By Rob Woodward

At a recent Board meeting it was agreed that Board Members would contribute regular articles to Soaring Australia, so that the HGFA membership may in some small way get an idea of who the people are that are making decisions on their behalf and what their positions are on various matters.

From the March Board meeting I will no longer be a Board member and I take this opportunity to share a few of my experiences and thoughts. I have been a member of various boards on and off for over twenty years, and have had the pleasure of meeting many of the luminaries of our sport.
For a Board to operate and be functional it requires members who reflect the diversity of its members, both in their attitudes and philosophy. There have been some amazing people who have served on past (and present) Boards. I have been at meetings where Board members have walked out in protest, never to be seen again; where presidents have resigned (jumped before being pushed); where the sleeping arrangements were sometimes less than satisfactory; where people showered without getting out of bed and your room mate may have an audible nasal condition.
In the distant past, when there were two representatives from each state, some of the Saturday night dinners were quite an event and paid for by the organisation. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that Board meetings for some time have been a lean, mean affair, where the delegates get an airfare, accommodation, and maybe a breakfast.
The Board members give freely of their time and expertise in grappling with the many and varied issues that face our organization, in an attempt to get the best possible outcome for our sports and fellow pilots.
The Board itself relies heavily on the Executive Director for day to day operations of the HGFA. The HGFA has been well served by, initially, Administrators such as Richard Dakers, Bernie Baer and Steve Hocking; and subsequently Executive Directors Ian Jarman, Craig Worth and currently Damien Gates. The office staff over the years, from Melbourne to Sydney to Tumut and now Hallidays Point, have provided invaluable input to keep the basic services flowing to the members.
The point in this diatribe, is that there have been, over the years and currently, people who give many hours of their time so that pilots can fly without having to worry about anything else. But though these people may be elected members or employees of the HGFA, they are not the HGFA - you are!
I surmise that most of the advances in our sports have not been effected by committees, but by individuals that saw an opportunity or had an idea and had a go. That's not to say that some of our organised clubs haven't achieved great things, but even there I suspect that they are carried along by the enthusiasm of one or a couple of individuals.
My own theory is that, generally, pilots are an individualistic bunch of people who would rather be flying than just about any thing else - if we weren't required to be controlled by Federal air laws, or if we didn't need public indemnity insurance to fly, I don't think the HGFA would have many members.
I heard a quote, referring to organising surfers, as being "like trying to herd cats". I believe pilots are of a similar mould. Our opinions are based on our own experiences and we can be pretty myopic in discussions about flying. This attitude can cause great angst as we try to self-administer our sport and discipline members who consider they know best.
If every pilot about to launch answers YES to the question IS IT SAFE? (apologies to Dustin Hoffman) and takes responsibility for their personal safety, our sports will go a long way to protecting themselves from over-regulation. After all, what greater motivating factor to fly safely than the prospect of death or injury to ones self?
We are indeed fortunate at present: our aircraft have been refined over thirty years, we have advanced equipment and instruments, our skies are as open as ever, and we have an organisation in place which allows us to operate with minimum interference from government agencies.

So to each and every one of you I say... GO FLY!