> Oooooohh Bruce, I do believe you are calling me a shit stirrer, I just love
> it when you use those big words <g>
>
> Luckily, I am not Dr Mahatir. ;) :P
>
> As for a solution, h'mm I don't have one (surprise surprise). The norm for
> me is to pay at the Convention, financial and associated travel
> difficulties prevented me from attending the last convention. Financial
> reasons, also prevented me from forwarding subs when the reminder arrived.
> (the renewal arrived at Xmas time).
This probably isn't the right forum to discuss it... but hey, it's the
internet, so we never let little things like decorum get in the way ;) I
apologise in advance to non-ANGFA members who will find this totally
irrelevent
There has been a long running perception in my mind that some regional
groups of ANGFA don't think that they are getting enough support from
National... I'm not saying that this is right, just reporting the
phenomenon... and that they accordingly aren't as supportive of National
as they might be.
Part of this comes down to personality clashes (and there are some pretty
powerful personalities involved) and old grudges never properly settled.
There have been some wonderful displays of fellowship and solidarity,
especially at conventions, but an equal yet opposite display of complaint
and bitchery in private afterwards.
In some ways this list has healed some of the wounds by allowing ordinary
members to talk to both other ordinary members of other regional groups
and the "bigwigs" all on equal terms, but in other ways it has created
some new divisions.
I don't have a solution to this either, but I am sure that the problem(s)
exist. They pre-exist my knowledge of ANGFA and will probably outlast
it as well. I think it is necessary to recognise that there is a
problem, whatever the cause, so that it may one day be resolved. It isn't
just a QLD vs VIC thing any more, a lot of us in the ACT put in an
enormous effort to bring off the most financially rewarding Convention
ever, and a lot of people put in a lot more work than myself, notably Alan
Ford and Andy Wattam. If the ordinary members feel left behind by both
their National and Regional committees, then little wonder...
I am not belittling the enormous effort put in by National, nor indeed by
the Regional group committees. I'd just be a lot happier personally if I
felt that everyone in ANGFA was playing for the same team, that the fish,
be they in the bush or behind glass were the central thing. That may go
some small way to explaining my own "recalcitrance", the best fish
magazine and the best fish convention in Australia notwithstanding.
Cheers, Andrew Boyd
(andrew at pcug.org.au)