When a ship is taking on water, and the captain and crew haven't been seen or heard from, it is only natural for the passengers to start getting a little nervous.

Letter to the Editor:
For any members who plan on attending this year’s World Championship in Oklahoma City, I would like to also encourage them to attend the annual business meeting, and start preparing to put forth ideas, both big and small, to be examined for the benefit of IHMSA. The financial health of this organization is getting to the point to where the clock is ticking awfully loud and fast, and the need for constructive dialogue really cannot wait any longer. It is my sincere belief that there are too many genuinely good and dedicated people involved in this organization to allow it to fail. Yet I also personally feel that there is a disconnect in a variety of facets which is preventing this necessary dialogue to take place.
In the case of those who cannot make it to OKC this July, please pass along any ideas to your Region Director and/or other members who may be in attendance. With the significant increase in gun sales and new shooters in this country over the past few years, there are solutions to increasing our membership. We just have to work cohesively on turning this around. This is not just the President’s or Board’s responsibility—we’re all in this together. But we do have to act now.

Joe Frey
Loveland, CO

I dont know much how they do the meetings at national level, but back in mid-80's
in Texas, you couldnt attend the business meeting if you werent a designated delegate.
This used to chap my hide, and made me wonder what the state reps had to hide. I
would think if you were a member in good standing of IHMSA, you should be able to
attend the business meeting. I guess even at the national level, nothing has changed.

tonedaddy wrote:

KickBass wrote:Letter to the Editor:
For any members who plan on attending this year’s World Championship in Oklahoma City, I would like to also encourage them to attend the annual business meeting, and start preparing to put forth ideas, both big and small, to be examined for the benefit of IHMSA. The financial health of this organization is getting to the point to where the clock is ticking awfully loud and fast, and the need for constructive dialogue really cannot wait any longer. It is my sincere belief that there are too many genuinely good and dedicated people involved in this organization to allow it to fail. Yet I also personally feel that there is a disconnect in a variety of facets which is preventing this necessary dialogue to take place.
In the case of those who cannot make it to OKC this July, please pass along any ideas to your Region Director and/or other members who may be in attendance. With the significant increase in gun sales and new shooters in this country over the past few years, there are solutions to increasing our membership. We just have to work cohesively on turning this around. This is not just the President’s or Board’s responsibility—we’re all in this together. But we do have to act now.

Joe Frey
Loveland, CO

Why does everything have to be done at the Internationals?? Some of us do not go. There is plenty of discussion here for the Directors to address, oh I forgot the Board is still living in the non cyber world!

Thank you for supporting my point. The Board doesn't come to this forum, and probably have good reasons for it. So we've got to start somewhere, which is why I encourage people to start presenting well-thought out ideas and either passing it along in person, or to a trusted member. If you think you are making any kind of direct difference sitting there playing with yourself and posting on the Internet, you're really not because you aren't talking to the voices that need to be hearing this. So why not better use that time productively? We've got to start somewhere, and if we don't get things in place this year, I think the organization is going to be past the point of rescue financially.

I have attended the Annual Business meeting at every International's I have attended. I was either a club delegate or state director. The main problem with the annual meeting is the way that the original bylaws were written. Everyone seems "hell-bent" to abide by the original bylaws, which require a specific quorum of delegates to be able to act on any matter at hand. I have attended a couple of meetings where the quorum was not met, so nothing could be acted on or voted upon. A total waste of time. So, for things to change, the original bylaws, which I think are called "The Kansas Statutes" have to be bypassed or eliminated. I used to have a copy of the original bylaws, but have lost it. I think that a good place to start would be to request a copy of the bylaws from Headquarters or the Board. I am speaking strictly from memory, so some of my points may be flawed. I think that Steve W. is probably more familiar with this subject than I am.

braud357 wrote:I am speaking strictly from memory, so some of my points may be flawed. I think that Steve W. is probably more familiar with this subject than I am.

Phillip,

I do not guarantee that this is the latest version of the Bylaws, but the part about the annual meeting is probably accurate except I do know the number of members necessary for a quorum was reduced substantially some years ago. Click to view 2005 IHMSA Bylaws.

Steve W.

Hi
I would like to thank Nancy for her service. The position of president of IHMSA appears to carry a lot of responsibility and very few rewards (Nancy did have a dedicated parking spot at the 2012 Internationals). She took over when IHMSA was already in a steep decline. It was a tough role to fill. It is now time for someone else to step up. We will be very lucky to find someone as dedicated as Nancy. I love this sport and would hate to see IHMSA fail. We need to come together and find ways to cut costs and build membership. I certainly do not have all of the answers and don't claim to. Since the majority of the members do not use this forum sending ideas to the IHMSA News is a very good way to get ideas seen by more people. The only way to effect change in this organization it to get your ideas to the board. The best way I know of to do that is to get them brought up at the business meeting at the Internationals. I have attended the business meeting at each International that I have attended. You used to have to Club Delegate but if I remember correctly in 2012 (I missed 2013 due to work) the business meeting was open to all who wanted to attend. So attend if you can or get your ideas to someone who can attend if you can't. Putting the IHMSA News on the Web Site should get more people viewing the web site and hopefully more on the forum. I will miss the paper copy but I can live without it to save the organization money. Steps are being taken to save money and that is a good thing.

Once again thank you Nancy.
Good luck to whoever becomes our new President.

John Anderson

And what better place to have the World Championship than OKC? This will be the 4th consecutive year I come down from CO to shoot in the OK State shoot, and then we'll pull the RV down in July for the World Championship. I always appreciate the friendly, outgoing people at OKC, the range is fantastic, and that 2012 WC match was run so well. True class acts down there. I would encourage anyone remotely thinking about going to really check their calendar and see if they can make the trip, even if it just for a couple of days.

Looking forward to seeing you again Joe. Only about 4 months until the match. allen

Im sure others have thought about this, just never put in into words, but
here goes. Has anyone given any thought to making IHMSA silhouette shooting
into shooting for MONEY? That seems to be where some of the shooting sports
have really thrived. Im not suggesting for or against it, just throwin stuff out
there, and see if anything sticks to the wall. Flame suit on!