Re: Questions via e-mail

President Jim Wilkins,

Thank you for your response via e-mail  to me and others who have
corresponded with you recently. Although you stated you prefer that
people correspond with you personally, there are many others who believe

that this method is a good means of communicating with many
simultaneously on matters of mutual interest. On Sunday,  I traveled to
and from Delaware to visit Alex, Founding Father of AHS, and supplied
him with a complete set of e-mail posts of the last two weeks or so.
Therefore he is well informed. He is very concerned regarding the
serious problems which are the subjects of many of these posts. I saw
your message for the first time this morning and could not call by
telephone  last night to discuss these matters. I will try again later.

I  well understand  why and how the lack of communications may create
new problems of misunderstandings and fortify old problems. We have
reached a serious point within the AHS wherein  people responsible for
policy/programs and projects and the people affected by them are in
conflict. Conflicts are not being resolved because of lack of
cummunications and for other reasons not yet understood.

I have gone through your post of today and wish to communicate my
personal thoughts. Others may opt  to do the same.

I have worked my entire thirty year career in agricultural
policy/program/ project development, review, analysis, approval,
evaluation and funding in the Department of State and in other agencies,

private and public in many countries of the world. . I am probably more
qualified to speak to policy/programs/ projects  than anyone else in the

AHS and will now do so. I understand theory and practice of
policy/program/project development  having been involved over a long
period of time in large programs of many kinds involving hundreds of
millions of dollars, so I believe I know whereof I speak. Whether you or

the Exectutive Board  value my judgments is another matter.

I have stated that your ( second person, plural, possessive pronoun,
meaning the AHS Board of Directors' )  IAC Policy/Program/projects are
stupid, irrational, not wize, not thought out, (take your pick of which
ever characterization you wish)  and do not have wide support within the

membership. This is my personal  view backed up by my knowledge of the
policy as you have described it in the Yearbook, the Journal, in the
Panel discussion at the WSM and by studying your email posts of recent
weeks.My opinions are in no way  opinions of personalities. If you
resent , as you indicated, that my opinions are calling you incompetent,

then you are mistaken. I have never and would never say that. I do say
that the policies are not well thought out by whoever prepared and
presented them to the Board for approval in October,1998. Mistakes of
judgement can be made collectively and that is not a personal attack
upon any one individual.

The major point I wish to make is that the IAC is not justified as being

important. Instead the Board selected this activity as a "target of
opportunity" , something  interesting,, nice, seemingly worthwhile to
do, and nothing more. You have not made the case that the  problems
regarding registration, which you have failed to identify, represent
priority constraints within the overall development environment which
need to be addressed as described, in order to reach the objectives of
the Society. The policies and program/projects  which are evolving,  in
fact,  are  achieving just the opposite....they are creating lack of
harmony, lack of cooperation and adverse growth and destruction rather
than promotion of the Society and its objectives.

The Policies and program/projects are encountering serious opposition
within the membership because of its many stipulations, rules and
sub-policies which violate principles of human behavior. It is replete
with prohibitions, implied threats, coersions, rewards to some and
punishments to others, and other manipulative and control measures to
the extent that the policy   is not supported widely...perhaps by some
few but certainly not by many. It is doomed to failure because  it lacks

a social soundness analysis to prove that it is wanted by membership.
You have moved too fast without consultation with affected people.

This is what I have been trying to say in many posts recently.. Certain
people have misinterpreted my words and have charged me with personal
attacks which is unfounded. I have been removed from the AHS Robin
without cause ...perhaps because my posts are misinterpreted. I gather
that I have been  expelled to shut me up because I dissent from the
current AHS policies.But worse is the refusal of the Majordomo and
Committee to consider my appeal that they have made serious  mistakes.
Instead I have been told not to give them any of that "ole man on the
mountain I bin done wrong BS". This by the Majordomo officer of the
Robin ,Kass Speerly. I have made a complaint against this gross personal

violation of the AHS Robin rules and have not received a reply. This is
just an example of how badly the management of the Robin is mistreating
members. The Majordomo office is responsible, the person in Kass Speerly

is responsible, the Committee is responsible and you are personally
responsible as well,  because you assigned these people into these
positions of power and  control without responsibility for their
actions. This is irrational mismanagement and decisionmaking without
responsibilities taken comparable to the power and control they wield.
What are you going to do about? Correct it or do nothing?

Respectfully,
Jim Hawes

PS. Forgot to mention that I am of the opinion that  for everyone and
anyone  to participate in a taskforce to  look at existing policy and
try to make it fair for treatment of registered/unregistered hostas ( to

quote Clarence Falstad) , is an exercise to straighten out the harness,
the horse and the buggy , when we shouldn't be going on a trip anyway
before deciding if or why we should go.  Our trip was decided upon by
others...not the membership...and now you are asking everyone to get on
board? Why? What are the rewards? And what will it cost us? I prefer the

inaction of NOT going,  in the absence of not knowing  why we are going
somewhere.



President Jim Wilkins,

Thank you for your response via e-mail  to me and others who have
corresponded with you recently. Although you stated you prefer that
people correspond with you personally, there are many others who believe

that this method is a good means of communicating with many
simultaneously on matters of mutual interest. On Sunday,  I traveled to
and from Delaware to visit Alex, Founding Father of AHS, and supplied
him with a complete set of e-mail posts of the last two weeks or so.
Therefore he is well informed. He is very concerned regarding the
serious problems which are the subjects of many of these posts. I saw
your message for the first time this morning and could not call by
telephone  last night to discuss these matters. I will try again later.

I  well understand  why and how the lack of communications may create
new problems of misunderstandings and fortify old problems. We have
reached a serious point within the AHS wherein  people responsible for
policy/programs and projects and the people affected by them are in
conflict. Conflicts are not being resolved because of lack of
cummuinications and for other reasons not yet understood.

I have gone through your post of today and wish to communicate my
personal thoughts. Others may opt  to do the same.

I have worked my entire thirty year career in agricultural
policy/program/ project development, review, analysis, approval,
evaluation and funding in the Department of State and in other agencies,

private and public in many countries of the world. . I am probably more
qualified to speak to policy/programs/ projects  than anyone else in the

AHS and will now do so. I understand theory and practice of
policy/program/project development  having been involved over a long
period of time in large programs of many kinds involving hundreds of
millions of dollars, so I believe I know whereof I speak. Whether you or

the Exectutive Board  value my judgments is another matter.

I have stated that your ( second person, plural, possessive pronoun,
meaning the AHS Board of Directors' )  IAC Policy/Program/projects are
stupid, irrational, not wize, not thought out, (take your pick of which
ever characterization you wish)  and do not have wide support within the

membership. This is my personal  view backed up by my knowledge of the
policy as you have described it in the Yearbook, the Journal, in the
Panel discussion at the WSM and by studying your email posts of recent
weeks.My opinions are in no way  opinions of personalities. If you
resent , as you indicated, that my opinions are calling you incompetent,

then you are mistaken. I have never and would never say that. I do say
that the policies are not well thought out by whoever prepared and
presented them to the Board for approval in October,1998. Mistakes of
judgement can be made collectively and that is not a personal attack
upon any one individual.

The major point I wish to make is that the IAC is not justified as being

important. Instead the Board selected this activity as a "target of
opportunity" , something  interesting,, nice, seemingly worthwhile to
do, and nothing more. You have not made the case that the  problems
regarding registration, which you have failed to identify, represent
priority constraints within the overall development environment which
need to be addressed as described, in order to reach the objectives of
the Society. The policies and program/projects  which are evolving,  in
fact,  are  achieving just the opposite....they are creating lack of
harmony, lack of cooperation and adverse growth and destruction rather
than promotion of the Society and its objectives.

The Policies and program/projects are encountering serious opposition
within the membership because of its many stipulations, rules and
sub-policies which violate principles of human behavior. It is replete
with prohibitions, implied threats, coersions, rewards to some and
punishments to others, and other manipulative and control measures to
the extent that the policy  it is not supported widely...perhaps by some

few but certainly not by many. It is doomed to failure because  it lacks

a social soundness analysis to prove that it is wanted by membership.
You have moved too fact without consultation with affected people.

This is what I have been trying to say in many posts recently.. Certain
people have misinterpreted my words and have charged me with personal
attacks which is unfounded. I have been removed from the AHS Robin
without cause ...perhaps because my posts are misinterpreted. I gather
that I have been  expelled to shut me up because I dissent from the
current AHS policies.But worse is the refusal of the Majordomo and
Committee to consider my appeal that they have made serious  mistakes.
Instead I have been told not to give them any of that "ole man on the
mountain I bin done wrong BS". This by the Majordomo officer of the
Robin ,Kass Speerly. I have made a complaint against this gross personal

violation of the AHS Robin rules and have not received a reply. This is
just an example of how badly the management of the Robin is mistreating
members. The Majordomo office is responsible, the person in Kass Speerly

is responsible, the Committee is responsible and you are personally
responsible as well,  because you assigned these people into these
positions of power and  control without responsibility for their
actions. This is irrational mismanagement and decisionmaking without
responsibilities taken comparable to the power and control they wield.
What are you going to do about? Correct it or do nothing?

Respectfully,
Jim Hawes

PS. Forgot to mention that I am of the opinion that  for everyone and
anyone  to participate in a taskforce to  look at existing policy and
try to make it fair for treatment of registered/unregistered hostas ( to

quote Clarence Falstad) , is an exercise to straighten out the harness,
the horse and the buggy , when we shouldn't be going on a trip anyway
before deciding if or why we should go.  Our trip was decided upon by
others...not the membership...and now you are asking everyone to get on
board? Why? What are the rewards? And what will it cost us? I prefer the

inaction of NOT going,  in the absence of not knowing  why we are going
somewhere.











---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE HOSTA-OPEN
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index