[DeTomaso] Letter to Voting POCA Members

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/12/15 11 53 46, LaurieFerrari at aol.com writes:


> As a POCA member, I am asking for a REVOTE and hope that others will 
> second and agree to back up this request as a motion!
> 

>>>Laurie--while I appreciate your sentiment, I'd like to go on the record 
as saying that I am *against* such a proposition.

While everything you say about the corruption associated with this recent 
election is true (and there's much more besides that), and your indignation 
is amply justified, I have taken a rather philosophical stance on the matter.

I strongly believe that if the election had *not* been rigged, and Mike 
Haney ran an aggressive campaign, more likely than not he would have won the 
election anyway.   Not only because of the fact that Profiles production has 
diminished markedly in recent years (never mind the various reasons for it, 
since I was in charge it's easy to assign blame to me), but also because of 
that 'new car smell' associated with an unknown, eager volunteer.   For that 
reason, I haven't felt any compulsion to attempt to challenge the results.

I have known Mike Haney for going on 25 years and we've been good friends 
all that time, and will continue to be so.   Although many reprehensible 
things were done by a handful of unethical POCA board members to ensure that the 
election results came out as they did, I have yet to see the slightest 
indication that Mike himself had anything to do with any of that.   I am filled 
with admiration for anybody who puts his hand up to volunteer to serve, 
especially in a job that is as grueling and thankless as this one, and I for one 
appreciate his willingness to enter the fray and attempt to keep the 
magazine going.

Regardless of how you might feel about how the election transpired, the 
simple fact is that Mike Haney is now in charge, and he is going to need a lot 
of support if he is to be successful.   While arguably he is more skilled 
than I am at the mechanics of assembling a magazine, the act of laying out 
text and photos represents perhaps 10% of the total job, at most.   The 
remaining 90% involves networking, soliciting contributions, fact-checking, 
editing, traveling to events, etc. etc. etc. and that is where he is going to need 
the support of everybody in the club.   So I am urging everyone to avoid the 
temptation to hold him responsible for the bad acts of others, and do 
whatever they can to help him to ensure that Profiles doesn't simply roll over 
and die.

I would also urge people to avoid blaming POCA, as an entity, for this 
situation.   A surprising number of people have told me that they plan to quit 
the club in protest, and there is at least one chapter that has viewed this 
as the final straw after what they feel is a series of bad acts (unrelated to 
the election) and is considering formally disassociating themselves from 
POCA entirely.   I view both of these as being deeply disturbing and 
counterproductive and have been stridently arguing against such actions.

To me, POCA is not the handful of people who are responsible for all this 
ire; instead, POCA is the many hundreds of people all across the country and 
around the world who together share passion for De Tomaso cars, as well as 
the friendship and fellowship that normally follows.

Just as you don't renounce your US citizenship if you aren't happy with the 
results of a presidential election, neither should you renounce your POCA 
membership.   The biggest enemy of the club is not corruption at the top, but 
instead apathy throughout.   The total number of ballots returned was 
pretty dismal.   And for year after year, club officers have run uncontested, and 
in fact some offices have gone unfilled for many years because not one 
single person was willing to step up to volunteer.

To me, the takeaway from all of this is that if people want to have a club 
that serves them, they need to be willing to serve their fellow members in 
some capacity.   Whether that means taking on a chapter leadership position, 
or writing an article, or running for a national board position, the club 
will only succeed if many more people are willing to step up and do something. 
  It doesn't need to be much--it can be as little as casting a ballot in an 
election to let your voice be heard.   But quitting is not the answer.

I'd also like to once again publicly thank Chuck Engles for his hard work 
in receiving and counting the ballots.   I am convinced that he maintained 
his high level of integrity throughout, and did the best job that he possibly 
could, within the often-changing constraints that were placed upon him.   So 
while it may be legitimate to feel anger towards some people, he is 
definitely not one of them.   I can only hope that he will be willing to continue 
to serve in this capacity and put the negative experiences of this election 
behind him.

I thank everyone for their support over the last 20 years that I have 
served, and I very much hope that everyone will work together to get POCA past 
this low point and ensure that it thrives once more in the future.

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   In a message dated 1/12/15 11 53 46, LaurieFerrari at aol.com writes:

     As a POCA member, I am asking for a REVOTE and hope that others will
     second and agree to back up this request as a motion!

   >>>Laurie--while I appreciate your sentiment, I'd like to go on the
   record as saying that I am *against* such a proposition.
   While everything you say about the corruption associated with this
   recent election is true (and there's much more besides that), and your
   indignation is amply justified, I have taken a rather philosophical
   stance on the matter.
   I strongly believe that if the election had *not* been rigged, and Mike
   Haney ran an aggressive campaign, more likely than not he would have
   won the election anyway.  Not only because of the fact that Profiles
   production has diminished markedly in recent years (never mind the
   various reasons for it, since I was in charge it's easy to assign blame
   to me), but also because of that 'new car smell' associated with an
   unknown, eager volunteer.  For that reason, I haven't felt any
   compulsion to attempt to challenge the results.
   I have known Mike Haney for going on 25 years and we've been good
   friends all that time, and will continue to be so.  Although many
   reprehensible things were done by a handful of unethical POCA board
   members to ensure that the election results came out as they did, I
   have yet to see the slightest indication that Mike himself had anything
   to do with any of that.  I am filled with admiration for anybody who
   puts his hand up to volunteer to serve, especially in a job that is as
   grueling and thankless as this one, and I for one appreciate his
   willingness to enter the fray and attempt to keep the magazine going.
   Regardless of how you might feel about how the election transpired, the
   simple fact is that Mike Haney is now in charge, and he is going to
   need a lot of support if he is to be successful.  While arguably he is
   more skilled than I am at the mechanics of assembling a magazine, the
   act of laying out text and photos represents perhaps 10% of the total
   job, at most.  The remaining 90% involves networking, soliciting
   contributions, fact-checking, editing, traveling to events, etc. etc.
   etc. and that is where he is going to need the support of everybody in
   the club.  So I am urging everyone to avoid the temptation to hold him
   responsible for the bad acts of others, and do whatever they can to
   help him to ensure that Profiles doesn't simply roll over and die.
   I would also urge people to avoid blaming POCA, as an entity, for this
   situation.  A surprising number of people have told me that they plan
   to quit the club in protest, and there is at least one chapter that has
   viewed this as the final straw after what they feel is a series of bad
   acts (unrelated to the election) and is considering formally
   disassociating themselves from POCA entirely.  I view both of these as
   being deeply disturbing and counterproductive and have been stridently
   arguing against such actions.
   To me, POCA is not the handful of people who are responsible for all
   this ire; instead, POCA is the many hundreds of people all across the
   country and around the world who together share passion for De Tomaso
   cars, as well as the friendship and fellowship that normally follows.
   Just as you don't renounce your US citizenship if you aren't happy with
   the results of a presidential election, neither should you renounce
   your POCA membership.  The biggest enemy of the club is not corruption
   at the top, but instead apathy throughout.  The total number of ballots
   returned was pretty dismal.  And for year after year, club officers
   have run uncontested, and in fact some offices have gone unfilled for
   many years because not one single person was willing to step up to
   volunteer.
   To me, the takeaway from all of this is that if people want to have a
   club that serves them, they need to be willing to serve their fellow
   members in some capacity.  Whether that means taking on a chapter
   leadership position, or writing an article, or running for a national
   board position, the club will only succeed if many more people are
   willing to step up and do something.  It doesn't need to be much--it
   can be as little as casting a ballot in an election to let your voice
   be heard.  But quitting is not the answer.
   I'd also like to once again publicly thank Chuck Engles for his hard
   work in receiving and counting the ballots.  I am convinced that he
   maintained his high level of integrity throughout, and did the best job
   that he possibly could, within the often-changing constraints that were
   placed upon him.  So while it may be legitimate to feel anger towards
   some people, he is definitely not one of them.  I can only hope that he
   will be willing to continue to serve in this capacity and put the
   negative experiences of this election behind him.
   I thank everyone for their support over the last 20 years that I have
   served, and I very much hope that everyone will work together to get
   POCA past this low point and ensure that it thrives once more in the
   future.
   Mike