USPSA has kept a portion of its net worth in investment funds for a number of years. While these funds have lost value in recent years (it's been a mother of a bear market), there were previous years where the gains in the funds vastly outstripped what would have been earned in a savings account. It's not reasonable to suggest that USPSA acted inappropriately in the recent years, without also asserting that owning equities during the run-up of the late 1990's was also an error.
I cannot publish details of the executive session discussions regarding the bonuses, however, I will observe that:
USPSA did not pay any bonuses for 2002. It is my personal opinion that bonuses can be considered only at the end of the year when we can be certain the checks are being written with black ink, not red. So, this problem has already been addressed.
There is no current move afoot to buy a national range or office space. We have a 5 year lease with options for another 5 at favorable rates. The failure to use due dilligence and utilize the services of legal counsel when purchasing that land was a mistake, albeit one fully authorized by a previous administration. I am confident that such a oversight will not be repeated in the future.
And no, I don't think that liquidating a significant chunk of USPSA's net worth by giving small grants to many clubs will strengthen the organization.
We've been trying. The only "consultant" we hired was Michael Bane (for less than $10,000 per year) to promote us to gun magazines and the industry (not the "mainstream media"). The board examined, but declined, a proposal by a consultant who wanted $250,000 from the board to promote our sport.
The board authorized the formation of a marketing committee consisting of three individuals. This committee, acting with the authority of the board, made a deal with Jim Scoutten granting exclusive access to his show in for coverage at our nationals.
Let's take a look at what was offered, and what USPSA gets out of the deal:
A producer with a track record of producing high quality video footage and airing it on national cable television offered us a committment to feature USPSA events on this show, and concurrently promote USPSA during the broadcast.
USPSA, and promotion of our organization, will be an integral part of the show. This means that USPSA will be promoted in any re-runs as well - even if the sponsorship and commercials change. That makes this even better than "advertising slots", which are negotiated on a per-airing basis. While there is no committement for reruns, it is worth noting that the Outdoor Life Network is currently airing re-runs of Jim Scoutten's previous show, "American Shooter".
In addition to a track record, this producer already had a contract for air time on the Outdoor Life Network.. We're not dealing with "expectations" or "hopes" here, but with a solid track record of performance.
The cost of walking away was risking that his show would not feature USPSA, and that no other nationally distributed show would either. This is a niche sport with little broad advertiser appeal, so it's not like we'd have television crews vying for broadcast rights. Sure, we might have attracted other nationally distributed shows absent the exclusive deal. Then again, we might not have.
I am saddened by the fact that a good man and USPSA member whom USPSA was using as a paid marketing consultant felt slighted by the marketing committee's granting of this deal to a competitor of one of his other clients. I wish the board and marketing committee had the foresight to anticipate such a possibility when negotiating the original deal with Mr. Bane, however, it's not always possible to forsee every contingency.
I've been in favor of this for some time, and have had partial success. The board recently opened the meetings to Life members and Section Coordinators. Although that policy has expired, I fully expect it will be renewed before the next in-person board meeting. And yes, I would like to see it expanded.
If there is something you think the Board or officers are doing incorrectly now, let them know. While the president has a considerable amount of influence, most major decisions are made by the board. The president cannot unilaterally decide where, or how, to spend the USPSA reserves or operating income.
One exception to board authority is the Nationals - under USPSA bylaws, all Nationals decisions are the responsibility of the USPSA president.