HOUSEBOAT RAFFLE ?

[BobM]

A few weeks ago Gary Coe was on Bob Simms radio show and mentioned that there would be a special raffle at the shasta derby for a houseboat donated by Packers Bay, and the following was posted on the main web page:
Win a Houseboat Stay for the 2007 Shasta Derby!!

Stay on a DELUXE 56 foot luxury houseboat for the 2007 Kokanee Power Shasta Lake Derby. This Deluxe houseboat sleeps 12 and it's yours for 3 days if you win. Courtesy of Packers Bay Marina, this trip will be raffled off during the dinner following Saturday's weigh-ins at this year's Shasta Derby on May 6th and 7th, 2006. This trip is valued at $1140!! Check out www.packersbay.com for more info on their houseboats.


Somewhere between these announcements and the derby it was decided to auction the houseboat rather than raffle it off. When I asked about the change I was told that they thought they could get more money that way and not take any money away from the other raffles. I guess the mighty dollar has taken over.

Granted one of the reasons for derbys is for fund raising, it is also for the members. By auctioning the houseboat the majority of the average members were probably eliminated from winning. Personally I think it stinks, and am having serious reservations about my level of support in the FUTURE.

Remember the moto "It's the future" we can see where that is leading to, cater to the people with the big bucks.

Let's here other members and directors thoughts on this, if this post isn't removed.

Bob Mooney

[HDARNEY]

I agree with Bob. I did'nt know about this until I read this. That is vary unfair for most of the people in the derby. It cost a lot of money to atend these derbys and everybody should have a fair shake at it. I up'ed my membership this year substanualy and did'nt even get a thank you. I may think diferently next year.

[Big_D]

I agree with Bob that after advertising the Houseboat Raffle on both the Web site and the radio program, if the decision was made to change the program to an auction at the Derby it was probably a mistake. If you promote something to your members you should follow through on it as promised.

Having said that I think it's important to remember two points.

All of the decision makers are volunteers who spend an amazing amount of thier time to make Kokanee Power successful. While the decision may be questionable, I'm sure thier hearts were in the right place and thier decision was based on the best intrests of the organization and not to "cater to the people with the big bucks"

Without organizations like Kokanee Power and CIFFI the fishing in Central and Northern California would not be anything like it is. The CDFG would not put anywhere near the focus or effort into the fishery without the efforts and the MONEY provided by these organizations.

I don't have the time to do much volunteer work like many of the members, but I will continue to be a member of both organizations, attend the dinners and derbies, spend money on raffles and auctions and try not to be to critical of the decision makers who spend thier valuable time to make fishing better for all of us.

If you enjoy Kokanee fishing, not supporting these organizations would be like "cutting your nose off to spite your face"

Those are my thoughts

Big D

[Dave Schumacher]

I only have one question. Why does Kokanee Power need to make more money. Isn't what is coming in from the derby and raffle good enough. I won't ever agree with changing something in the middle of the road after advertising it differently for the sake of making more money.

[Frank Marinelli]

Here we go again. Promise them one thing and change the rules in the middle of the race. The Pres. says it will be a raffle, lo' and behold all those who thought they might have a chance to win a nice prize are pushed out of the way so the guys with the big bucks can show off.

I would like to know who and how the decision was made. Did the the board make this decision? Or did, as per standard KP procedure, did one or two people decide what would be best?

Please send me a copy of the minutes showing the first decision to have a raffle and the subsequent decision to change it to an auction. This will help clarify how KP makes financial decisions. I would be happy to share the info with the membership.

[Dave Schumacher]

Good Points Frank. I'd like to know also how this decision was made. Was it by the majority vote of the board at a regular meeting or an on the fly spur of the moment thing by one or a couple of people who happened to be there to discuss it.

I also would like to see the minutes. Can we get them posted here?

[Al Millan]

Careful Frank!

This is getting borderline Inflammatory. I don't want to shut this discussion down or delete user posts.

-Al Millan

[BobM]

That shouldn't have needed to be a board decision. It should have been a call of the derby chairman.

[Dave Schumacher]

Depends how the boat was doanted Bob. If it was donated to Kokanee Power it becomes a board decision, if it's donated specifically to the Shasta Derby it could be a chair decision. What do the bylaws say?

[Rokpyl]

My, my, my! All this wasted dialogue on such a relatively small issue! When I think of all that is going wrong in our world and on our planet, reading garbage like this makes me bristle!

Granted, the original post did state that there would be a raffle on the houseboat. Granted, the raffle became an auction. From my point of view, the auction was the best way to go in terms of generating revenue for this incredible organization! And I'm one of those that you slandered with your statement about people with not enough money to bid! Shame on you!

It's not about catering to people with money. Period! It's about raising funds to keep the all the activities that Kokanee Power is involved in at a level of excellence. With rising inflation and fuel costs, everything else will see an increase. If we can generate more revenue with an auction, then auction the darn farm and the animals!

The members of this organization deserve better treatment than to have to listen to the disgruntled diatribes of a VERY FEW individuals who obviously have nothing better to do than to try to lessen the many accomplishments achieved by Kokanee Power.

I will only agree with the statement that the membership should have been notified sooner about the change in plans, but as far as who is responsible, WHO CARES? The fisheries of this state and the support given by KP to the Dept. of Fish and Game are far more important than who made an unpopular decision. The money generated by the auction will go a much longer way to support our activities than this post ever will.

It's time to put this to rest. Go ahead, post the meeting minutes; post the By Laws; post whatever! Kokanee Power will succeed because of the tireless efforts of the Board of Directors, and because so many people believe in this organization and are willing to donate their time (which is worth MORE than money) and their dollars to support something that they firmly believe in.

The Board of Directors does not need to apologize for changing the way the Houseboat was given, but should note that in the future, changes such as took place do deserve to be posted as soon as is practicable.

The Board does a fantastic job, considering that each of them is an imperfect human being. If you are perfect, you are on the wrong planet. If you don't make mistakes, you belong in Heaven RIGHT NOW! If our Board made a mistake, forgive them and appreciate them! They do what they do WITHOUT compensation! They give tirelessly! SUPPORT them!

Nuff said.

[BobM]

surprised with the amount of views this topic has had that there isn't any more comments and not one from a officer or director.
I guess nobody cares

[Rokpyl]

Hmmm...I wonder...It is a simple task to inflate the number of views on any subject on this message board. Inflating the number of views makes it appear that some issue has become a hot topic. This topic, however, is about as cold as freon. I am not on the Board of Directors, and if I were, I'm certain that giving sincere attention to more important business matters for Kokanee Power would keep me far too busy to to respond to these frivolous messages about a subject that only a few of you can't seem to let go of.

I am stating for the record that although I believe the membership should have had some advance notice about the change in how the houseboat was dealt with, I will not second-guess the directors and their decision. It is quite possible that circumstances did not allow sufficient time to provide proper notification. Poo-poo occurs. If you nay-sayers would devote as much time and energy on the more positive aspects of what Kokanee Power has accomplished, you wouldn't have much time to dwell on your SELFISH self-interests.

And seeing as how I'm not on the Board of Directors, I don't have to walk on eggs, so to speak, or worry about stepping on someone's toes. So how about you speak for yourself and tell me what your personal agenda really is? Well?

I was always taught that if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all. You should be defending our directors, as they strive to make Kokanee Power the preeminent fishing organization in this state, and they do that on EVERYONE'S behalf...including YOURS!

Now, if you don't have something constructive to say, drop it. State your real agenda or just let it go.

[Motherlodelakes]

Well,

I chose not to make the drive to beautiful Lake Shasta this year due to personal reasons.
My friends and I have fished a few Kokanee Power tournaments and overall, we have been pretty happy. NO organization is perect and they ALL make mistakes, it just happens.
Saying that, it does concern me that yet another change was made and the members pretty much were NOT aware of it till it happened. If you make it public that you'll be doing something a certain way, I feel you must keep your word, no matter what!
I bet quite a few people were not happy with the decision, personally, I wouldn't have been. Yeah to some it's a bigger deal than it probably should be, but who are we to tell them that?
We all show up to fish the tournament and have fun, the raffle is a HUGE way to make money for the organization, and people love the raffle period. If it was advertised as a RAFFLE and changed to an AUCTION, I think someone should advise the "FEW" of us on how the decision was made and why. Yes, as a raffle I feel that more members would have been interested and spent their money that way compared to an auction.
If you make a decision and then ignore the few people that asked about it, your basically telling them that you can do what you want, whenever you want, and we all know that's no way to conduct a business.

So Gary, Al, or any of the board members who would like to make a comment on this situation, it would be greatly appreciated.

Rockpyl buddy, the reason for this forum is for the members to use it, and as much as this subject bothers you, it's going to happen as long as the forum is here. I appreciate your concern for the board members, and your dedication to this organization is awesome!

I will continue to pick and choose which derbies I fish, I won't commit to all of them till a few more changes are made in this organization.

And YES, raffles will allow MORE of the members to participate than an auction will...

Sincerely,

Sean Graf

seangraf@comcast.net

[Rokpyl]

Sean...your thoughts are well stated and your point is well taken. Thank you. C'ya on the water(s).