Here we go again or you thought your Division was bad

[piste off]

I lived in New Jersey once, a long time ago.
This comic by B. Kliban still makes me laugh.

That is pretty funny.

But NJ is not all that bad. I come from PA, so I can say that.

I live in an area in NJ that is quite beautiful, even when compared to other parts of the country. For example there is a small stream in my town with waterfalls and native brook trout that is simply stunning and I can even see a ski lift from my house so there is even some substantial terrain differences you don't find everywhere.

Regarding the fencing politics - yeah it is ugly. But mainly it is a few characters driving it all. There are some really good folks in the division, like those at BCAF.

R-

[davesaint]

I haven't seen it anywhere, but I can't say no.

I don't really think Leinenkugels is a Wisconsin beer anymore than Miller is at this point. (Although it's true that they do have local limited release microbrews) I wouldn't come to Wisconsin to have a Leinies' on tap. New Glarus is the Wisconsin brewery. Spotted Cow is the New Glarus beer.

Miller bought Leinies specifically to get that type of beer (honey weiss, berry weiss, summer shandy, sunset wheat, and apple spice). They're the same as always, but the more traditional beers have suffered in quality, and aren't marketed very aggressively (in Wisconsin anyway, I don't know about nationwide).


I have heard it described as Fruity Pebbles before. I don't like it, but I don't like sweeter beers.

MMMmmmmmm New Glarus Spotted Cow...Aaaaaaaaggggghhhhhh.......

I also like New Glarus Staghorn and Fat Squirrel.


Dave

[erooMynohtnA]

I don't really like Oktoberfest beers, but Fat Squirrel is good. And I love Totally Naked.

Spotted Cow is so popular they opened a new seperate brewery just for brewing it. I think they might start exporting.

If you haven't had the Uf Da Bock, don't. I think it's their worst beer.

[whiteandbluefencer]

Wowwww! This was certainly an interesting read. Beer and crazy division politics. It certainly sounds like you have a mess on your hands; you have fun with that. And thanks for sharing... it makes the rest of us happy that we live in other divisions.

[500gms]

Fiction:

In order to address concerns by some members about the short time
> interval for submission of ballots and proxies, the voting portion of
> this Sunday's Annual Meeting will be adjourned to a later date. The
> date and details of that meeting will be posted on the Division's
> website within the next ten (10) days. All other business scheduled
> for Sunday's Annual Meeting will be conducted in accordance with the previous draft agenda. ASW, treasurer of the NJDUSFA. Posted on the NJfencing.org website.
>
Truth:
A NJ judge stopped the election due to possible irregularities in the voting process. The Divisional officers for the 2nd year in a row have attempted to hold an election that violates the divisional and national by-laws.

The New Jersey Superior Court, Somerset County, case# C-12067-08
ORDERED as follows:

1. The July 27,2008 election be and hereby voluntarily postponed by defendant,( _______________Secretary, and the NJDUSFA) until September.
2. Defendants,_________________and Defendant NJDUSFA together with its officers, executive committee members, agents and employees are hereby restrained & enjoined from opening, looking at, disposing of or tampering with any mail received by them relating to ballots, proxies, “official” ballot envelopes, and “official” proxy envelopes, pending the completion of the election.

Further, appearing that the Plaintiffs have a likelihood of prevailing on the merits in this matter upon final hearing; the Court ordered the Defendant(the NJ Division of the USFA) to “show cause” by August 18,

1.why an Order should not be entered counting all of the proxies submitted by the Plaintiffs,

2.Appointing an inspector to take possession of all of the election mail and material seized above, or,

In the alternative, Ordering that a new election be held under the control of an inspector or proctor who shall be empowered to oversee the election and to make certain that the election is conducted in strict accordance with the NJDUSFA by-laws and New Jersey Law.
The Court's decision and my post were not permitted to be posted on njfencing.org by the present NJDUSFA Vice Chair/webmaster.

[telkanuru]

Always nice to see the US legal system getting involved in USFA politics.

[hello?]

Wow. In our division a big argument is whether to give away a towel or a t-shirt at a tournament. And we think we have politics!

[GypsyScot]

Hey George, who's the judge on that case?

[500gms]

I wasn't present and the fax I received is not that clear...It looks like Victor? Why don't you ask Vince, or Steve Sobel? I know they were both present at the hearing.

[Derobement]

Watching the pathetic machinations of both sides play out once again, I got to thinking that I should recruit a group of NJ fencers who are unaffiliated with either of the warring factions and who are willing to try to take this Division back next year and put an end to the ego/money-driven bickering. This got me thinking that most such people would not yet be eligible to vote. I know the USFA ByLaws are very clear that to be eligible to be an officer of the USFA, you must be a "voting member" but I don't see any such eligibility restriction for Division officers. Not in the USFA By-Laws nor in the NJ Division ByLaws. Maybe I am reading the reference to "USFA officer" too narrowly to mean one of the enumerated national officers but this is certainly supported by the context in which it appears. Could an 18-or-under nonvoting member be elected as a Division officer? Does anyone know if this has ever been tested?

[KD5MDK]

No, they would not be allowed.

[Derobement]

You're right, my bad. The USFA Bylaws do close that door. Under the "Rights of Members" section it states that you must be 18 in order to hold any office to which you may be elected or appointed. And the "Qualifications of Officers" section requirement that you be a "voting member," is more properly read to apply to all officer positions since it refers to "an officer in the USFA" whereas the other sentences in that section use the more specific phrase "national officer." Sorry for the thread drift off of beer and tantrums.

[fdad]

For whatever reason, the division has not yet posted any updates on their site related to the recent meeting. Can someone that was there please post a summary? Have any dates/locations for upcoming competitions been settled on?

[Rick Shellhouse]

Ok I was there....took longer to get there than the entire meeting...but...


Call to order..admonishment to turn off all recording devices if on as recording meeting not allowed without approval...awarding of cups....chairperson report...financial report proposed budget...new business formation of committee to form NJ Fencers Hall of Fame...(went to bathroom) came back meeting over...


The schedule is sorta up in the air till the election takes place any schedule put out by current administration could be overturned by new administration...


Rick

[500gms]

I'm amazed that the financial statement? presented by the Treasurer at the annual meeting did not include any mention of how much money the division has on hand or what bills might be outstanding. All we got was a single sheet called," an Operating income statement." Isn't this the same kind of behavior that got the Nat'l office in trouble?

Some tidbits. The division grossed $83,628 at div run events less $300 in took in as memberships for the USFA and $2,215 it lists as "refunds". I went to Ask Fred and counted the # of fencers that participated in the 10 div run events and came up with 1933. $41 per fencer. The div charges $35 with a double penalty to $70 during the last 7 days before an event.

The div spent $81,866.on venues, food, refs, storage room, armorers, em's, medals, information mgmt, supplies and a $1000 advance to the Tournament chair! or $42. on every fencer that participated in a div run event. The Div lost one dollar for every fencer competing.

Now, the div financial says the div made $10,418 last year. interesting......

[KD5MDK]

Did the Division receive it's membership reimbursement from the USFA for this year? With its large membership that should be a substantial amount of money.

[500gms]

No. The div received $1600 and I believe we should have received about $5500. I think its $3.00 per membership?