Head of Incompetence

The application deadline for the vacant Head of Instruction job was yesterday (unless they decide to extend it again), so this seems like a good time to review past HOI's.

Let's start back in the pre-JimR days, the late 1980s when Kurt Kummer (what a name, eh?) was the guy. As with most Hoofer leaders and employees, Kurt was a party boy, fond of giving keelboat ratings to his buddies. And when Keelboat instructors wouldn't give Kurt the ratings he wanted, he would demand them.

Then along came Jim Rogers who, like a giant octopus, grabbed the job and held onto it for 15 years. Nothing was off the table for Jim. He would slander, harass, and do whatever else was necessary to solidify his position as HOI. And when the BOC wasn't handling something, he would take it over, like a giant amoeba. Every time he could do that, it would make the HOI job more important, his position ever more secure.

When Jim finally slithered on to the Hoofer Advisor job in 2005, Anne Porter found herself as temporary HOI. Anne never seemed comfortable with the job but did manage to use it to further her own interests. For example, Anne would downgrade exams of people she didn't like while tossing those of people who actually flunked--if the latter happened to be her friends.

Then Brian Borkovec took over and found he could not only negotiate his salary but actually vote to approve it (a felony in Wisconsin). Alas, crimes are pooh-poohed around the Wisconsin Union--as long as they're committed by a Wis. Union employee. Borkovec was also known to stalk people he didn't like and then write "reports" on them. Hey Borko: the public can monitor your criminal activities but you as a state employee are not allowed to harass the public.

The last HOI was Tom Barry who was quickly swept into the Hoofer Hole. Humor? Check. Overwhelmed? Check. Farm off the work to your subordinates? Check. When that didn't go so well, Tom managed to quit this past summer before getting fired.

Wow, what a group. Did we miss anyone?

So here we are in 2011, with a new commodore looking for a new HOI who will not only take care of instruction but also coach the sailing team (of which she just happens to be a member). Good golly. What manner o' beastie can do all that?!

We'll find out.

The Hoofer pyramid scheme

Interesting stats from a recent Education Committee email:

Around 65% of the club are new members every year.
40% of new members in 2010 never earned a rating.

Very similar statistics on ratings were reported two years ago on this very blog. Alas, there is an even more disturbing possibility than the two suggested in that earlier post (slow learners or poor teachers): a deliberate pyramid scheme.

And that's what Hoofer Sailing Club appears to be, at least to a significant degree: one big pyramid scheme. The purpose simply is not to teach sailing, but to make money and control resources. The way they do it is by saying, "Give us your money and we'll teach you how to sail." But the large percentage of club members who never learn to sail belie that. Club leaders need a large base of paying "members" to provide capital and operating funds (since the 100 or so club leaders don't have to pay anything), so each year they mount an advertising campaign to recruit new suckers, er, members who will pay around $200 each. Of course there are some good club leaders too, but they're either the minority or are simply dominated by the sleazeballs and crooks. If the latter had their way all the time, HSC would be a model pyramid scheme.

For details, check out these related posts on HSC criminal activities, club structure, money grubbing, and arrogance.