Harry Hirschman, a 44-year member of AOPA, has been vocal in his criticism of the AOPA board of trustees since their decision to fire CEO Darren Pleasance earlier this year. Hirschman says the problems AOPA face lie with the board, and he advocates using the $140 million investment portfolio to boost membership and engagement with that membership. AOPA’s membership has been on a steep decline in recent years, says Hirschman, despite an increase in the number of pilots involved with general aviation.
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I agree with Harry’s assessment of the use of invested funds, but I think that is still a somewhat shallow level of reform. It does nothing to prevent the trustees from falling back into their old habits in the future.
We need a fundamental reform in how the trustees are elected. We need electronic and/or mail-in voting that allows each and every member the ability to vote for the trustees of their choosing without making an annual pilgrimage to Maryland. That is the real lasting reform that is needed.
A better headline would be: Nothing New In Frederick, Maryland. I am not sure that throwing huge loads of cash at the problems with member engagement will do all that much. The issues are systemic and a contributing factor is a basically self governing board of trustees club. There is no oversight.
I would hesitate to use money given to the association for a purpose other than what was intended. The entire board needs to go away. Proxy voting must end.
Over the years in journalism and in publishing I have had the pleasure to be in contact with “regular” AOPA employees. It pains me to imagine what kind of feedback they have to listen to from a rightfully angered member base.
If the number of members in attendance during the general meeting was really less than 200 and a unknown number of new proxies where not assigned/ executed, things no longer just smell funky. Thats a stench! “Sumtin Wong!”
Board members and executives of any and all GA interest groups should never ever have to tell their members how to behave or what to say. If anger flares up to such levels, its time to saddle the horse and ride back into investment banking or private equity management. Thats where people need bodyguards, often deservedly so.
Transparency and blunt honesty will always cause some pain at first, but eventually this leads to peace. Drag it all out into the sunshine. Let people decide what they are willing to put up with, or not.