quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:

Really...This culture of greed and narcicissm at the top has existed for many years. It is claimed the chapter delegates have the ability to govern board policies. Nothing changes. So top to bottom.

Jeff

I think you believe a little too much of what you read on AR. The board has had many new people elected over the recent years. To suggest some conspiracy or complacency by all of the Chapters to keep supposedly corrupt officers in power is just outright nonsense.

see current board...

http://member.scifirstforhunters.org/about/officers/

Matt,
I left SCI because of what I saw at the CHAPTER LEVEL. We had selfish, elitists who were more concerned at the cruising speed of their airplanes than what we did for education, conservation and humanitarian projects. Self serving egomaniacs that just wanted rings and awards.

They sickened me and as many as five past presidents. We all left simultaniously. An effort was made with regional representatives, they had their heads up their ass' as well.

They've lost their way.

So you contributed to a(n allegedly) shit chapter. Oh well... no one claimed they are or could all be good.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:

Really...This culture of greed and narcicissm at the top has existed for many years. It is claimed the chapter delegates have the ability to govern board policies. Nothing changes. So top to bottom.

Jeff

I think you believe a little too much of what you read on AR. The board has had many new people elected over the recent years. To suggest some conspiracy or complacency by all of the Chapters to keep supposedly corrupt officers in power is just outright nonsense.

see current board...

http://member.scifirstforhunters.org/about/officers/

Matt,
I left SCI because of what I saw at the CHAPTER LEVEL. We had selfish, elitists who were more concerned at the cruising speed of their airplanes than what we did for education, conservation and humanitarian projects. Self serving egomaniacs that just wanted rings and awards.

They sickened me and as many as five past presidents. We all left simultaniously. An effort was made with regional representatives, they had their heads up their ass' as well.

They've lost their way.

So you contributed to a(n allegedly) shit chapter. Oh well... no one claimed they are or could all be good.

Matt,

This sort of flip attitude just contributes to SCI's image problem.

Jeff

Anyone knows if there has been any new development on this fiasco?

I got an e mail from Rudolph asking me to sign. I said I would if he needed one more signature to reach the magic number. I have heard nothing since.

I did not hear a word about it at the convention. I had several people out with us on Friday night in Vegas . There was a Board member and SCI's lawyer. No one said a word about it. I thought about asking but decided against it.

Thank you Larry.

Just as we all suspected.

Nothing is going to change.

Rotten to the core I suppose

Saeed:

This is a GUESS on my part. Based upon what I see here, I doubt that Rudolph was able to get the 50 signatures. Many of those who complain loudly about SCI here on AR are not members. Every time I asked who was signed, no one speaks up.

While I am a life member and will continue to be a supporter, I would personally like to see this investigation go forward. Some of the things they do or don;t do really piss me off. SCI has lost its way. Their lobbying efforts are invaluable. This is why I will continue to support them.

I ask again. Has anyone signed?

Right up front, I want to state that I am an SCI life member and a former director of the club’s publications division. I retired from that post fifteen years ago and know none of the club’s present highest-level officers.

Although I support the club and its goals and applaud its many accomplishments in protecting our hunting heritage, I do not blindly support every action it takes.

I have never met Dr. Larry Rudolph or John Whipple, and I don’t know if the allegations against the doctor are justified. I would hope that they are not.

However, after reading the transcript on the doctor’s website twice, here’s how I see the ongoing flap:

1. After a board of inquiry investigates charges against him, SCI's 200-plus-member board of directors votes to expel the doctor (a two-term president), and strip his awards and record book entries. He says he was not given a proper hearing.

2. The Weatherby Foundation takes similar action against the doctor, its former president. He blames unproven accusations by another former SCI president for this.

3. He sues SCI and creates a website in an attempt to find fifty members to sign a petition to “reform” the club.

4. The website’s video was secretly recorded at a restaurant in 2012 as he met with that year’s SCI president over multiple glasses of wine.

6. The doctor pumps the president for information about the lawsuit. The transcript of their conversation indicates:

---- SCI and the Weatherby Foundation took action against the doctor amid allegations that include (according to the transcript) womanizing, falsifying record book entries, wasteful spending of SCI funds, doing damage to the club on Facebook, and not returning a laptop computer.

--- He denies wrongdoing, but says he may have the laptop.

--- What seems to concern him most is that he is (quote) “going to lose all my awards, everything I did in forty years of big game hunting.”

--- His friend (unaware that he is being recorded) seems worried that he is next to be targeted by conspirators. He quotes someone as saying he and the doctor could go to jail if there were an audit.

--- The friend believes six former SCI presidents conspired against the doctor.

6. The transcript ends abruptly, leaving at least one observer to wonder if more accusations of alleged wrongdoing were about to be revealed.

7. Some members of the accuratereloading.com forum side with the defrocked former president (the doctor) in demanding that the club purge its leadership.

8. Those who try to defend SCI are called “cheerleaders,” “sheepies,” and other names, especially by supporters and members of another organization.

9. So far, no one on either side of this flap at AR considers the possibility that a purge already may have occurred.

Have I got this right so far?

There’s got to be a book somewhere in all this ...


Bill Quimby

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:
Right up front, I want to state that I am an SCI life member and a former director of the club’s publications division. I retired from that post fifteen years ago and know none of the club’s present highest-level officers. Ah

Although I support the club and its goals and applaud its many accomplishments in protecting our hunting heritage, I do not blindly support every action it takes.

I have never met Dr. Larry Rudolph or John Whipple, and I don’t know if the allegations against the doctor are justified. I would hope that they are not.

However, after reading the transcript on the doctor’s website twice, here’s how I see the ongoing flap:

1. After a board of inquiry investigates charges against him, SCI's 200-plus-member board of directors votes to expel the doctor (a two-term president), and strip his awards and record book entries. He says he was not given a proper hearing.

2. The Weatherby Foundation takes similar action against the doctor, its former president. He blames unproven accusations by another former SCI president for this.

3. He sues SCI and creates a website in an attempt to find fifty members to sign a petition to “reform” the club.

4. The website’s video was secretly recorded at a restaurant in 2012 as he met with that year’s SCI president over multiple glasses of wine.

6. The doctor pumps the president for information about the lawsuit. The transcript of their conversation indicates:

---- SCI and the Weatherby Foundation took action against the doctor amid allegations that include (according to the transcript) womanizing, falsifying record book entries, wasteful spending of SCI funds, doing damage to the club on Facebook, and not returning a laptop computer.

--- He denies wrongdoing, but says he may have the laptop.

--- What seems to concern him most is that he is (quote) “going to lose all my awards, everything I did in forty years of big game hunting.”

--- His friend (unaware that he is being recorded) seems worried that he is next to be targeted by conspirators. He quotes someone as saying he and the doctor could go to jail if there were an audit.

--- The friend believes six former SCI presidents conspired against the doctor.

6. The transcript ends abruptly, leaving at least one observer to wonder if more accusations of alleged wrongdoing were about to be revealed.

7. Some members of the accuratereloading.com forum side with the defrocked former president (the doctor) in demanding that the club purge its leadership.

8. Those who try to defend SCI are called “cheerleaders,” “sheepies,” and other names, especially by supporters and members of another organization.

9. So far, no one on either side of this flap at AR considers the possibility that a purge already may have occurred.

Have I got this right so far?

There’s got to be a book somewhere in all this ...


Bill Quimby

That pretty much sums it up.

It's the apparent that is troubling.

Jeff

somehow in all this feces, i missed the tidbit that the Weatherby Foundation had also kicked him out. concerning #9, i do think that if a purge of SCI leadership had already occurred there would have been some mention of changes at the top of the leadership.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
somehow in all this feces, i missed the tidbit that the Weatherby Foundation had also kicked him out. concerning #9, i do think that if a purge of SCI leadership had already occurred there would have been some mention of changes at the top of the leadership.

The executive roles are frequently turned-over... without any fuss. The fact that a few self-absorbed 'social climbers' get in there is really just to be expected IMO.

One would have thought the current Chapter representatives would have jumped in head-first to sign the petition and obtain an audit of the financial standings for SCI and possibly pave the way for a "new beginning".

Alas, it seems this was wishful thinking and everyone, Chapter reps. and members have accepted to being part of a corrupt organization, not implying all Chapters are corrupt of course.

quote:

ne would have thought the current Chapter representatives would have jumped in head-first to sign the petition and obtain an audit of the financial standings for SCI and possibly pave the way for a "new beginning". Alas, it seems this was wishful thinking and everyone, Chapter reps. and members have accepted to being part of a corrupt organization, not implying all Chapters are corrupt of course.

Fojotupu:

The chapter reps you refer to are members of the board of directors, and it is my understanding that the board does not need fifty signatures to demand an audit.

During my time with SCI, the club's financial records were audited every year by the club's finance committee and an outside accounting firm. The results were reported to the board of directors. There also was at least one very lengthy and extensive IRS audit while I was there, and to my knowledge nothing out of line was found.

I have no way of knowing this, but I suspect that comprehensive annual audits still are done and the results still are reported to the board (chapter reps).

Incidentally, one of the things the doctor and his friend talked about in the transcript was that their expense accounts were so closely monitored that they were paying for $1,400 dinners out of their own pockets.

Bill Quimby

The problem of people not lining up to sign the petition is directly related to the credibility of the man who started it.

I also missed the Weatherby award portion.

Was that in the transcript?

quote:

Originally posted by Trapper Tom:
The problem of people not lining up to sign the petition is directly related to the credibility of the man who started it.

+1

The other issue that I have is that the petition is making specific allegations for which I have no knowledge.

larryshores - not pointed at you at all but here on AR folks making specific allegations with no information is standard practice I thought?

I certainly would not sigh a petition without seeing ALL details.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
Sabatti "trash" Shooter

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
The other issue that I have is that the petition is making specific allegations for which I have no knowledge.

fujo - Were you at the Board of Directors meeting just held in Vegas a week ago? If not, why do you assume that nothing happened or was changed. So your posts are nothing more than "wishful thinking" by your own admission. You know what they say "wish in one hand and crap in the other, and see which one fills up the fastest".

I'll bet the facts billq presented are a lot more than "wishful thinking". Hey, but don't let facts get in the way.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
One would have thought the current Chapter representatives would have jumped in head-first to sign the petition and obtain an audit of the financial standings for SCI and possibly pave the way for a "new beginning".

Alas, it seems this was wishful thinking and everyone, Chapter reps. and members have accepted to being part of a corrupt organization, not implying all Chapters are corrupt of course.

Does anyone know if Rudolph was, in fact, kicked out of the Weatherby Foundation?

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Courthouse News Service

Courthouse News Service

Courthouse News Service
Monday, March 25, 2013Last Update: 1:13 PM PT








Hunting Group Faces Defamation Liability


By ROSE BOUBOUSHIAN



ShareThis



(CN) - The ousted head of Safari Club International can advance claims that it defamed him with accusations that he used his title to commit adultery, a federal judge ruled.
The Arizona-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the rights of hunters and wildlife conservation boasts 55,000 members and 190 membership chapters worldwide.
Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph, a Pennsylvania dentist who belonged to Safari Club for about 25 years, served as its president from 2009 to 2011 and acted as its chief spokesman.
Rudolph claimed that another Safari member, Paul Babaz "circulated false rumors" about him at the club's annual convention in Las Vegas last year.
Those rumors alleged that Rudolph was having a long-term affair with a woman in Atlanta, and that he used his title as president to seduce her, according to the complaint.
Babaz also allegedly whispered that Rudolph was in danger of losing his Weatherby Foundation award because of his "adulterous behavior," and that Rudolph had threatened to fire the host of the club's TV show and cancel the program.
Rudolph said he and Babaz ultimately had a confrontation and that Babaz then filed a false Board of Inquiry (BOI) petition, alleging that Rudolph "acted improperly" at both the convention and a 2006 hunt in Mexico.
The inquiry board issued its findings of a violation in May 2012 and recommended sanctioning Rudolph, according to the complaint. The document allegedly contained several other claims that neither Babaz nor any other club member had submitted via petition.
Rudolph said he had been campaigning to be the group secretary for the 2012-13 term, and that the board "collectively decided" that Chairman Ralph Cunningham would publicly announce Rudolph's charges at the election meeting in Washington, D.C., where nearly 160 board members had assembled.
At an Aug. 25 board meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the board allegedly voted to expel Rudolph from the club and remove his name from all record book entries and awards.
Rudolph sued Safari Club, Cunningham and five other members - Larry Higgins, Scott Chapman, Joyce Hanley, David Small, and John Whipple - for defamation in the Western District of Pennsylvania, claiming that they intentionally made him "suffer harm in his home state." The club and the individual members filed separate motions to dismiss Rudolph's amended complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab refused to dismiss Rudolph's claim for defamation by innuendo. The ruling notes that Rudolph failed to provide the letter in which Whipple allegedly portrayed him as "a dishonest hunter and man" and approved of all the underlying defamatory charges.
"Without the correct letter and the challenged language in front of it, this court cannot decide this issue," Schwab wrote.
The judge dismissed the claims against the individual members, however.
"The court finds that plaintiff failed to allege or otherwise establish that the individual defendants aimed their conduct at Pennsylvania," Schwab wrote. "As noted above, the plaintiff has established the individual defendants wanted plaintiff banished or eliminated from the worldwide organization of Safari Club, not merely a local (meaning a Pennsylvania-based) chapter. Given plaintiff's allegations concerning the 'political motive' of the individual defendants, these defamatory statements would have been made during the board meetings regardless of the number of Pennsylvanians (if any) who participated in the board meeting. Per plaintiff, the individual defendants' goal was to publish the defamatory statements to the board members so that plaintiff would lose the election and his membership; not to rout him from Pennsylvania membership."









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quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
fujo - Were you at the Board of Directors meeting just held in Vegas a week ago? If not, why do you assume that nothing happened or was changed. So your posts are nothing more than "wishful thinking" by your own admission. You know what they say "wish in one hand and crap in the other, and see which one fills up the fastest".

I'll bet the facts billq presented are a lot more than "wishful thinking". Hey, but don't let facts get in the way.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
One would have thought the current Chapter representatives would have jumped in head-first to sign the petition and obtain an audit of the financial standings for SCI and possibly pave the way for a "new beginning".

Alas, it seems this was wishful thinking and everyone, Chapter reps. and members have accepted to being part of a corrupt organization, not implying all Chapters are corrupt of course.

Sellers - Do you and a couple of those other vociferous friends of yours have something to hide? - I cannot fathom out why just a handful of people are so fervently rabid about how pure and lily white the Inner Circle big wigs are, or made out to be.

What Dr Rudolph exposed is not BS, not when he chose to go public in the way he did and I guess its up to the cheerleaders to prove it is indeed BS

fujo -- I certainly have nothing to hide when it comes to SCI. I have never "lily whited" anyone at SCI, top or bottom, have no idea who is even at the top and don't care. I currently am not involved with a Chapter so not up to date on that area either. I don't condone any sort of corrupt or bad behavior at SCI or here on AR.

I can guarantee your "wishful thinking" will never solve anything. Posting here on things you know absolutely nothing about, fact wise, tells me everything I need to know. When you actually join SCI, become a Board Member, and come back and tell me how YOU will clean up any actual or perceived mess I'll listen. Until then it's just blaa, blaa, blaa. Meantime I will just enjoy the Conventions, participate in fundraisers, give thanks to those fighting for us in DC and around the World. Have a great day!!

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
Sabatti "trash" Shooter

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
fujo - Were you at the Board of Directors meeting just held in Vegas a week ago? If not, why do you assume that nothing happened or was changed. So your posts are nothing more than "wishful thinking" by your own admission. You know what they say "wish in one hand and crap in the other, and see which one fills up the fastest".

I'll bet the facts billq presented are a lot more than "wishful thinking". Hey, but don't let facts get in the way.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
One would have thought the current Chapter representatives would have jumped in head-first to sign the petition and obtain an audit of the financial standings for SCI and possibly pave the way for a "new beginning".

Alas, it seems this was wishful thinking and everyone, Chapter reps. and members have accepted to being part of a corrupt organization, not implying all Chapters are corrupt of course.

Sellers - Do you and a couple of those other vociferous friends of yours have something to hide? - I cannot fathom out why just a handful of people are so fervently rabid about how pure and lily white the Inner Circle big wigs are, or made out to be.

What Dr Rudolph exposed is not BS, not when he chose to go public in the way he did and I guess its up to the cheerleaders to prove it is indeed BS

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I also missed the Weatherby award portion. Was that in the transcript?

See pages 107 and 108 of the transcript, where Dr. Rudolph says, "...and they threw me off the Weatherby based primarily on what? The issues with Safari Club, John."

Bill Quimby

Thanks Bill.

The good doctor looks worse and worse.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Thanks Bill.

The good doctor looks worse and worse.

Was there ever any doubt that he was part of the problem?

I said I will sign the petition, not because he had asked for it, but, because SCI NEEDS to be reformed.

It seems they have lost direction from what they keep claiming to be.

Saeed:

I am 100% in agreement.

Apparently 160 chapter delegates voted on the good doctor's status.

Jeff

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:

Sellers - Do you and a couple of those other vociferous friends of yours have something to hide? - I cannot fathom out why just a handful of people are so fervently rabid about how pure and lily white the Inner Circle big wigs are, or made out to be.

What Dr Rudolph exposed is not BS, not when he chose to go public in the way he did and I guess its up to the cheerleaders to prove it is indeed BS

Do you really think other SCI supporters would actually want to come on here and be called all sorts of names by you and your buddies.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:
Apparently 160 chapter delegates voted on the good doctor's status.

Jeff

I think the whole failure of any club is that not all members are allowed to vote.

I have been a member of many clubs that only allow votes at the AGM.

This turns out to be a total disaster, as only the few who have an agenda turn up and vote.

With a membership that so diverse as SCI, to run it properly ALL members need to have the right to vote.

that is exactly what i have said for a long time. for those that claim it is too unwieldily/expensive, please explain how the NRA manages to pull it off.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:
Apparently 160 chapter delegates voted on the good doctor's status.

Jeff

I think the whole failure of any club is that not all members are allowed to vote.

I have been a member of many clubs that only allow votes at the AGM.

This turns out to be a total disaster, as only the few who have an agenda turn up and vote.

With a membership that so diverse as SCI, to run it properly ALL members need to have the right to vote.

What is your proposal to allow ALL members of a worldwide organisation, to be properly informed of issues at hand and vote accordingly and legally at regular meetings?

Originally posted by Matt Graham:


[/QUOTE] Do you really think other SCI supporters would actually want to come on here and be called all sorts of names by you and your buddies.[/QUOTE]

Graham/Sellers:


You need to remember that courtesy begets courtesy which is obviously something you and a few others lack and compounded by the fact of being unable to participate in a debate without getting hot under the collar.

Bill Quimby posted his opinion in a civilized and gentlemanly manner; he is clearly on the other side, acknowledges that there is a problem but delivers his message without any arrogance.

Try it sometime and you might get a different response.

Oh and by the way Sellers, I too WAS a member of SCI, WAS a Master Measurer until I saw the light of day.!

What a mess! Somebody needs some relief here ...
I suggest a duel with cow patties at 5 paces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOtMizMQ6oM



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7euWlQBKnw


Riflecrank Internationale Permanente, DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
What a mess! Somebody needs some relief here ...
I suggest a duel with cow patties at 5 paces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOtMizMQ6oM



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7euWlQBKnw


Riflecrank Internationale Permanente, DRSS

OK, caption please!

I will start off first.

SCI is the sick patient on the chair, which of the two there are Larry and which one is Matt?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
SCI is the sick patient on the chair, which of the two there are Larry and which one is Matt?

Exactly!

"Proper dental care for SCI is long overdue."

Or:

"SCI dental hygienist members grow increasingly alarmed."

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
Originally posted by Matt Graham:

Do you really think other SCI supporters would actually want to come on here and be called all sorts of names by you and your buddies.[/QUOTE]

Graham/Sellers:


You need to remember that courtesy begets courtesy which is obviously something you and a few others lack and compounded by the fact of being unable to participate in a debate without getting hot under the collar.

Bill Quimby posted his opinion in a civilized and gentlemanly manner; he is clearly on the other side, acknowledges that there is a problem but delivers his message without any arrogance.

Try it sometime and you might get a different response.

Oh and by the way Sellers, I too WAS a member of SCI, WAS a Master Measurer until I saw the light of day.![/QUOTE] Practice what you preach.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:
Apparently 160 chapter delegates voted on the good doctor's status.

Jeff

I think the whole failure of any club is that not all members are allowed to vote.

I have been a member of many clubs that only allow votes at the AGM.

This turns out to be a total disaster, as only the few who have an agenda turn up and vote.

With a membership that so diverse as SCI, to run it properly ALL members need to have the right to vote.

All Life Members should be afforded the right to vote and only Life Members.

Our entire family are Life Members and it is not possible to get a straight answer it seems to any of these questions. Rather depressing I would say as there are many good questions with no seeming real answers.

Originally posted by Matt Graham:


[/QUOTE] Practice what you preach.[/QUOTE]

Graham:

I'm doing just that and you are one of those on the receiving end - its most unfortunate you are unable to distinguish between courtesy and discourtesy.

This matter has a lot of moving parts.

As it relates to Dr. Rudolph, he may well have been wronged. However, the way he went about documenting these matters really makes me question his integrity as does his concern over lost awards.

The video, while obtained in a reprehensible manner does point out that there are major problems with SCI. A major question in my mind is just what the Board was told as the basis for booting Rudolph?

Over the years there has been a lot of bitching and complaining on AR about SCI and their lack of transparency in their finances. To be blunt, many of these comments are out of pure ignorance. In the US, there is something known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP. GAAP is established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or FASB.

SCI has audited financial statements every year. The audit is to determine if the financial statements are in accordance with GAAP as promulgated by the FASB. GAAP is what most businesses follow. For example, all publicly traded companies MUST follow GAAP. GAAP has a lot of very specific rules about how different items are presented and disclosed. Frankly, it is quite complex.

For any entity such as SCI to publish financials on any basis other than GAAP is a monumental problem. They would be total idiots to do so. It doesn't matter what I might like to see or Saeed might like to see or anyone else might like to see. They MUST follow GAAP.

I have looked at SCI's financials ( I am a CPA and work with extremely complex businesses every day of my life). I have to say that they are very well done. The firm that audits them is a large extremely reputable firm.

An audit is to determine whether the financials statements are in accordance with GAAP. An audit is NOT to determine if someone's expense reports is padded. An audit is not to determine if enough money was spent on this or that.

Having said that, it seems that SCI pretty much ignores any question posed to it about anything whether it be financial, ethics, conservation or whatever. This naturally leads to suspicion.

SCI has made many mistakes or at least what appears to be mistakes. Some of these are:

1- A lot of PH's of the year have ended up being common criminals.
2- Questionable organizations have been protected with little if any action taken by SCI. How about OOA, Zahir Mulla & Blair Worldwide Hunting to name a few.

It surely seems that an awful lot of SCI's business decisions are in the dark. Wouldn't you like to know why the former president represented OOA for example? Try and get an answer on that one. That is one of the problems. They don't answer ANYTHING. On the other hand, they have to be worried about being sued for disclosing certain information.

I am torn on who should be allowed to vote on important matters. I have to wonder if we, the members possess enough information to make an informed decision. I think about our local elections. Inevitably, there is some issue on the ballot that I have never heard of and have no idea if it is good or bad. Would we, the members of SCI, be in the same position if we were allowed to voted on issues.

Personally, I would like an independent investigation to go forward but not for Dr. Rudolph's sake. I could care less about him and his awards that he lost. I would like to see SCI cleaned up to be "First for Hunters" as they claim. I am extremely concerned about the rise in anti-hunting activity. It is really growing and becoming more organized. Just yesterday, while walking back from lunch, there were 4 anti-hunting protesters in downtown Orlando. I was shocked. We need a strong organization in our corner. I think SCI is the best organization to do that.

We need to quit pounding on SCI all the time. Some here come off as over joyed with anything that is negative toward SCI. Anything that is negative toward SCI can't be good for us as hunters.

SCI has lost its way in my opinion. There needs to be some changes I am confident. Just how we go about getting those changes is what I do not know.

Now, back to work!