Thank You

I heard from Ed Scott this afternoon that I was not elected to the board (detailed results here).  I have no regrets and I’m glad I went through the process and got to meet and chat with (either in person or virtually) so many USPA members.  I’ve learned a lot about the process and the people involved and it’s been a thought-provoking exercise for sure.  Of course, I wish things had turned out differently, but the results are what they are.

Revisiting the Election Process

I just re-read the blog entry I wrote back in June about the election process. Having now gone through it from a candidate’s perspective, I thought I’d share some of my observations on what seemed to match up with my initial theories.  Three reasons for low turnout matched up with my original theories; one was one that I hadn’t really considered in detail.

Thanks and Good Luck, All

Well, today’s the deadline for getting those votes in, so whatever will be, will be. I just logged on here at Z-Hills to make sure the last few votes I FedExed in made it to USPA headquarters on time (they did!). I came down here with ballots in hand wondering if I’d find enough folks who still hadn’t voted to make it worth sending a last-minute package. Fortunately, I was able to gather quite a few, and have very much enjoyed the chance to talk about the election with a few more folks from around the country (and a few international members, too!).

So now I wait a couple of weeks to hear what the results will be. Best of luck to everyone who stepped up to run.

Hurry Up and Vote!!

Time is running out – only 9 more days, and some of that will be eaten up in the mail.

If you haven’t voted yet, get that ballot in the mail today!!!

The Board/Staff Relationship

In reading dropzone.com and chatting with current board members, I’ve heard examples of actions taken by USPA staff that the board members believe didn’t match up with what the board approved.  While it’s difficult for me to comment on the specifics of those situations, since I wasn’t involved, it did get me to thinking about what the relationship ought to be.

Hooray for Shameless Self-Promotion

Thanks to my friends over at the PD Blog for inviting me to engage in a bit of election promotion today.  It was a lot of fun and I hope it’ll get a few more people out to vote!

Why Vote?

A newer jumper asked me recently at the DZ “Why should I really care about USPA?  What does it really do for me?” (I’m paraphrasing, but that was the general jist of his question).  He understood some of the key benefits – including the 3rd party liability insurance, and the management of licenses and ratings, but he really was genuinely curious about what USPA did for him and why he should really care.

Communication Breakdown

Apologies to anyone who might have tried to email the uspa@ennasirk.com email address in the past week or so.  I am having domain issues (transferring from one host to the other) and that email has been down.

You can still reach me at krisanne [at] alumni.virginia.edu.

Get Out the Vote

It’s been great to hear how many people have voted already, and I’m excited at the level of support I’m receiving for my candidacy.  It seems like there’s a lot more energy around this year’s election than there has been in quite a long time;  USPA HQ confirms that there’s a record number of candidates this year.  There’s certainly been a lot of talk on dropzone.com, Facebook, and other online forums.  I have heard rumors of candidates setting up shop at various dropzones to get out the vote.  This is all extremely exciting and good for the process!

Now that PDF ballots are available, I plan to have a stack with me every time I head out to the dropzone or any other gathering of skydivers.  With 10% voter turnout in a typical year, I can’t help but think part of that is due to apathy or forgetfulness.  I figure the least I can do is make it easy for people to vote for me.   I’d like to encourage those who are supporting my candidacy – and who want to see some real change on the board – to do the same.  Don’t just vote (although that’s the first and most important thing to do), but help others to see why voting is important.  Talk to them about the candidates and your thoughts on them.  Encourage them to read all of the candidate statements on the USPA web site (or in Parachutist – it’s the same info).  Remind your friends and fellow skydivers that the USPA board represents them.

As I like to say, USPA is not them.  USPA is us.  Let’s make it happen!

Swooping is Not A Crime, In Fact, It’s…

… probably one of the things that will help to grow skydiving as a sport in the years to come.

Just wanted to state my position on the topic, publicly and openly, since my understanding is that there’s a group of candidates that are using the “USPA wants to ban swooping” scare tactic as a campaign strategy.  Granted, that energy is aimed more at incumbents than at fellow challengers like me, but it’s still something I wanted to speak up about.