If you have any questions for the Board of Director Candidate Rand Eberhard, please ask them here?

My questions from another thread:

How much emphasis / importance would you put on efforts for disc golf to reach the "big time" (ESPN, big sponsorships, big payouts for top pros), as opposed to efforts to grow and/or improve disc golf as a recreational sport?

I recognize that tremendous growth in the number of recreational or tournament players should eventually provide a support base for sponsorship, etc., and that these aren't mutually exclusive. But some members suggest a greater emphasis on more media, money, etc., at the top, while some of the PDGA's efforts are more grassroots (IDGC, growing tournament schedule and number of courses, etc.).

When decisions must be made by the board as to where to focus the greatest effort---where might potential board members stand?

Rand, I am hearing some good things from people about you. I'm not sure if we've ever met; we might have, I've played in the Atlanta area a few times.

I happen to think that any candidate's current position on specific issues is far less important than their understanding of the role of a member of a board of directors of an organization like this. Having been a PDGA board member for five years, I know first-hand how a responsible person who is willing to learn and change could well find their positions on such issues changing quickly, once the responsibility of actually being on the board hits, and the flow of valid information - as opposed to supposition - increases.

So I have a question for you: What do you think are the responsibilities of an elected member of a board of directors? To narrow this down a bit for now, specifically, could you elaborate on your view of how the relationship between the board of directors and the executive director, and other staff works?

For example, should a board member just propose a new initiative out of the blue at board meeting, or should a board member work, first, with staff to understand the impact of a new initiative on the budget and other resources, like staff time, while developing the initiative?

As you can probably tell, I am a nonprofit association staff member.

Great questions David...

Seeing disc golf on television is definitely a strong area of interest for me. I have been told of potential corporate sponsors that could pay for air time in the $50K+ range. However, all of these sponsors have asked about the number of youth playing our sport, as this is their target audience.

Currently, I am hosting three junior disc golf tournaments here in the Atlanta area to promote the sport and the PDGA. In the past, I have been the Assistant TD for a juniors tournament initiated in Toccoa, GA by myself and John Nisewonder. The first year we had 30 kids compete and the second year we had 70. I have also done clinics and coaching sessions with kids. Doing things like this gets the word out and moves our sport forward. With that said, I think that exposing as many kids as possible to the sport only sets us up for tomorrow (AIR TIME).

Big tournaments are important, but might not be the priority at this point. With PDGA membership growing and more and more kids signing up, only good things will result. Dumping money into a bigger tour at this point might be premature. All the kids that I have seen catch the bug want to see Ken Climo play. This is how I see it...growth of kids involvement leads to significant sponsorships which in turn leads to bigger and better tournaments and national air time.

Thanks for the insight Terry. I think that a board member should be a resource and asset, above all else, to the executive director and PDGA staff. However, the voice of the members should not be taken lightly. Some of the questionnaires that have been released by the PDGA seemed to have been a viable means of hearing from a larger variety of members than only hearing from those who use the discussion board. Working as a team is especially important for non-profit organizations; however, the players / members in this case are the life line of all the hard work the PDGA is able to do. Therefore, the ideas and initiatives of the PDGA members should be taken seriously. Providing questionnaires or surveys dealing with popular topics can narrow down the issues that matter most. Wisdom comes from experience and such experience should not be tested unless there are plausible reasons to do so. I respect the BOD members and PDGA staff that have a proven track record or even just a desire to contribute to the betterment of the sport. Bringing fresh ideas to the table is good as long as the person bringing an idea is willing to make a level headed decision after hearing positive or negative feedback. Its ok to have a problem but its not ok to be a problem. Bottom line - I feel like those with a clearer understanding of an issue should be supported.