Is it time to Call a Special Meeting w/ATA Delegate & OSTA Pres.

Is it time to call a Special Meeting w/ATA Delegate Roger McNamer, and our New OSTA President?

To ask questions for Information, in a lot of Categories?

We Need some answers.

Can we legally w/hold ATA Monies until we get answers? Such as Fees Etc.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gary Bryant............................... Dr.longshot

 

I think other States Ought to Join in with us to get answers

GB...............................DLS

 

What do the the OSTA By-laws say about special meetings? That's where to look.

 

The OSTA President DOES NOT REPRESENT THE ATA. The OSTA President will not have ANY information regarding issues pertaining to the management or finances of the ATA. If you have questions regarding the Ohio State Trapshooting Association, ask the OSTA President or your Zone Directors. If you have questions about the ATA, direct them to the Ohio ATA Delegate and if you don't get answers from the Delegate, ask the ATA Executive Director. The OSTA and the ATA are two separate and distinct organizations. The Ohio ATA Delegate does NOT have a vote at OSTA Board meetings. The OSTA President does NOT have a vote at ATA Board meetings. Hopefully you understand the difference.

 

Good post ..... but begs the question ..... Why does the "OSTA" currently need the "ATA" ?????????

 

Doc.....you want to involve your delegate in your protest I think? Yet you fail to realize your delegate just made a report saying the IDNR is making the repairs at the WSRC. The ATA is paying for the improvements or so the forum says. Tell us how your delegate is going to help you. Help you do what?

You may have a great OSTA president now. You still have the same delegate. LOL

 

User 1,
Im sure it will come as no surprise that the OSTA has debated that very question many times. From a reliable source I have been told that the ATA has debated if they "need" Ohio and the OSTA. The easy answer to your question right now is that in order to throw registered targets in Ohio our only choices are ATA or PITA. Our OSTA by laws currently state that the OSTA will conform to ATA rules. By laws can be changed but it's a process to do so.

 

The bigger challenge than the "process" to change "By-Laws", is the "will" to do so .....

At some point this, "OSTA will conform to ATA rules" ..... seems to have turned into this, 'willingly relinquish all power to the ATA' .....

"in order to throw registered targets in Ohio our only choices are ATA or PITA" ..... those are the "only" easy "choices", the harder ones being the "OSTA" as a "stand alone" organization, or a NEW National organization .....

 

The ATA cannot stop anyone or any organization from applying the rules guideline to any shoot, any place, actually a club can over ride an ATA rule if it see's the need to do so ... The ATA does limited promotion (very limited ) and there is no copyright on the rules ... If the ATA does not think they need Ohio, more than Ohio needs them, they best rethink that one ... The State of Ohio collects a lot of money in daily fees and always has which directly supports the ATA's existence ... The clubs make the ATA, not the other way around ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

The "reason" the "ATA" may not feel the "need" for the "OSTA", or anyone else, is the "hedge fund" has become "very profitable" .....

Cashing-in these "investments" and buying a "home-grounds" would be in the best interest of the "membership", especially considering the "problems" the "State of Illinois" is having, but that will never happen because the "ATA money-tit" would dry-up for many .....

Heck ..... 200k-ish per year in "mortgage payments" for "member owned home-grounds", would beat the Hell out of "money for nothing" .....

 

User 1,

Sorry for the delayed response but the OSTA Website was unavailable for a couple days and I wanted to get you the actual text from the Constitution of the Ohio State Trapshooting Association. In your post above you refer to ATA and PITA as the only "easy" choices. You are right and wrong, but more wrong than right. You will see in the following verbiage copied from the OSTA Constitution that throwing ATA targets at the Ohio State Shoot isn't the "easy" choice, it is currently the "only" choice our OSTA B.O.D. has. The only way to alter the Constitution of the OSTA is to have the OSTA B.O.D. propose a change for the general membership to vote on during the annual Zone tournaments. I have included a copy of Article X below which covers Amendments to the OSTA Constitution. The entire OSTA Constitution can be viewed on the OSTA's webpage, www.ohiotrap.com. While I was a member of the Board, I did suggest that we propose changing the language of the OSTA's Constitution to allow the Ohio State shoot to be held under the rules and regulations of any governing body the Board sees fit. However, the Board declined to put forth the proposal to the general membership for a vote. Nobody wins 'em all!

Further, the OSTA has a partnership with the Cardinal Center and by extension with all the vendors that have invested in buildings and sites at the Cardinal Center. If the OSTA chose to create a new organization, it would need to consider the impact on the Cardinal Center, the vendors as well as the shooters of Ohio. I can tell you from first hand experience, messing with shooting traditions in Ohio doesn't go over very well with the shooters. Hopefully the text below will help the readers of this Forum understand what is and isn't within the authority our our OSTA B.O.D. Should there be any questions regarding this issue I will do my best to find the answers.

Don


ARTICLE II PURPOSE
The purpose of this Association shall be to encourage and promote the sport of trapshooting, to preserve and protect wildlife and it’s environment, to govern the Annual Trapshooting Tournament held by the Association each year in the State of Ohio, all in conformity with the rules and regulations of the Amateur Trapshooting Association of America, and further to promote good fellowship and sportsmanship by all members.


ARTICLE X AMENDMENTS
The Board of Directors may propose amendments to this Constitution, which shall be submitted to the membership of the Association at least thirty (30) days in advance of the vote thereon held at the Annual Zone Tournament in each Zone. An affirmative vote in any single calendar year of a majority of members voting shall be required to approve such amendment.

 

At some point everyone will "need to consider the impact on the Cardinal Center, the vendors as well as the shooters of Ohio.", by continuing with the "ATA" .....

It gets "easy" to forget all the "ATA baggage" that keeps many shooters away ..... A handicap system that is garbage, the broken singles class system that requires all perfect, or near perfect scores, that just gets you to a marathon "shoot-off", a "rule-book" that is full of contradictions and unenforceable, and more .....

It gets hard to spend a couple of years pounding on a keyboard to give all these problems some light, then just accept that it can never get better, because everyone has "by-laws" written in stone from the stone-age .....

What a shame a great place like the "Cardinal Center" may not reach it's full potential, because the unwilling refuse to follow the corrupt "fantastic direction" of the "ATA" .....

 

Gary, as I suspected, there is a way to call a special meeting but it's in the OSTA Constitution, not the By-laws.

Article VI:

...Special meetings of the Association may be called by the President and shall be called upon written request of a majority of the Board of Directors or ten percent (10%) of the members of the Association. Notice of such special meeting shall be given to each member at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of such special meeting setting forth the date, time and place thereof as well as the purpose of such meeting. Only business connected with such purpose shall be transacted at such special meeting."

So there's your way to get it done. I guess you will need to start mailing your votes. I do see a hitch, though. The Constitution fails to say who's responsibility it is to send that notice out to each member and I'll guess that the OSTA will decide that it is your responsibility. If you have 4000 members you are looking at as least several thousand dollars just to send out your votes, and then the same for the notification.

Glad to have been able to help.

N1H1