Please convey this to the NAFI BOD and [share]with others as you see fit.
When I resumed flight instruction after a number of years I was pleased to discover NAFI and joined with enthusiasm. In particular I saw the MCFI program and such certification as the core value of the organization. As a part-timer I aspired to MCFI status while being realistic about my ability to step up to that level. I saw NAFI and the MCFI program as setting a bar that I might not reach but that motivated me to improve as a CFI and to maintain the highest professional standards.
I don’t have personal knowledge of any of the players at the center of the MCFI program and recent board upheaval. I am however very experienced as a board member of several non-profit organizations and I regard the recent actions of the BOD of NAFI with dismay. The failure of the BOD to engage in serious dialog with the TBO-NAFI group is a failure in leadership.
If the BOD fails to respond to the petition of the TBO NAFI group I will conclude that the BOD is in fact not fit to preside over NAFI.
I don’t think that anyone supporting TBO NAFI is happy about the prospects of forming a new organization and working to “replace” NAFI. If the NAFI BOD would drop their arrogant stance and open up meaningful dialog on reform directly with the TBO NAFI group I am sure the result would be better for all. I even think that accommodation could be made that would allow a portion of the existing board to remain while NAFI transitions to fully member selected governance. Such an overlap would leverage the talents of existing board members and save the NAFI members significant start-up costs associated with a new organization.
As a Board Member or trustee of a membership funded organization individuals must always act in the interest of the membership. This is not being done and the result will not be positive for anyone who sees Flight Instruction as a Profession and wants this profession to advance.
I implore the Board to abandon your pride and be willing to step aside in favor of member selected replacements for the good of the organization and profession. Failure to do so is going to cause a train wreck that will set us all back and will in the end get to the same place. NAFI will wither and the existing NAFI board [will] be in charge of an empty shell.
Please come to your senses and save NAFI and the members great pain, expense and effort.
