Robert Boudrie - Area 7 Director
2002 Update
February 15, 2003

I would like to update Area 7 members with progress in Area 7, as well as my performance on various promises I made during the campaign.

Annual Report

It was my hope and intention to send every member an annual report via US-Mail. Unfortunately, USPSA finances made that impractical. Although I could have spent money for printing and postage out of my "authorized budget" ($1000 Marketing, $2000 other), I did not do so as we were "in the red", and the fact that I was "authorized to spend it" does not change the fact that such a mailing would have increased USPSA's deficit.

Open Board Meetings

Partial progress on this one. When I went to my first board meeting, I thought I had some support for the concept. When that support evaporated (those I though would favor it started to see benefit in closed meetings), I decided it would be a better strategy to gather support and re-introduce it without the baggage of a recent board vote against it.

That strategy proved fruitful. When the issue was once again raised, the board temporarily authorized Section Coordinators to attend. I made a motion (in partnership with the Area 6 Director) which resulted in another "temporary policy" extending the invitation to Section Coordinators and Life Members. We're still not there yet, but this represents progress in the right direction. While we still are not fully open, I believe this policy provides a level of member scrutiny not previously possible.

Member Survey

Enthuiasm for this was lukewarm at the beginning, but the idea now has board acceptance and should be happening on a regular basis. One constant obstacle is $$ - we are in a tight financial situation, and even $.50 per member for printing, distribution and tabulation represents about $7000 - enough for several computers; USPSA Staff at several high-profile events (NRA shows, etc.); or perhaps to fund the increase in health insurance premiums for the staff.

Conflict of Interest

There has been very little interest on the part of any board members in public disclosure of industry connections and affiliations.

One concern has been "privacy" of the information contained in the annual conflict of interest statements filed with USPSA HQ (these statements are private, and not even available to other board members). One change I offered during the bylaws review was "ownership of less than 1% of any publicly traded company shall not constitute a conflict of interest". This should help resolve an ambiguity in policy - how much personal financial detail must a director go into on the disclosure statement? I have never assumed it required I list all my investments, but have assumed it included any connection with a firm in the firearms related industry or acting as a supplier to USPSA.

I am not able to publish a copy of my conflict of interest statement to this page as Michael Voigt has informed me this is an internal document that I am not permitted to release. I have, however, included all relationships described on that disclosure form on this web page.

Area 7 Issues

Area 7 Match Venue

I was disappointed that the Area 7 Championship had to be combined with another match in 2002. While the New York State Championship crew did a great job, the Area Championship should "stand on it's own" as "the" premiere event in our area.

I bear some of the responsibility for this, as I did not set a "drop dead yes or no" date for the incumbent club, and learned in mid-December that they would not renew. I now have a deadline of 9/1 for formal acceptance of the match by the scheduled club.

The current "rotation" allows the Northeast Section to host the championship in 2003 (already agreed to), and in 2004 if they wish. After 2004, the "6 year rotation" will have completed its cycle, and the area will have to begin anew.

My inclination is to continue a similar rotation, but I will do so only after consulting with the Section Coordinators. One problem I ran into when attempting to find a "replacement host" for the 2001 match was that no club would take it with less than a 2 year commitment. I will try to propose a policy that allows for a 2 year commitment for the accepting club if the incumbent club does not exercise its option. It's also important to note that the Area Director is responsible for awarding the Area Match venue, therefore, all clubs must understand that no policy I work out with the SCs and Club Presidents can be binding any future Area 7 Director.

USPSA Issues

Limited 10

I offer my strongest support for Michael Voigt's decisions regarding the positioning of Limited 10 within our National Championship match format. Thanks to Michael's vision in this area, the "big name" competitors (as well as the rest of us) no longer need to choose between the "Limited Nationals" and "Limited 10 Nationals." While the sport is for the "everyman", not just the "GM", it is the presence of the familiar names at a National Championship which gives it stature within the shooting community, gun press and generates industry interest.

Marketing

The board wisely chose not to accept Robert Berman's proposal that we spend $250,000 using his firm to market USPSA. If I really believed we would have seen the kind of results he was predicting, but not contractually guaranteeing, I would have supported his proposal. The problem is I didn't.

The board authorized the marketing committee to purse more modest professional marketing efforts. We paid Michael Bane a modest amount (in the thousands per year, not tens of thousands) to promote USPSA and get us into the gun press. It seems to be working. Up until about a year ago, it seemed that the only USPSA/IPSC related articles you could find in the mainstream gun press were diatribes about how "IPSC will get you killed" (conjuring up visions of dead competitors stacked up like cord wood). Now, we're seeing articles about matches and events. Let's hope it's the dawn of a new age.

IPSC Issues

I, like everyone else, am waiting to see what the rules committee comes up with and how the IPSC Executive Council and General Assembly react it it. I am encouraged by the fact that we seem to be spending more time on productive activities, and less time dealing with conflicts with the world body. I hope the trend continues.

Finances - 2002

Although every year starts out with a balanced budget, Year 2002 was in the red. Dave Thomas has created a balanced 2003 budget, however, the proof will be in the execution.

While I would like to see bonuses paid to key staff under certain circumstances, I cannot support it if the check will be written with red ink.

Gun Shows & Intro Course

I was once again represented Area 7 at the Marlborough, Massachusetts gun show in January, and have already booked a table for 2004. I am already signing up students to an intro to USPSA/IPSC course, and expect we will pick up a few members.

If any club wants to promote USPSA at a gun show, please contact me so I can arrange for payment of your table fee from the Area 7 marketing budget.

Website Move

Our web hosting provider, All Vertical, has gone out of business. I obtained donation of uspsa.org and uspsa-juniors.org web hosting from another vendor(Gun Muse), and have retrieved the USPSA owned server from All Vertical. That server has been retrieved and delivered to USPSA Headquarters.

The only web site services we pay for are the on-line shopping cart ($250/year) and on-line membership system (approx $120/year), which I have obtained from vendors specializing in secure on-line commerce.

And yes, I do have a contingency plan in place in case our new vendor "goes all vertical."

I would also like to offer my thanks to IPSC world body webmaster Ian Fachie who contacted me offering assistance and use of the IPSC web server when All Vertical announced a shutdown. Although I did not need to use the IPSC World Body's web facilities, I am grateful for the show of support from the World Body for our region.