Excutive Director Report USA Water Ski Executive Director Report-Week of May 19, 2008 There has been a lot of recent activity within the U.S. Congress involving recreational boats being lumped in with commercial boats in certain regulatory ways. The implications to recreational boat owners are huge in a negative way. Leon Larson, chairman of USA Water Ski’s Waterways Education Committee, Brandon Wolf, manager of USA Water Ski’s Competition Services Department, and Larry Meddock, executive director of the Water Sports Industry Association, have been working closely with the National Marine Manufacturers Association to resolve the issue in our favor. The principal issue facing us as recreational boat owners is that of incidental discharges, which can include run-off water, ballast water discharges, engine cooling water, etc. The negative implication would be the establishment of new state and federal bureaucracies requiring permits to operate recreational boats for each state the boat is operated. These permits would have some costs associated with them, plus the hassle of applying for permits and meeting the individual state standards. The efforts of the above folks have included meeting with Congressional staff members to support carving recreational boats from many of the requirements made of commercial boats. In the past, the incidental discharge requirements have been waived for recreational boats, and our effort has been to maintain the continuance of that waiver. Currently, the legislation has been tabled so further due diligence can take place. It appears that Congress will be inclined to continue the waiver. However, the bill is scheduled for review/passage in September, so it will be incumbent upon us to maintain close attention to Congressional activity. Please go to www.boatblue.org for more information and updates. This is just an excellent example of how USA Water Ski, in association with the WSIA, is working to maintain rights of water skiers, riders, boat owners and general water sports enthusiasts. We cannot take for granted that our rights will be maintained magically without dedicated people and associations looking after us. The role of board members and committee members can make for an interesting topic. Oftentimes, those
outside of the organization or even those within consider statements made by board members or committee members Recently we had a Premier Sponsor of USA Water Ski complain rather vigorously about a statement made by a well-placed volunteer about the commitment of the sponsor company toward an upcoming event. The event is an activity the company has invested substantial financial resources and is personally entwined. The comment made insulted a company-sponsored athlete, a sport discipline, and the sponsoring company’s adeptness in conducting the event. The sponsor certainly was not happy and was left with a sullied impression of USA Water Ski. It took considerable effort to explain that the person speaking did not represent the views of this organization. This type of statement has the potential to cause major harm to our organization. Within most organizations having a board and/or various committees (committees are always advisory in nature with the board being the only policy setting group) there seems to be confusion on authorities. The dynamic is that board/committee members exercise their authorities only while their group is in session. They control policy or advisories through majority vote. At the conclusion of called meetings that authority concludes until the next official meeting. The official spokesperson for the organization is the board president, and he or she may assign some or all spokesperson authority to the staff. It is critical to limit the circle of those “speaking” for the organization in order to control the accuracy and consistency of information flow. Generally, we, as an organization, are good with our communication flow. But from time-to-time we have experiences that cause difficulties. This was one, and we are hopeful of avoiding others in the future. On the other hand, board and committee members can make individual contributions that are sometimes outside of the norm. For instance, during a recent American Water Ski Educational Foundation board meeting it was mentioned that often some of the most valuable assets brought to the organization are those of relationships board members have with influential people. If you think about it, the members of the various sport discipline boards, the AWSEF board and the USA Water Ski board are generally pillars of their community and/or hold lofty positions in their locales. That can add up to the likelihood of them knowing people who hold or control tremendous sway in the marketplace. Hearing the admonition made at the AWSEF board meeting was Paul Chapin, an American Airlines pilot and AWSEF Trustee. Paul has a neighbor on his lake in Minnesota who is the CEO of a large company, and he talked to that neighbor about the possibility of building a relationship with USA Water Ski. As a result, we are now in discussion with that person and his company about the potential of a new relationship. It does not always require asking individuals within the sport to dig into their own pockets with healthy donations to float programs. It’s nice though. But the concept of building upon relationships formed through the introduction of new partners by those of significance in the sport can be even more rewarding. I am off to the Masters this weekend in Georgia’s Callaway Gardens. I hope to meet many of you there. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Steve Locke
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