ANN broke the story about problems within the hallowed ranks of
the National Association of Flight Instructors two months ago and
the news has been coming fast and furious since then.
Dissatisfaction with a number of NAFI board-level decisions led
to creation of the 'Take Back Our National Association of Flight
Instructors Committee' -- TBO NAFI. This committee, comprised of
NAFI members, including Master Instructors and several Regional and
National Flight Instructors of the Year, has called for swift and
sweeping changes to the governance of NAFI.
ANN reported that the crisis began in October when NAFI members
learned two of the "most productive, well-liked, pro-instructor,
and long-standing members of the Board" -- JoAnn and Sandy Hill --
would not be re-elected to their positions, and would be relieved
of their day-to-day administration of the NAFI Master Instructor
Program.
"These issues served to focus long-due attention on the broader
governance issues plaguing the NAFI Board," well-known Master
Instructor Rich Stowell told Aero-News. The first informal meeting
of TBO Committee members and others who wished to participate was
scheduled for Friday, November 7th, at the AOPA Expo in San
Jose, CA, where ANN took the opportunity to get some narrative on
the matter from Stowell.
In a recent e-mail, Stowell said, "On December 4th, Tom
Poberezny and the NAFI Board blind-sided both TBO and the Hills
with an e-mail demanding that Master Instructor Program
administration be turned over to NAFI HQ," a move he said would
"violate NAFI Board-approved policies and procedures controlling
the administration of the Master Instructor Program."
Irked further by a recent NAFI member survey prepared by the
NAFI board without input from the Professional Standards Committees
or TBO-NAFI, Stowell declared that the teleconference represents a
"fork in the road."
Poberezny responded that he is addressing multiple issues,
making progress in what he sees as his number one priority --
redrafting NAFI By-laws -- and the transfer of administrative and
operational responsibilities of NAFI programs to staff.
"In conclusion, I do not see a 'fork in the road,' but a
continuing dialogue that is so important to success. My role is not
as a neutral facilitator between TBO and the NAFI Board, but rather
a facilitator working with the NAFI Board on behalf of the NAFI
membership, addressing the concerns presented," Poberezny said.
"I will continue to work on solutions that build a stronger
NAFI, both from a membership standpoint as well as industry
stature. The December 9th TBO newsletter was disappointing, but I
remain undaunted, and am confident that we will be successful with
our future efforts."
In an effort to get some insight into the conflict, ANN presents
the attached interview with Stowell and has a similar discussion
with EAA president Tom Poberezny scheduled shortly.
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