In the last installment I tried to expose the truth about membership numbers and the increasing restrictive and closed governance of the AMA. Today let’s look at some proposals that I believe if enacted would help the AMA gain credibility with its members and actually give the association a chance to grow and become the clear voice of motorcycling that it should be.
I had some great quotes by AMA CEO Rob Dingman – some humorous, some flat out scary – but I was feeling charitable today. Maybe another time. The more I thought about it I decided it best in this final column that the tone should shift towards positive solutions that can serve someday as an outline to put the AMA on a path that could make all motorcyclists proud.
On a personal note I want everyone who reads this to know how much it pains me to criticize the AMA. My motorcycling buddies used to make fun of me I was so pro AMA. I was always chiding them to join. I even signed up people on my own dime. I was a walking membership drive. Cycle News editor Paul Carruthers used to tell me I bled AMA red, white and blue.
The saddest part for me is my membership is lapsed. I feel sick… like an outsider, like I’m letting my fellow riders down by not holding up my share. I’m so disillusioned with the way things are going at the AMA right now I just can’t bring myself to renew.
Hopefully I can overcome that someday.
That being said I still want everyone who reads this to join the AMA here. It’s not perfect by any means, but the association is still the greatest voice for motorcycling. It has an amazingly dedicated, hard-working staff. The AMA’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame has done so much to preserve the history of motorcycling. It’s very important. Please support it. Even though I lambasted them for the recent Dingman/Simpson interview the American Motorcyclist is still a great read. It tells our stories.
I loved AMA Pro Racing so much – the people who worked there, the racers, the team members, the fans and the media who covered the races. It was my life’s work.
Ultimately you can only have a voice if you join and participate. Vote, pay attention to the issues. Motorcycling brings us so much joy; it’s only fair we give something back. A membership to the AMA is the least we can do.
Wow… I need something to smile about right now…. wait! It’s Travis Pastrana’s birthday! Happy birthday you crazy nut.
Open Elections and Governance
If the AMA ever wants to earn the respect of its members and the industry, it starts at the top.
As is stands now if someone wants to run for the Board of Directors, if the present leadership doesn’t agree with them then they are told their reasons for running are invalid and are not allowed to run. That’s unacceptable… period.
You know what; I don’t care if a member wants to run on the platform that all riders must ride naked. Allow that wing nut to run and trust the membership when the vote comes. No one has the right to keep someone for running as long as they get the required number of signatures from fellow AMA members, not the CEO, not the Board, not anyone. The AMA is first and foremost a membership organization, not a CEO organization nor a Board organization.
Let the membership have a more powerful voice.
Use the Web
When Board election time comes along all the nominees should be given a page on the AMA’s website to present themselves to the members. That includes nominees who may disagree with the leadership that’s in place at the time.
We’re well into the 21st century. It’s high time to hold elections online. There’s constant concern that so few members vote that an election can be swayed by a fairly small group of people. Why not use the website to really pump up and promote the elections? Establish an AMA Election Day (and please don’t make it April 1st) and make a big deal out of it. Allow people to vote online, monitored of course by a respected outside election monitoring company.
We can buy products on Amazon or eBay with our credit cards, how hard could it be to have someone enter their membership number and vote online? That would dramatically bring up voting participation.
Total Transparency
The generation of young riders coming up today are the future of the AMA. They grew up on the Web, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, instant messaging, texting and who knows what next. This is a communication age in hyperdrive. Openness is this generation’s mantra.
I’ve got news for the AMA leadership. This generation is not going to accept the old way of doing business. They’ve grown up in an era of complete candidness. Do you honestly believe they are going to join an organization where the inner workings at the highest level are done behind closed doors by a small and insular assemblage?
We can watch the workings and debates of the U.S. government on C-SPAN. This is motorcycling for god sakes, not nuclear disarmament. Why can’t we do the same in the AMA? AMA Board meetings, AMA Congress, anything concerning important decisions should be shown on live streamed video. No more waiting months for incomplete Board Minutes.
The members should be allowed to know the votes of Board members. This way the membership can look at the voting record of Board members over time on different issues and be more informed on whether they want to re-elect them.
I understand some items the Board deals with are highly sensitive; perhaps a lawsuit or something of that nature, but closed-door sessions should be very rare. If the members have a Board and CEO or President they fully trust, then doing closed sessions when needed might be more readily tolerated.
I contend that if online voting can be put in place that more and more decisions of the association should be done directly through online ballot propositions. Something as momentous as selling Pro Racing for example should be decided by the membership, not a small group. And yes the membership deserves to know the details of the association’s finances.
Real Numbers
Can we please dispense with these “about” membership numbers? About a quarter-million. That’s a huge generalization. I realize membership fluctuates, but pick a date every quarter and publish the actually membership number.
While we’re on the subject of numbers, let’s publish the actual number of AMA race sanctions at the end of the year and track them so people can plainly see what’s going on in racing. The sanctions have dropped off even more dramatically than membership. Reasons for the falloff need to be found and solutions to help districts bolster their activity explored.
Continuing with the theme of transparency and actual numbers, the AMA should make sure the American Motorcyclist is audited by an accredited firm such as BPA and annual financial statements should be made available on a timely manner to non-profit organization reporting agencies such as Guide Star.
Final Analysis
I know I’ve been highly critical of Rob Dingman in these articles. I can honestly say that I do not wish him ill.
Back when I was working as media manager for AMA Superbike people would sometimes ask how I felt about working with the oft-cantankerous Mat Mladin. I used to semi-jokingly say how I firmly believed Mladin deserved a MotoGP ride and hoped he’d get one soon. Same for Dingman. The guy obviously has some talents or he wouldn’t have gotten the job in the first place. I just would love it if some corporate headhunter came calling offering Dingman a high-paying gig somewhere in corporate America – preferably as far away from the AMA as possible.
The bottom line for me is the AMA has been going in the wrong direction in terms of leadership and transparency. How can they ever expect to grow with the way things are handled there today?
I’m a firm believer in trusting the membership. Make it easier for them to vote, to see the numbers, to watch the governing, to have an active voice in the AMA.
I believe if the AMA trusts its members, the members will ultimately trust the AMA.
That means trust the members with information, with free voting rights and with an active role in decision making. Only when the people of the AMA feel empowered and truly involved in the direction of the AMA will the criticisms of the organization fade. Perhaps the leader of the AMA can expect to be applauded when introduced instead of booed.
I realize that I have just a small website with a limited reach, but perhaps someone from Pickerington will read this with an open mind and realize it’s time to bring AMA leadership into the 21st century.
Thank you for reading and by all means please leave comments in the “Comment” section below or email me at lawrencemedia@hotmail.com.
Why the AMA Needs New Leadership
I am a lifetime AMA member.
A pro racer.
A sponsor.
A motorcycle industry employee for 29-years.
I have never felt the disconnect with the AMA that I do now. Things need to change. The old methods will surely lead to failure. We need facts . Facts are friendly . Larry , run for an office, any office . You have my vote .
Greg Tysor
Comment by Greg Tysor — November 3, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
Greg,
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Unfortunately they’ve rigged the system. Only people they want to run can run and I can assure you that Rob Dingman does not want me to run.
Thanks
LL
Comment by admin — November 3, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
Larry,
I have enjoyed reading these articles immensely. I have a few friends and acquaintances who are former and current AMA employees (mostly former). Everything you mention about Rob Dingman has been verified by them. I have sent the board members a couple letters and got very little response. I did get a reply from Jim Bowie, even though I did not send any letters to him or AMA headquarters. It was a lot of spin without much real world information I replied to him in a rather harsh manner. I was seriously thinking about running for the board myself and had downloaded the Code of Regulations to get info. Unfortunately it was an old code of regulations with the older and much fairer board election process. When I found out about the new process I knew I didn’t have much chance of getting on the ballot. Since then I have been battling with myself about whether to cancel my membership or not. I heard about Mike Corey’s bid for the board so I hung around to help his effort. After hearing Mike’s story about the process I am even more fed up with Dingman and his absolute control of the organization. I decided the only way things might change would be if membership numbers continue to fall. I sent a letter to Dingman and all the board members this week explaining my position and asking them to cancel my membership. I have been a member for 23 years and, like you, have been a very strong supporter and recruiter. I now plan to try to convince all AMA members I know to cancel their memberships and to let the AMA know why.
Thanks for the great info,
Joe
Comment by Joe Nardy — December 1, 2009 @ 10:59 pm
Probably don’t remember myself and my wife Carol from Supermoto? I drove the truck,was race director,hired all the corner workers,and always kept your media box in one place in the trailer. Carol did all the registration,pit passes,etc.I was and still am a racer.helping Jimmy Wood since 2004. I was also very lucky that Alice Masterson(Kenny’s mom) asked Carol to help her score in the late 80″s. I got to work as an official from then on. I did dirt track,road race up and untill the AMA was sold.We were picked to do Supermoto by Merrill Vanderslice 3 weeks before the first race.I was lucky to work with Michelle Rossi, and Chris Bradley when they put all this together.What started out as leftovers from AMA (truck,trailer and nothing in it) to what it was at the end is really sad.On Deans website you told how it was sold, and all that. Did you know what was done behind the scenes with Supermoto. They both involve Mike Kidd and Rot Janson, and Colin(idiot from Canada) I worked with Janson and Kidd as the race director and referee the first year they did dirt track(F-USA) and before that with the AMA. When the truck left Palm Springs after the last AMA race,I told Bob Weber from Troy Lee and another idiot(Gavin Trippe) that AMA wanted the truck back in Ohio after the Banquet in Las Vegas.I told them that they would take everything as the road race truck burned the night before in Ohio.Thats exactly what happened. Kidd and Janson had moved into Pickerington and divided up all equipment between road race and flattrack.Kid took the truck,Janson took the starting light,pit bikes,transponders golf cart, between them they took it all.Nothing was ever said aboutSupermoto as Trippe was suppossed to be running it.He had nothing and still didn’t when the first race was 4 weeks away. You know the rest and it was sad.I didn’t want anything to do with it as it wasen’t a job or a challenge anymore, it was impossible. I had a very good runand was really sorry to see it end, but I have so many memories and stories it will last a lifetime. So many things went on that people don’t know about it still makes me sick.I never wanted to be a Series Manager, or any Ohio based employee, so I just stayed in the background and did a good job, and I did see all of it.I still remember staying with Darrel and Peggy Dovell when Edmeston would show up with his motorhome and a trailer with his Corvette, and take all the entry,and license fees at registration from the stock classes, and AMA worked the races(we got superbike and 250GP fees)I also have a ton of storys from all those years that people don’t know(good storys)I also really liked your story on Big Bill Spencer in the last Cycle News. He was a good freind of ours, and I still miss him, but the service they had for him at Laguna would have made him proud. He wrote it and when a Budweiser truck was parked at the media center and after all the farewells were said,they opened the doors and it was all free(have a Bud on Big Bill) Thats the stuff I like to remember, not the things going on now. I just read Emdes book on Daytona,always do before Daytona but didn’t excite me anymore, really makes me sad. I”m sure it does the same to you. Keep up the good stories in Cycle News. If you want a good one about the San Jose Mile where Parker and Graham crashed and they fixed the bike and Parker beat Carr out of the title, call me
Comment by Bob Hill — February 2, 2010 @ 10:52 am
Great stuff.
Sounds like they need a house cleaning at the AMA.
Comment by Donnie Beam — February 8, 2010 @ 6:56 pm
Larry, Thanks for the articles. I’ve been disappointed in AMA ever since the “great purge.” I’m strictly a road rider, and got to know Greg Harrison and others through several of the AMA tours we took. I was always pleased to spend time riding and “shooting the breeze” with AMA employees and leadership–real down to earth transparency. As you know, Dingman also sold off the AMA touring business under the move to “refine their mission.” The way I look at it, another move to withdraw from up close contact with their core constituency.
George
Comment by George Hooper — June 21, 2010 @ 11:49 pm
George
I wasn’t aware that the touring division had been sold off as well. It appears that Dingman wants to eventually strip the association down to simply being a government relations entity. I hope I’m wrong, but that’s the direction it seems to be going under his leadership.
Comment by admin — June 21, 2010 @ 11:55 pm