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Tue, Dec 16, 2008

AN Aero-TV Interview With Rich Stowell -- NAFI: Working Through Turbulent Times

Group Calls For 'Swift Changes' As Crisis Continues At NAFI

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.

Aero-TV Gets Some Background On The TBO-NAFI Controversy

FMI: www.tbo-nafi.org, www.nafinet.org, www.eaa.org, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews

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