HeliOPs, SkullCap: You both bring up good points and I will not comment on either one as in previous posts at the begining of this venture I so stated the following:
1. I wanted to work with HAC and the industry as a whole and not be confrontational on any issue brought up by the membership. How soon we forget.
2. If HAC members wanted to support us in an endeavour to better the industry, they are more than welcome as associate members with no voting rights.
3. Should they (companies) wish show there support as sponsors, there yearly contribution will be locked in for the year with no refund.
4. Don't forget the companies need us, as we need them.
5. HRDC will not support us, neither will ATAC.
6. I have asked Alpine, Great Slave and HAC for some feedback. I only received a reply from Alpine that they were not interested.
7. HEPAC has been getting some good comments from a few individuals, keep it up, become members and from there decide what the association will do.
Cheers Don
IMHO: We accept anybody that wants to become an associate member, they have no say in how the association is run.
We have to work with the operators and it would be much easier to talk to them.
Unless of course you want to talk to yourself. They have places for people like you.
Blackmac - I think you will find that the operators such as Alpine, Great Slave etc will sit back and watch and see what HEPAC does and how it develops before making any ideas of support. We ran into the same thing in Australia. A few operators were dead against it in the beginning but then when the association was moving ahead and they could see the benefits they jumped on the bandwagon.
Until you define the actual direction of the association, what they are going to do to help the industry and what benefits people will get from it, memberships will be slow, both individual and corporate. Thats no reflection of you or the team, its just a fact, people want to see some action before making some sort of commitment.
I have to admit your latest post was a lot more "user friendly" than all the other ones I have seen. There is an old saying here that you attract more with honey than you do with vinegar. Believe me I have learnt from my own personal experiences. Keep going on this vein and you will get more members than you know what to do with.
As a boost to help you get going how about designing up a quarter page ad and we will put it in the next issue of Heli Ops for you at no cost, and I challenge Mike at Vertical to do the same. Why not make a good impact to get the ball rollinng.
