New NBRSA Rule, Please Read

[Mike Jennings]

Fellow NBRSA Members,

Based on a recent experience, I am considering proposing a new rule but first wanted to get input from other NBRSA members.

First the background. About a week ago, I attended the first half of the SE Region championships. The regional championships typically are the opportunities our Director uses to hold regional meetings during which items of interest and importance are discussed and voted on. These meetings are held at the firing line and take place after the 100 yard stage while the target crew is moving and setting up the target frames. The Director takes a central position and the meeting participants spread out up and down the line. I don't know for sure but presume other regions hold similar meetings for the above reasons.

Unfortunately for several of us attending the meeting, one of the match attendees not only decided that he was not going to participate but also decided, with apparent indifference, that it was a good time to set flags. As I'm sure you can imagine, this flag-setting banter was a major distraction, especially for those of us closest to it, and to say the least made it very difficult to hear the comments of the Director and members. Finally, one of the members sitting next to me turned and shouted to this person to please stop. Unfortunately, more bad judgment prevailed and this person not only didn't acknowledge the request, but continued to set flags. At that point it appeared that nothing short of a "physical" approach - a temptation to be sure - would stop the distraction so, right or wrong, we just took it. Because of his focus on the meeting and his position on the firing line, I believe our Director did not fully realize how big of a distraction this really was to some of us. If he did, I feel certain he, or any other Director, would appreciate something meaningful to bring to bear.

I have been thinking about this since then and it seems to me that the Directors and those of us who care enough to attend these meetings should not have to face such disrespect and lack of common courtesy without a specific and meaningful rule to address it. This person not only showed blatant disrespect for the Director and meeting attendees but also for the very process itself.

Therefore, as much as I hate to acknowledge that there are people (or at least one person) like this among us, I feel it would be appropriate to propose a new rule that would essentially state that anyone who knowingly shows disrespect and causes this type of disruption/distraction to a regional meeting be given one warning by the Director to cease and desist and if they do not, their NBRSA membership would be revoked.

I look forward to your comments on this proposed rule, the suggested penalty and the duration of the penalty.

Thanks,
Mike Jennings

 

[LARRY FEUSSE]

Perhaps a different meeting place could be another solution.

 

[OldPPC]

Mike, I agree with you in principal, I just don't know how to categorize behavior that is "disruptive", "distracting" or "disrespectful" in an objective way. In my view it might be as much a management issue as anything else. The people responsible for the management of activities (probably not the guy who posted the flags) should know in advance what the timing of certain activities are set for throughout the event and any speakers etc. that need a certain level of noise control should make advance arrangements with the management team to curtail disruptive activities at various times. If the guy posting the flags was following orders, he wasn't being deliberately disrespectful and might well have found it uncomfortable to comply with a directive knowing that his work efforts were not entirely popular.

 

[B J Atkinson]

Perhaps a different meeting place could be another solution.

On what you have said, the firing line was perhaps not the best place to hold the meeting.
We have had similar 'distractions' at our annual meetings, so you are not alone in that respect.

 

[Steve Lee]

At Unaka there really was no alternative venue for the meeting.

 

[Bob Dodd]

Maybe

you could have moved closer to the meeting, or had the meeting after all flags were set/

 

[Mike Bryant]

The Gulf Coast region has our meetings after the last match of the day. You may lose some shooters who are ready to go eat or back to the motel, but it seems to work fairly well that way.

 

[rhaney2]

Fellow NBRSA Members,

Based on a recent experience, I am considering proposing a new rule but first wanted to get input from other NBRSA members.

First the background. About a week ago, I attended the first half of the SE Region championships. The regional championships typically are the opportunities our Director uses to hold regional meetings during which items of interest and importance are discussed and voted on. These meetings are held at the firing line and take place after the 100 yard stage while the target crew is moving and setting up the target frames. The Director takes a central position and the meeting participants spread out up and down the line. I don't know for sure but presume other regions hold similar meetings for the above reasons.

Unfortunately for several of us attending the meeting, one of the match attendees not only decided that he was not going to participate but also decided, with apparent indifference, that it was a good time to set flags. As I'm sure you can imagine, this flag-setting banter was a major distraction, especially for those of us closest to it, and to say the least made it very difficult to hear the comments of the Director and members. Finally, one of the members sitting next to me turned and shouted to this person to please stop. Unfortunately, more bad judgment prevailed and this person not only didn't acknowledge the request, but continued to set flags. At that point it appeared that nothing short of a "physical" approach - a temptation to be sure - would stop the distraction so, right or wrong, we just took it. Because of his focus on the meeting and his position on the firing line, I believe our Director did not fully realize how big of a distraction this really was to some of us. If he did, I feel certain he, or any other Director, would appreciate something meaningful to bring to bear.

I have been thinking about this since then and it seems to me that the Directors and those of us who care enough to attend these meetings should not have to face such disrespect and lack of common courtesy without a specific and meaningful rule to address it. This person not only showed blatant disrespect for the Director and meeting attendees but also for the very process itself.

Therefore, as much as I hate to acknowledge that there are people (or at least one person) like this among us, I feel it would be appropriate to propose a new rule that would essentially state that anyone who knowingly shows disrespect and causes this type of disruption/distraction to a regional meeting be given one warning by the Director to cease and desist and if they do not, their NBRSA membership would be revoked.

I look forward to your comments on this proposed rule, the suggested penalty and the duration of the penalty.

Thanks,
Mike Jennings

Mike,i wouldn't go that far,each member can attend or not,the firing line and unaka are not the place to hold a meeting,Unaka is limited on space and the firing line is not the place to hold meetings.
Yes,i have attended a very intense meeting there a few years ago,it worked but shooters were agitated to get their flags set.
But,we all should respect and involve ourselves in such meetings if we want changes and settle issues.
I think i would have met the person or persons face to face and told them how i felt.