This post was made anonymous because we can bwaaahaaahaaa :cool:

Thanks to Matt Gillis and the PDGA for the quick election results. Looks like not much at stake this time around in the PDGA elections unlike other elections here and around the world. Interesting though how the PDGA sends out 8175 ballots to see only 745 return or 9.1%.
Congratulations to the winners, it looks like landslides won most races. Good to see the PDGA membership on such a united front. Fourteen seats change hands, the incumbents retain eleven seats and we have two states that tied? Let's check in with the newsroom for some interesting observations of this year's election:

*These are actual election results with vote counts from this year's PDGA State Representative elections. :confused:

3 Jim Orum
3 Shane Seal
-Mississippi is in a dead heat between two solid candidates. There has to be a seventh disc golfer somewhere in the Magnolia State? Stay tuned for the much anticipated run-off.

2 Gary Cyr
2 Matt Stroika
2 Jason Southwick
1 Steve Dodge
-Massachusetts looks to be adding even more controversy for the PDGA. Steve Dodge comes in right behind the leaders losing by one vote. I am guessing that Steve voted for Jason and Jason voted for Steve. The run-off could be interesting.

8 Joe Lick Me Proud
1 L. Kraig Steffen
-Connecticut has a new state rep. Wait a second Isnt Joe a CO-TD of that MSDGC non-sanctioned tournament thingy out East? Forget the Massachusetts tie, the PDGA has been infiltrated. :eek:

19 Jon Brakel
18 Wilbur Wallis
-Illinois might be in need of a recount. A one-vote victory margin with longtime coordinator, Wilbur Wallis losing to the brother of Board of Director, Bruce Brakel. Was Bruce one of the 25 voters whose ballet was thrown out for voting in state elections other than their own? Or did an illegal vote mysteriously slip through the cracks and give Jon the position?
(Hey, you wipe that conspiracy off of your shoes before you go walk on the carpet)

1 Darrell Nodland
-Good to see Darrell Nodland give himself the nod for the state rep of North Dakota. Go North Dakota!

33 Tim Selinske
1 Sam Ferrans
1 Jim Kenner
1 Ed Normington
1 Marvin Paul
-In California(South) returns, Discrafts Jim Kenner of Michigan gets one vote that actually came from a guy who used to live in Michigan and just cant Californicate away from his beloved Cyclone discs.

1 Jack Faubion
0 Peter Shive
-Incumbent, Peter Shive of Wyoming, loses by a single vote. Did Peter forget to cast his own vote and add yet another state rep run-off?

Jeff Jacqaurt wins Nevada
Matt LaCourte wins New Jersey
-Has to be a connection, Jacquart, LaCourt. Jacquart, LaCourt..anyone?

5 Doug Smith
-Doug Smith collects all five votes for the win in Utah! Perhaps enrolled in the PDGA family plan?

And our biggest news of the 2004/2005 election comes from Oklahoma:

13 Kevin McCoy
1 Ron Russell
-Oklahoma receives yet another blow after feeling the sting of the Orange Bowl.
Favorite son, Kevin McCoy and others are shocked to see Ron Russell has taken up residency in the state and has initiated his planned take over of Sooner Disc Golf by writing himself in on the election ballot.
"It's just the beginning", RR

Satire is a great art form and all of this was written in jest of ourselves recently. It does point out our weakness as PDGA members not doing something to better our wonderful sport. This years ballot even had a membership Referendum that requested everyone help shape the system. One must start by being part of the process. Let us all become part of the process and do what is needed to push us forward. The voters have voted. Thanks for voting.

:DDisc Golf in 2005 :D

Thanks for the laugh Mikey :D

19 Jon Brakel
18 Wilbur Wallis
-Illinois might be in need of a recount. A one-vote victory margin with longtime coordinator, Wilbur Wallis losing to the brother of Board of Director, Bruce Brakel. Was Bruce one of the 25 voters whose ballet was thrown out for voting in state elections other than their own? Or did an illegal vote mysteriously slip through the cracks and give Jon the position?
(Hey, you wipe that conspiracy off of your shoes before you go walk on the carpet)

We have these three cats that have taken up residence in our garage. I bought them all memberships and gave them an Illinois address in Wheeling somewhere. If Tija Brakel, Patches Brakel and Spunky Brakel never play a tournament, well, at least they vote! :D

Wow

I can't believe I won the North Dakota State Coordinator spot, such a tightly contested race. I didn't vote and haven't even renewed my membership yet.

Someone must hate me....When did we get TWO PDGA members?? :cool:. I demand a recount.

while i think PDGA elections are amusing, i can't take credit for the unknown comic's post!

Unknown Comic Speculations:
Jeff_L
Rodney
Rhett


(I thought about writing some of those items but would have signed it)

Unknown Comic Speculations:
Jeff_L
Rodney
Rhett




I thought the Bwaaahaaahaaa, plus the implied editorial on anonymous posting, was a dead giveaway for Rhett. But I'm not so sure.

I'd like to take credit, but it was not me.

Hank, that's good detective work, but I am much more of a "mua-ha-ha-ha" guy than "bwah-ha-ha". :)

I have some constructive criticism of the PDGA's State Rep jobs. It seems there's quite a bit of voter apathy, illustrated above by the unknown comic's statistics.

I didn't vote, and I doubt that Steve Dodge did either. But I would have definitely voted for myself if the position held more decision-making power. It's one thing to be part of an e-mail group for exchanging ideas, but the power to make or take part in decisions is much more motivating.

Correct me if I'm wrong, because my information is far from complete, but it seems PDGA State Reps don't have to do much. I've been a PDGA State Rep before and the only thing I ever did was devise a method for determining the Massachusetts USDGC Qualifier (i.e., the person from Mass who gets to go). I'm not saying I didn't have an opportunity to do more PDGA stuff, but somehow I never was aware of the tasks and duties associated with the position. Imagine if, say, PDGA State Reps could randomly kick anyone out of the PDGA who gets under their skin. Imagine how much higher voter participation would be!

This was part of the reason that NEFA instituted State Reps in 2004 -- the first year they were appointed, and this year we're electing them. This has helped to decentralize NEFA, an organization with 300 current members, by giving states some real self-determination. We made each NEFA State decide his/her state's Double NEFA Points event. Over time we came up with other suggestions for State Reps, but found it's more interesting and more fun NOT to tell them what to do. Giving them freedom to do nothing or anything without constraint produced some new ideas. And like any effective organization, after a couple months we take these ideas and say we thought them up ourselves, like we're geniuses or something.

These NEFA State Reps, I think, wound up being more active because they held a position with real clout. They even actively soliticited new NEFA members, probably because they felt like they were genuinely part of what we're doing. And they genuinely are.

The best thing, though, is that now I can just sit back and watch episode after episode of CSI. And if something doesn't get done? Well, you really should ask your NEFA State Rep why he/she's been slacking!

Several PDGA State Reps help coordinate both PDGA and non-PDGA event schedules in their states or regions. Some try to keep the Course Directory up-to-date for their state's courses. A new biggie coming along soon will be to coordinate and actually do some course evaluations using the new PDGA Course Evaluation system that will be unveiled later this spring. Ours also operates as an intermediary when issues break out among clubs in the state.

Wow

I can't believe I won the North Dakota State Coordinator spot, such a tightly contested race. I didn't vote and haven't even renewed my membership yet.

Someone must hate me....When did we get TWO PDGA members?? :cool:. I demand a recount.



Well one of them left for a more moderate climate. It's good to see that we have as many voting members as average degrees above zero in January!

Disclaimer: Please note my opinions do not necessarily reflect that of the PDGA, BoD, or Tom Petty -- but they could!

The job is heavy on promoting and light on power sharing. If you're going to "work" for an organization you have to be inspired, and encouraged to be creative. Having the power to grant exemptions at PDGA tournaments within your state and voting power among all State Coordinators on tour standards would make the job more appealing and important. State Coordinators would puff up like blowfish, and probably wind up contributing more and maybe even more creatively. You wouldn't always be able to predict exactlly WHAT they'd do, but if it promoted the sport then, by definition, it would be promoting the PDGA.

And to bring this whole discussion back to basics: Let us agree that the main goal of the PDGA, State Coordinators, tournament directors, and clowns of many moods, is to promote the sport of disc golf.

Promote disc golf. Turn on your friends.

So, the list could be pared down. 1 is obvious and needs not be stated, and 8 sounds like "and anything else we tell you to do."

I think 3 and 4 could be one requirement, if those two things were cleverly merged in reality. They do seem made for each other.

5 and 7 yes, though 5 awkwardly links getting more PDGA members with supporting PDGA-affiliated programs. The idea is fine just the wording is off. And 6 should be VOTE on changes to tour standards, and combined with 7. People would join the PDGA if they knew they could vote for a State Coordinator who stood firmly on one side of any given bi-polarizing issue.

Then the list should be preceeded by a brief albeit eloquent paragraph. It should contain the phrases "responsible for promoting the sport" and "enjoys great lattitude in approaching this goal." A professional writer could be called in to put these two phrases together, with a couple other filler statements, "Your goal is not to police, but rather enhance." I could write it in my sleep. With my left hand.

Players should be mentioned as paramount, and TDs should be deified. A professional writer could be called in to bring it all together. Then the shortened list of real duties and responsibilities. I'm glad we clarified that.

BTW how long is the State Coordinator term of office?

Promote disc golf. Turn on your friends.


First time I read this, I thought "turn on your friends" meant "turn against" them. (I was wondering why promoting disc golf meant alienating your friends!) But this was meant to say "turn your friends on to disc golf", right?

Promote disc golf. Turn on your friends.


First time I read this, I thought "turn on your friends" meant "turn against" them. (I was wondering why promoting disc golf meant alienating your friends!) But this was meant to say "turn your friends on to disc golf", right?

II think he's referring�or perhaps I should say, "reefer-ing"�to a certain "heritage activity" that is officially frowned upon at PDGA-sanctioned tournaments. "Turn on, tune in, drop out!" as Dr. Timothy Leary used to say.

:D:D:D

Unknown Comic Speculations:
Jeff_L
Rodney
Rhett

(I thought about writing some of those items but would have signed it)



That article wasn't written by me, and frankly, I'm insulted at the insinuation. :mad:

BTW how long is the State Coordinator term of office?


Two years.

BTW how long is the State Coordinator term of office?


Two years.



I thought that with the approval of the referendum that this term that was just elected as well as the last year's group would only be 18 months. Then after that it will be two years again.

BTW how long is the State Coordinator term of office?


Two years.



I thought that with the approval of the referendum that this term that was just elected as well as the last year's group would only be 18 months. Then after that it will be two years again.

Yeah, I drafted that ballot language but never actually read it! And, if you count on your fingers, it is actually 19 months, but you might get a different result if you do the math using some high tech device.

And while we are in election correction mode, those new member cats are named Tija, Patches and Puffin, not Tija, Patches and Spunky!

Instead of "Turn on your friends," we could say "Share your enthusiasm."

As for the two year term, I was wondering about that. I think I got bumped from it after less than one year, probably because I told Theo over the phone during last year's MSDGC that I quit. I then asked Theo how to officially quit, and he told me to submit my resignation in writing to, I think, the Regional Director. I never did submit my resignation in writing to anyone actually, and just recently figured out I had quit or been fired.

Also, I did agree during the same phone conversation with Theo that I wouldn't serve Cam with his suspencion letter until after the tournament, but after talking to Drew Smith we decided it would be better to tell Cam immediately. So I may have been fired for being untrustworthy or disobedient. Who knows? Not me.

Maybe the next time someone quits a PDGA position or is fired, they should get an e-mail from the PDGA confirming it. Just a thought. This type of openness would uphold an important concept of the PDGA Constitution:

Article 5, Section 10 of the PDGA Constitution states:

�The PDGA will conduct all of its affairs in the open...�

And I don't mean to pry but my suspension from active PDGA TD duty? How long is that for?

You probably got the one year term remaining deal when they went to staggered two year terms. Half the states got one year and the others two years so they could have half of the states with elections for 2-year terms each year.

Oh, okay never mind. Thanks Chuck. Must be getting paranoid in my old age.

Thanks for calming down, Jason :) I really enjoyed your earlier, useful comments on the state coordinator job responsibilities.

Man that's a bright red....

When do we get a look at the new tools ?

Tools?

gary wants to see your tool? :D

yeah terry, that bright red color makes me a little anxious...did you know that prisoners held in rooms painted red act more aggressively than those painted cool blue or beige colors? (i should know, i was one of the inmates they did the experiment on) :confused: :D

and i thought all this time you wanted me to calm down...wait, this is another of terry's "skits" where he cajoles me into ranting about the rest of the PDGA leadership for him! they blame me, and he looks like he has nothing to do with it! it all makes sense now...

terry, go with the green color. i know it's not easy for Kermit the Frog to be green but for the guy with his hand up the Frog's backside it works :D

Funny. Mikey.

Unfortunately the red color means I am now an administrator of DISCussion. I don't think I can change the color.

I hope folks keep things quiet and polite this weekend, I have a lot of "day job" and other volunteer writing and work to do and would rather not spend all weekend "moderating"