FlyingGiants - View Single Post - Results of SSRCC meeting of September 14, 2009

catman3070 · 09-16-2009, 10:25 AM

Since everyone keeps asking for the documents. I am converting them to .pdf for your keeping but figure I will post them here also.

South Shore Radio Control Club August XX, 2009
C/O Sean Clancey

RE: AMA Club #347 Status

Dear Club Members,

Letters have been received by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) from AMA members who were in attendance at a South Shore Radio Control Club (SSRCC) meeting on July 27, 2009.

Please refer to the attached letters and Document A. The facts presented in each of the letters and Document A have been corroborated by other witnesses who were in attendance at this meeting.

These AMA members indicated in their letter and factual presentation that they had witnessed unethical behavior and conduct of SSRCC members, who vocalized prejudicial remarks to other members referencing their national origin, race and color. The actions were perceived as being done to exclude, discredit and intimidate members from expressing their views.

Pursuant to the authority of the District Vice President as granted by the AMA Executive Council, the District Vice President has the responsibility to cancel a club’s AMA charter for any violation of the terms of the AMA Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Rules of the AMA, or which is considered detrimental to the AMA or model aviation. The District Vice President may also, at his discretion, promulgate procedures or conditions that if undertaken by an AMA club, would allow the club to retain its AMA charter or have it reinstated.

Page 1 of 3

It was decided by the AMA President and District Vice President that because of the seriousness of the complaints and in order to render a fair and objective decision, an AMA Advisory Panel, as authorized by the AMA President, would review the charges and determine if there was a violation warranting cancelation of the club’s AMA charter.

After a thorough review of the facts presented to date, it was concluded that the actions or lack thereof from the SSRCC president, officers and certain members, during the July 27 meeting, represent a violation of the nondiscrimination requirements for an AMA club charter. The fact that the equal rights of all members of the club to be heard were limited by discriminatory actions constitutes the violation.

Those individuals in attendance at the meeting who heckled and made racial and national origin discriminatory statements directly to others are not alone in being irresponsible. It is the responsibility of the club president and officers to create an atmosphere allowing for free discussion and take action to object and prevent inappropriate language or behavior especially when bordering on individual’s civil rights.

The AMA takes a strong position against improper and potentially actionable discriminatory conduct and statements and will not condone and will not tolerate any such form of discrimination of AMA members by other AMA members or AMA clubs.
This is inconsistent with the very spirit and mission of the Academy.

The club will be afforded the opportunity to respond to the charges of discrimination with a written letter addressed to the AMA President within 14 days from receipt of this letter. The clubs rebuttal letter will be reviewed before action is taken.

If the club doesn’t respond, or if the response after review and consideration doesn’t warrant dismissal of the charges, it will be with deep regret that the AMA finds it necessary to cancel the club’s charter.

The conditions for reinstatement may require the resignation of all officers of the club who were in attendance at the July 27 club meeting, the election of new officers, the dismissal of those club members who specifically made the discriminatory statements from club membership for a period of time to be decided by the club and the writing of a letter of apology to the club’s membership and especially Dr Winford W. Williams and Zahoor Bajwa admonishing the acts of discrimination that were allowed to take place during the club meeting.

Page 2 of 3

If a decision is made by the AMA Advisory Panel to cancel the club’s AMA charter, it will be up to you, the SSRCC members, to decide whether to undertake the conditions for reinstatement or not. I would hope that your recognition of the benefits and privileges of being an AMA chartered club would direct club actions to allow for consideration of reinstatement.

Respectfully yours,
Andy Argenio
Andy Argenio
AMA District I Vice President

*Any club members or officers who direct any retaliation action against other club members for letters written to the AMA representing either side, will be subject to the provisions of Article V of the AMA Bylaws which sets forth the AMA Membership expulsion process. This is to include threats, intimidation, physical harm, intentional equipment or flying site damage, or any other action deemed to be retaliatory by the AMA.

DOCUMENT (A)INCEDENTS INVOLVING DISCRIMINATION AT THE SSRC CLUB

This document outlines the incidents that involved discrimination as observed by District Associate Vice Presidents, Carl Vogel and Jim Gilliatt and statements made to District Vice President, Andy Argenio by some of the individuals who were discriminated against while at the July 27, 2009 SSRCC club meeting.

A-1 Discrimination – Entry to the meeting required an ID for some and not others.

The President informed us that someone would be checking ID cards at the door in order to ensure that only club members, who were present, would be called for votes on motions. The only people that we saw checked at the door were those that were suspected of being giant scale flyers or unknowns who might be potential giant scale supporters. This was done much the same way that the flight line was run at the field. Chane Spendlove was not going to be allowed to stay at the meeting because he didn’t have his membership card with him. Like so many of us, he keeps his card in his field box. As district VP, I said I would verify him as being Chane and a club member by his license. AMA AVPs in attendance questioned several other members and club officers from other clubs in the meeting room who told then they were never asked to show their ID or membership cards.

A-2 Discrimination – Racial Stereotyping

Winfred Williams, M.D. was one of those selected unknown attendees who were interrogated at the door as a possible supporter of giant scale planes. Doctor Williams called me the morning after the meeting to inform me of what happened to him at the meeting. He told me that when he got to the meeting hall, the first comment from the club member at the door was, “who are you? I’ve never seen you before are you a member. Let me see your membership card?” Upon which Doctor Williams said, “Nice to meet you, too! Here’s my membership card.” The Doctor said he was quite taken aback by the hostile attitude of this man. This hostility was further confirmed when he was trying to leave at the end of the meeting and was again stopped by this rude person and asked “why where you taking notes?” He told him he was a Harvard physician at Mass General and commonly would take notes when he wanted to learn issues and in this case when some of the discussions at the meeting involved the physics of sound, engine sizes and decibel level requirements. The man seemed unwilling to believe him and so the doctor offered to show him his notes. The man then asked for a Doctors I.D. card. It was obvious that the man thought the Doctor was some sort of reporter or plant. The Doctor told me he didn’t have his physicians I.D. card and so he showed his Harvard University Faculty I.D. The response from this club guy was “Oh, you’re over there with that Skip Gates guy!” obviously referring to the situation between Harvard’s African American Prof. Louis Gates and the Cambridge police officer. The Doctor then asked me “Would this man have said this to another Harvard faculty member who did not happen to be black?” We agreed, very unlikely. The Doctor concluded by saying to me that he had lived in New England since a teenager and in all this time he couldn’t recall being the object of such hostility, disrespect and prejudiced behavior and it was extremely unpleasant and unfortunate that this happened at the very first AMA club meeting he ever attended and that he believed this club member and the current leadership of the club acted irresponsibly throughout the meeting and should be held accountable. He also asked for the name of the club president and wanted to know why the club president allowed the array of racial slurs and heckling to continue without objection throughout the meeting. I apologized to him for the action of this AMA club and some of the member and let him know that the matter was being investigated and some action would be taken. I also said I would call him with the names of other AMA clubs who would more than welcome and honored to have him as a member.

PAGE 1 OF 2

A-3 Discrimination – Racial slurs, intimidation / preventing expression of views

Everyone present heard the statements made to the former club president, Zahoor Bajwa, when he first spoke criticizing the club and the executive board for disrespecting the district vice president and other members by not allowing them to speak. Someone yelled at him “Shut up and sit down”. Having had recent heart problems he sat down. Later on he attempted to speak again explaining that he came from a country of discrimination where people were not allowed to speak their mind and he couldn’t believe what was being allowed to happen at the meeting and this time another person yelled “Send Baj and Obama back to Africa?” This man is of Pakistani descent. The heckling sounds continued and there was no objection from the club president or club officers.

A-4 Discrimination – Attempts to prevent / exclude membership

AMA member Elie Houayes applied for membership in the SSRC club and every attempt was made by the club officers to deny him membership. His applications were repeatedly not processed and each time he inquired there was a considerable delay before the club officers gave another reason for denying his membership. The club requires that applicants have sponsorship from two existing members. Eli’s first sponsors were not accepted because the club officers said they were not members for one full year. He applied again with two other long time club members as sponsors. This time he was told his application dues check was lost. He offered another check and was now told that the officers were not sure that the signatures of the sponsors on the application were authentic and had to be verified. I was told they were denying his application because he was another giant scale flyer and at this time there existed no club rules to prevent the flying of giant scale airplanes. Even after the 65cc engine limit was passed his application wasn’t processed until he made it known that he had airplanes that were 65cc and less that he could fly and only with the threat of legal action did the club final accept his membership.

A-5 Discrimination – Limiting and excluding discussion at club meeting

The meeting agenda information sent to the members indicated that the district vice president would be a guest speaker to discuss the noise issues facing the club. After remaining in my seat for over 45 minutes, never being introduced, it was obvious that a decision was made before the meeting among the club officers and selected members to prevent me from addressing the membership. I finally stood up and sought recognition to speak. Each time I attempted to speak, I was interrupted by raised hands from selected members who the president then differed the floor too. And so, only bits and pieces of what I had intended to introduce for consideration ever got heard by the members. It was the opinion of the several district officers and other club members and I, who were in attendance at the July 27 club meeting, that this was the worst club meeting we ever attended in terms of the hostility and discrimination that was allowed to take place without objection from those officers running the meeting.

A-6 Spreading false information

The meeting agenda card that went out to the members said that one of the reasons the July meeting date was being postponed until the end of the month was to accommodate the district vice president. This wasn’t true. I never requested a change in the regular meeting date. This was just one of the many delays so certain club members would have more time to influence the flock with false fears of the magnitude of the threat of losing the field and if they didn’t vote as suggested by these members, they might never fly at the club again.
PAGE 2 OF 2

09-16-2009, 10:25 AM	#63
catman3070 Bad-ass Super Contributer! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Franklin, MA Age: 41 Posts: 712	Re: Results of SSRCC meeting of September 14, 2009 Since everyone keeps asking for the documents. I am converting them to .pdf for your keeping but figure I will post them here also. South Shore Radio Control Club August XX, 2009 C/O Sean Clancey RE: AMA Club #347 Status Dear Club Members, Letters have been received by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) from AMA members who were in attendance at a South Shore Radio Control Club (SSRCC) meeting on July 27, 2009. Please refer to the attached letters and Document A. The facts presented in each of the letters and Document A have been corroborated by other witnesses who were in attendance at this meeting. These AMA members indicated in their letter and factual presentation that they had witnessed unethical behavior and conduct of SSRCC members, who vocalized prejudicial remarks to other members referencing their national origin, race and color. The actions were perceived as being done to exclude, discredit and intimidate members from expressing their views. Pursuant to the authority of the District Vice President as granted by the AMA Executive Council, the District Vice President has the responsibility to cancel a club’s AMA charter for any violation of the terms of the AMA Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Rules of the AMA, or which is considered detrimental to the AMA or model aviation. The District Vice President may also, at his discretion, promulgate procedures or conditions that if undertaken by an AMA club, would allow the club to retain its AMA charter or have it reinstated. Page 1 of 3 It was decided by the AMA President and District Vice President that because of the seriousness of the complaints and in order to render a fair and objective decision, an AMA Advisory Panel, as authorized by the AMA President, would review the charges and determine if there was a violation warranting cancelation of the club’s AMA charter. After a thorough review of the facts presented to date, it was concluded that the actions or lack thereof from the SSRCC president, officers and certain members, during the July 27 meeting, represent a violation of the nondiscrimination requirements for an AMA club charter. The fact that the equal rights of all members of the club to be heard were limited by discriminatory actions constitutes the violation. Those individuals in attendance at the meeting who heckled and made racial and national origin discriminatory statements directly to others are not alone in being irresponsible. It is the responsibility of the club president and officers to create an atmosphere allowing for free discussion and take action to object and prevent inappropriate language or behavior especially when bordering on individual’s civil rights. The AMA takes a strong position against improper and potentially actionable discriminatory conduct and statements and will not condone and will not tolerate any such form of discrimination of AMA members by other AMA members or AMA clubs. This is inconsistent with the very spirit and mission of the Academy. The club will be afforded the opportunity to respond to the charges of discrimination with a written letter addressed to the AMA President within 14 days from receipt of this letter. The clubs rebuttal letter will be reviewed before action is taken. If the club doesn’t respond, or if the response after review and consideration doesn’t warrant dismissal of the charges, it will be with deep regret that the AMA finds it necessary to cancel the club’s charter. The conditions for reinstatement may require the resignation of all officers of the club who were in attendance at the July 27 club meeting, the election of new officers, the dismissal of those club members who specifically made the discriminatory statements from club membership for a period of time to be decided by the club and the writing of a letter of apology to the club’s membership and especially Dr Winford W. Williams and Zahoor Bajwa admonishing the acts of discrimination that were allowed to take place during the club meeting. Page 2 of 3 If a decision is made by the AMA Advisory Panel to cancel the club’s AMA charter, it will be up to you, the SSRCC members, to decide whether to undertake the conditions for reinstatement or not. I would hope that your recognition of the benefits and privileges of being an AMA chartered club would direct club actions to allow for consideration of reinstatement. Respectfully yours, Andy Argenio Andy Argenio AMA District I Vice President Any club members or officers who direct any retaliation action against other club members for letters written to the AMA representing either side, will be subject to the provisions of Article V of the AMA Bylaws which sets forth the AMA Membership expulsion process. This is to include threats, intimidation, physical harm, intentional equipment or flying site damage, or any other action deemed to be retaliatory by the AMA. DOCUMENT (A)INCEDENTS INVOLVING DISCRIMINATION AT THE SSRC CLUB* This document outlines the incidents that involved discrimination as observed by District Associate Vice Presidents, Carl Vogel and Jim Gilliatt and statements made to District Vice President, Andy Argenio by some of the individuals who were discriminated against while at the July 27, 2009 SSRCC club meeting. *A-1 Discrimination – Entry to the meeting required an ID for some and not others.* The President informed us that someone would be checking ID cards at the door in order to ensure that only club members, who were present, would be called for votes on motions. The only people that we saw checked at the door were those that were suspected of being giant scale flyers or unknowns who might be potential giant scale supporters. This was done much the same way that the flight line was run at the field. Chane Spendlove was not going to be allowed to stay at the meeting because he didn’t have his membership card with him. Like so many of us, he keeps his card in his field box. As district VP, I said I would verify him as being Chane and a club member by his license. AMA AVPs in attendance questioned several other members and club officers from other clubs in the meeting room who told then they were never asked to show their ID or membership cards. *A-2 Discrimination – Racial Stereotyping* Winfred Williams, M.D. was one of those selected unknown attendees who were interrogated at the door as a possible supporter of giant scale planes. Doctor Williams called me the morning after the meeting to inform me of what happened to him at the meeting. He told me that when he got to the meeting hall, the first comment from the club member at the door was, “who are you? I’ve never seen you before are you a member. Let me see your membership card?” Upon which Doctor Williams said, “Nice to meet you, too! Here’s my membership card.” The Doctor said he was quite taken aback by the hostile attitude of this man. This hostility was further confirmed when he was trying to leave at the end of the meeting and was again stopped by this rude person and asked “why where you taking notes?” He told him he was a Harvard physician at Mass General and commonly would take notes when he wanted to learn issues and in this case when some of the discussions at the meeting involved the physics of sound, engine sizes and decibel level requirements. The man seemed unwilling to believe him and so the doctor offered to show him his notes. The man then asked for a Doctors I.D. card. It was obvious that the man thought the Doctor was some sort of reporter or plant. The Doctor told me he didn’t have his physicians I.D. card and so he showed his Harvard University Faculty I.D. The response from this club guy was “Oh, you’re over there with that Skip Gates guy!” obviously referring to the situation between Harvard’s African American Prof. Louis Gates and the Cambridge police officer. The Doctor then asked me “Would this man have said this to another Harvard faculty member who did not happen to be black?” We agreed, very unlikely. The Doctor concluded by saying to me that he had lived in New England since a teenager and in all this time he couldn’t recall being the object of such hostility, disrespect and prejudiced behavior and it was extremely unpleasant and unfortunate that this happened at the very first AMA club meeting he ever attended and that he believed this club member and the current leadership of the club acted irresponsibly throughout the meeting and should be held accountable. He also asked for the name of the club president and wanted to know why the club president allowed the array of racial slurs and heckling to continue without objection throughout the meeting. I apologized to him for the action of this AMA club and some of the member and let him know that the matter was being investigated and some action would be taken. I also said I would call him with the names of other AMA clubs who would more than welcome and honored to have him as a member. PAGE 1 OF 2 *A-3 Discrimination – Racial slurs, intimidation / preventing expression of views* Everyone present heard the statements made to the former club president, Zahoor Bajwa, when he first spoke criticizing the club and the executive board for disrespecting the district vice president and other members by not allowing them to speak. Someone yelled at him *“Shut up and sit down”. Having had recent heart problems he sat down. Later on he attempted to speak again explaining that he came from a country of discrimination where people were not allowed to speak their mind and he couldn’t believe what was being allowed to happen at the meeting and this time another person yelled “Send Baj and Obama back to Africa?”* This man is of Pakistani descent. The heckling sounds continued and there was no objection from the club president or club officers. *A-4 Discrimination – Attempts to prevent / exclude membership* AMA member Elie Houayes applied for membership in the SSRC club and every attempt was made by the club officers to deny him membership. His applications were repeatedly not processed and each time he inquired there was a considerable delay before the club officers gave another reason for denying his membership. The club requires that applicants have sponsorship from two existing members. Eli’s first sponsors were not accepted because the club officers said they were not members for one full year. He applied again with two other long time club members as sponsors. This time he was told his application dues check was lost. He offered another check and was now told that the officers were not sure that the signatures of the sponsors on the application were authentic and had to be verified. I was told they were denying his application because he was another giant scale flyer and at this time there existed no club rules to prevent the flying of giant scale airplanes. Even after the 65cc engine limit was passed his application wasn’t processed until he made it known that he had airplanes that were 65cc and less that he could fly and only with the threat of legal action did the club final accept his membership. *A-5 Discrimination – Limiting and excluding discussion at club meeting* The meeting agenda information sent to the members indicated that the district vice president would be a guest speaker to discuss the noise issues facing the club. After remaining in my seat for over 45 minutes, never being introduced, it was obvious that a decision was made before the meeting among the club officers and selected members to prevent me from addressing the membership. I finally stood up and sought recognition to speak. Each time I attempted to speak, I was interrupted by raised hands from selected members who the president then differed the floor too. And so, only bits and pieces of what I had intended to introduce for consideration ever got heard by the members. It was the opinion of the several district officers and other club members and I, who were in attendance at the July 27 club meeting, that this was the worst club meeting we ever attended in terms of the hostility and discrimination that was allowed to take place without objection from those officers running the meeting. *A-6 Spreading false information* The meeting agenda card that went out to the members said that one of the reasons the July meeting date was being postponed until the end of the month was to accommodate the district vice president. This wasn’t true. I never requested a change in the regular meeting date. This was just one of the many delays so certain club members would have more time to influence the flock with false fears of the magnitude of the threat of losing the field and if they didn’t vote as suggested by these members, they might never fly at the club again. PAGE 2 OF 2 __________________ Sponsored by Visa/Mastercard and anything I can hide from the wife!