STEVE WARE'S LETTER TO EDITOR

[LOCKHART]

Steve, if you are logged in, I wanted to tell you that I
think your letter to the editor of IHMSA was right on
the money! I agree with that if something is not done
and soon, this organization will be gone. I think we all
need to put our heads together, and see what we can
come up with.

[19 Turkeys]

Thank you! Give me a few days and I will offer a possible solution. I would appreciate feedback on i once I post it. I am super busy until next week.

Yours,

Steve W.

[ole95]

[260 Striker]

Steve is on target, but he usually is anyway. Strange thing, I posted a reply to this topic this morning and now it has disappeared. Hmmmm!!!! Operator error???? Who me? Anyway, I hope someone from HQ responds to Steve's letter and it would be nice if the reply were in the IHMSA Forum. Can anyone tell me if any of the HQ staff read any or our posts or just ignore them. I hope they at least read some once in a while to hear comments from the peanut gallery.

[KickBass]

Who actually manages this website? I always assumed it was through IHMSA, but since it has a "Talk to the President" section in which doesn't appear to ever actually reach the president, and Allen is the only Region Director I can remember ever posting on this forum. I certainly appreciate a lot of the constructive dialogue that goes on here, but are we just talking to ourselves?

[gibar]

Since Steve's post has disappeared it seems that who ever runs this forum is doing a good job of shilling for the officers of ihmsa.

Steve: if you are listening, post your letter on SP where it can be read.

[gibar]

Who actually manages this website? I always assumed it was through IHMSA, but since it has a "Talk to thr President" section in which doesn't appear to ever actually reach the president, and Allen is the only Region Director I can remember ever posting on this forum. I certainly appreciate a lot of the constructive dialogue that goes on here, but are we just talking to ourselves?

I don't think any of the higher ups give a damn about any of our concerns. It seems to be a dictatorship.

I hope not but it sure looks that way.

[19 Turkeys]

Since Steve's post has disappeared it seems that who ever runs this forum is doing a good job of shilling for the officers of ihmsa.

Steve: if you are listening, post your letter on SP where it can be read.

Here it is again. We'll see if it stays up. I prefer to keep this debate within this board & not open it to the world. Let's not air our dirty laundry too far!

Dear Lorene:

Few follow IHMSA’s financial health. However, having been in banking and real estate finance for 25 years I do.

It is time that the membership begins an open and honest discussion about the future and direction of IHMSA in an attempt to save the sport that we all love. Having dedicated 29 years to the sport, run Headquarters West and edited the IHMSA News for several years and been a match director for over a decade I am not willing to see the sport wither on the vine.

It is no secret that our membership numbers have declined dramatically over the years. That decline has had a negative impact on the financial health of the organization. The following illustrates that rather dramatically.

December 31 (Year) Cash on Hand

2008 $104,134
2009 $ 86,281
2010 $ 65,270
2011 $ 38,642
2012 $ 34,763

Cash on hand has declined every year since 2008. As of June 30, 2013 it was down to $29,996, a drop of $4,767, per the Secretary/Treasurer’s Report in the November/December 2013 issue of The IHMSA News. And it is painfully obvious that this trend will not turn around without some very tough decisions.

Unless the Board of Directors begins to seriously consider solutions, IHMSA will not survive. Based on historical losses, they have about 2 years to resolve this problem or dissolve the corporation. I urge each member to begin the discussion to solve this problem.

Steve Ware
IHMSA #33XXXL

[19 Turkeys]

OK, here is one potential scenario to consider. Let's assume the worst, that cash goes to zero and IHMSA, Inc as a corporation dies. The question then is "What next?" Does the sport die with IHMSA, Inc.? My answer to that question is emphatically, "Hell no! Not unless we let it." Let's start with one undeniable truth. IHMSA, Inc needs the clubs and membership far more than the clubs and membership need IHMSA, Inc.

Please consider several other shooting organizations. United States Air Rifle Benchrest Association: Website here., World Air Rifle Rimfire Benchrest Federation: Website here., IMSSU: Website here.

What do these organization all have in common? They are totally Internet based and run by volunteers. We have http://www.ihmsa.org with this great forum. Clubs can post match schedules, announcements, and match results. Local clubs can continue to recruit members. Clubs with specialty matches can still run them. We can still have the ECC, WCC, Icicle Idiots, LASC Extravaganza, TUSCO Tres Banditos, Moro Bay 500 meter, and the list goes on. All we need is for each club to print their own scorecards.

Let's freeze the rules and keep shooting. We do not need new categories to grow the sport We tried that and it failed. Practical Hunter has not generated many new shooters. Look at the financial statement that will be in the April paper as promised to me by Lorene. I bet you there will be no more than 100 entries. That is $100 in sanction fees. How many IHMSA shooters does it take to shoot 100 entries in a year? 10?

To implement this, we need a webmaster which we already have. Hopefully Proclaim would agree to continue. We would have the expense of domain registration & server space. We would ask Jeff how much he needs. Say each club sends him $25/year. Would that be fair for his time & cost? Then, IHMSA would have to hand over ownership of the domain to him as well.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I do not consider this to be the "ultimate solution" by any means, rather a way to open debate to see what we as members can do to continue the sport in the event that IHMSA, Inc. does collapse.

Yours,

Steve W.

[35isit]

What do these organization all have in common? They are totally Internet based and run by volunteers. We have http://www.ihmsa.org with this great forum. Clubs can post match schedules, announcements, and match results. Local clubs can continue to recruit members. Clubs with specialty matches can still run them. We can still have the ECC, WCC, Icicle Idiots, LASC Extravaganza, TUSCO Tres Banditos, Moro Bay 500 meter, and the list goes on. All we need is for each club to print their own scorecards.

I felt for some time that maybe the larger and specialty matches may be the salvation of our sport. Could this be true? As far as freezing the rules I would be in favor of that also. Then in time without a knee-jerk reaction alter the rules to a amenable form. But most of all it must be done as gentlemen and ladies! Not as in the past, if I don't get my way I'm taking my toys and going home!