be appropriately brought into the realm of reality. Lastly, since Congress only has the power to regulate interstate commerce (as opposed to intrastate commerce) they need to stop trying to regulate insurers if we're not allowed to purchase policies across state lines. Could you imagine how much prices would drop if we could shop for a policy in 50 states instead of 1? The rebuttal to this whole idea would likely start from the standpoint of: "why shouldn't I get to make a ton of money as a doctor like the last generation did?" I can sympathize with that, but frankly I don't believe you should be able to rake in so much for providing medical care to other human beings. The days of getting rich in exchange for extending someone's life or improving its quality need to be over. You're not going to starve just because you aren't going to make enough to afford a third home and a new pontoon boat. I guess there is a tiny sliver of progressive thought in me when it comes to certain things.

    Well I could write about this all day, but figured this is enough for one entry.

    Thanks again for what you do. Cheers, friend!

  8. #88

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    64wing- First off I’ll fly with you anytime bud and it’s refreshing to get the perspective of someone who is extremely knowledgeable and articulate in voicing their ideas. If you ever find yourself up North let me know and I’d be more than happy to take ya up for some Amphib time and out for some Walleye and Bass Fishing! The world seems a whole lot less complex from 3000 feet and 120 knots I whole heartedly agree with you that it’s the fault of congress for creating the laws that allow major corporations and the ultra wealthy to not pay their taxes. This is not only unacceptable, it’s Unamerican. The true problem with our Country as it sits today is we no longer live in a Democracy. Instead we have an Oligarchy. When the top 1/10 on 1 Percent control more wealth than the bottom 60%, that’s a major problem. It means that the 400 richest families in the United States have more wealth than the bottom 150 Million Americans. Think about that. 400 families having more money than 150 Million Americans combined. I can’t even wrap my head around that. That level of concentrated power and wealth is unfathomable to me. Apart from that, Its fundamentally UNAMERICAN and morally wrong not to mention what the real world ramifications look like from a system like this. Just look at the condition of our infrastructure- roads, bridges, sewer and gas, water treatment and the like. The entire country is literally collapsing, blowing up and falling apart. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for free markets and capital success. I’m not however all in for a system that’s designed to make the rich richer and everyone else poorer because the ultra wealthy get to play by a completely different set of rules. It would be like if you and I sat down for a game of Monopoly. We’ll kick off the game with you having 5 dollars and me having the entire bank. Yup sounds fair right!? Obviously it’s not but that’s the system we’ve allowed to happen in our country. The Middle Class gets crushed, the Rich get even Richer the poor get wiped off the map. I talked to my Dad the other day about what our country looks like right now to him. He’s 80. Was in both Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. In 1968 he was a Lieutenant in the Navy. He made 13k that year. He bought a brand new Pontiac Catalina when he got back from Vietnam. He paid 4K for it. So on his salary of 13k in 1968 that would of paid for 3 Pontiac Catalina’s that year. I can tell you that a Navy Lieutenant’s salary today will definitely not buy the modern day equivalent of 3 Pontiac Catalina’s. Not even close. His point on it is the cost of living has gone through the roof while salaries have gone way down. We live in the richest society in human history but most of us would never know it. He said that he doesn’t recognize our country and it’s definitely not what he fought for or what his dad fought for in WWII. So here’s where I’m at with all of it. At the end of the day We’re all Americans. We’re all on the same team fighting for the same cause under the same flag. It’s not about Red States and Blue States. It’s not about white vs black, North vs south and rich vs poor. It’s about all of us as Americans coming together for the common good. It’s about trying to make a country that’s fair and equitable for all of us. Working together to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to find success and happiness. Everyone contributing their fair share so that all of us can rise and prosper together. Everyone deserves that opportunity. I wish we could all just come together and realize that we’re in this fight together and that’s how fights are won on the battlefield. Team work. Unity. Relentless as one. A cohesive fighting force standing shoulder to shoulder with an Unwavering commitment to each other and the mission objective. Everyone contributing what they can to accomplish the greater goal. That’s what it takes to win in today’s incredibly complex and dynamic battle space and that’s what we’re going to have to do as a nation if we want to move forward together as one. So thank you so much for engaging in a constructive and positive conversation on it. It really is refreshing when you can talk with someone that has a true understanding of the issues and offers up well thought out solutions to complex problems! Happy to hear more on it from ya!

  9. #89
    I, for one, appreciate that this discussion is happening. Quick personal story (FWIW, I'm a white, not overweight , male in his 40s). I attended my first Oshkosh a few years ago. Was there from Wed-Sun. By, Thursday night, there was something... amiss... that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Until the Friday afternoon airshow while I was standing next to a middle Eastern family there to watch the show. It hit me... these folks were the very first non-white people I had seen in nearly 3 days. As I started to pay more attention to this, those were the only non-white people I saw for the remainder of my time there (excluding vendors). I also noticed the incredibly disparity among genders. In the years since, I've noticed a *slight* improvement in these numbers (I had to use BOTH hands to count the persons of color I saw for an entire week... whoo!), though I think that is probably attributable to the fact that I've been going for the entire week and I much more aware of the crowd.

    To answer a previous poster's question about why the EAA has been increasing the number of stories and bits about women and PoC in their publications: this is why. While everyone says that people other than white guys are welcome in aviation, and they might actually mean that, the environment is generally not welcoming to a more diverse crowd simply due to lack of representation. No one likes being the only "other" in a crowd. Aviation has loooong been a white male dominated arena, and I, for one, appreciate the EAA's efforts to be more *actively* inclusionary. I think there is a lot more work to be done.

    If people want diversity in the EAA board, that's the only way it's going to happen. Getting diverse people involved in aviation in the first place. That's no small feat.

    If I can ever get all of my poo in one sock, one of my goals is to get involved in the EAA Eagles program, and put significant effort into getting disadvantaged, primarily non-white kids from North and East St. Louis into the cockpit of a small plane and get them information on how they can actually, realistically get involved in a field that they never even considered.

    I don't agree with hiring people to make a quota. Quotas are BS, and help no one. In fact, many are purposely set up for failure. "See... we TOLD you hiring a woman was going to be a bad idea!" Happens all the time (look up the term "glass cliff..." it's a real thing). Getting a diverse audience involved from the get-go is the only path to success.

    Oh, yeah... I saw a post a few pages ago claiming they were sorry someone claimed to be a SJW. What a crock. A warrior for ensuring that all people are treated equally, no matter what they look like, where they're from, who they worship or love? Someone who sees that a particular group of people does not have the same opportunities as others, and fights to get them an eventually even, fair standing? Yeah... count me in on that. All day long, and twice on Sunday.

  10. #90

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    Well - I gotta say - I never really expected this particular thread would thrive and live as long as it did. I'm the one that kicked it off back in the end of May.

    I've spent the morning reading the tread from the beginning - and I decided that since I started it maybe I'd jump in one more time. It's fascinating to see how this thing grew and morphed. Much if it way off topic from my original intention - but then I suppose, that is the nature of this particular type of communication. Much has been attributed to me along the way - some correct some incorrect. I really appreciate everyone's comments and participation. I would suggest that the very longevity of the thread might be evidence that it's an important topic.

    To set the record straight - as the author.....
    1. Diversity in an organization is positive by most every metric. That statement isn't my opinion - there are countless studies to support that only a google away.
    2. Diversity doesn't mean quotas, hiring unqualified people or reverse racism
    3. Diversity is hard and complicated and politically charged.

    Many of you pointed out the simple truth that aviation is mostly old and white. That there just aren't many women and people of color out there to pick from. And therefore our board reflects that. That's true but not the point.

    Many of you pointed out that anyone is welcome to aviation and no one is keeping out women and people of color. That's only technically true. It is not true in practical, real world experiences. It's somewhat of a viscous circle - for generations we've signaled to young women what were appropriate career paths for them - and aviation was never really one of them (as well as many others). That's a hard message to overcome - and simply stating today that you can do if you want - isn't a sufficient solution.

    One of the things that diversity (especially at the top of an organization) does is to let those previously disenfranchised populations - see new options, opportunities and possibilities. Just think how powerful a Patty Wagstaff is to young women. To suggest that there simply aren't qualified women and people of color out there is wrong, misguided and perpetuates the problem.

    These are big and complex issues that require big and complex solutions.

    This isn't just a problem in aviation - I just happened to be a pilot, look at a pilot magazine, and see a board of pilot people and thought that - maybe a comment on the lack of board diversity might interest others

    Believe me - I don't expect to solve this on a forum thread.

    I too - love flying - and naively - I wish that everyone did. That's all I'm really after .............

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