| Subject: | RE: In Defense of comments from Dave... |
| Date: | 02/15/2000 12:03 AM |
| From: | Martin Clan |
|
It is incorrect to imply that the hard-working and dedicated Murray family has profited from their efforts to improve the OBRA organization. The compensation that they received was minor compared to the extra-ordinary personal costs volunteered to advancing the sport of bicycling in Oregon. The comments of Bonnie were not well focused and they’ve been taken out of context, so we apologize to the Murray Family and to the other dedicated members of the OBRA organization. Our comments, in this case, should have been limited to the following: OBRA was forced to create an alternative to the Federation because the Federation had lost its original purpose of support and customer service for local/regional racing. The OBRA alternative exists due to the extra-ordinary efforts of one family. Any efforts to duplicate the OBRA structure in another part of the country must recognize that this is NOT a simple process. Instead, it will require a significant amount of organization and follow-through on a large number of details. The OBRA model, as good as it is, still has some problems with respect to integration into the National/International scene. License upgrades and qualifying for UCI events still requires our local OBRA riders to travel outside of the OBRA/California area in order to earn the necessary points… We have a very long way to go towards resolving these and other issues here in Oregon. Thankfully, we have the Murray Family. But if we ever lose their support, where will we be left then? Many thanks, -Dave Martin |
