You can read more about Perez in the Libel, Dept. of Justice Complaint, Accusations, Misrepresentation, and Lies sections.

I agreed that it should be allowed, since he had apparently expressed an interest in the position. I regret that decision for a number of reasons, one of which is that it really didn't jibe with the spirit of the bylaws' requirement to give a "reasonable opportunity for all members to choose among the nominees."

In any case, Joyce was defeated in the election by a very narrow vote, and Ken joined the board. I sincerely regret how this happened, and not just because of his future behavior. In hindsight, I don't think Joyce was treated properly, and I hold myself responsible for not treating her with the respect she deserved. She was and has been continually involved in the organization, never failing to participate when volunteers were needed. Perez also volunteered, but he should have been required to present himself to the general membership or deliver a written statement, as all the other candidates did in advance of the meeting.

In any case, Ken Perez joined the board, and he very quickly began a campaign against me.

One of the many things I volunteered to do at SEA was to publish The Masthead, our (mostly) quarterly newsletter. In the course of getting one together, I asked Perez to revise an article he submitted via Ted Miller. Here's the email. It seems pretty mellow to me, but you decide. (Apparently, the Masthead is no longer being published, which is too bad.)

I agree that the article may need expansion of its material on proper maintenance and check-ups, which is why I included a link to another article wich goes into great detail about standing rigging care and maintenance. Perhaps this article can include some of its more salient points. However,

The only dirty laundry stories I know about dangerous situations in the club so far involve the following:

Wayne and crew banging into another boat and creating not only serious damage to another vessel but also a liability, banishment and scorn from a specific area of Richardson Bays' live aboard residents,

Wayne flipping over a dinghie with crew

Sandor present while a boat almost sank and losing a mast, resulting in wirecutters that are now kept aboard vessels;

The floating dock being towed with members and catching a bow wave and spilling all riders who then needed rescue;

and you probably know many more 'events'. These are just a few that Ive heard down the grapevine in my 5 months of membership.

What I've rarely heard from other members is a story in which SEA crew faced a dangerous situation and was able to recover rather placidly due to the experience and expertise of those aboard.

While I would be more than happy to expand on maintenance and emergency procedures, I am not convinced our little story deserves dilution facing so many others members already know of albeit subjectively percieved catastrophes.

In my opinion, members need to trust the new wave of checked out skippers whom have no history of liability and accident, and in these instances can improve upon the spots and loses of the past.

So, you can see that he's starting to lash out, or at least that's how I read it. However, we let it drop and the article wasn't published. I never received an update for this article, nor did Ken Perez submit any other article.

Then, a few months later, during a discussion of acquiring liability insurance, Perez was at it again. Notice the interesting use of capitalization.

Of course, nobody responded.

\no letterhead\

December 6th, 2007

Dear Mr. Ganz,

In accordance with SEA's Bylaws under Section 7.b., please accept this email as notification of termination of your membership with our organization, Sailing Education Adventures, effective immediately.

We, the Board, have authorized the office to send you a check to reimburse you, on a prorated basis, for the 25 days remaining on your 2007 membership, which is 25 days /365 x $75.00 annual membership or an amount of $5.14 that you will receive in the mail shortly.

Furthermore, in accordance with Section 8 of our Bylaws, all rights of your membership shall cease upon termination of this membership as herein provided.

If you have any questions or comments, you may contact me directly at 1-415-806-4501 as the representative of the Board in this matter.

Sue Currie President, SEA

\no signature\

ARTICLE 12 - MEMBERS

SECTION 7. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

Grounds for Termination: The membership of a member shall terminate upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

(a) Upon his or her notice of such termination delivered to the President or Secretary of the corporation personally or by mail, such membership to terminate upon the date of delivery of the notice or date of deposit in the mail.
(b) Upon a determination by the Board of Directors that the member has engaged in conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the interests or purposes of the corporation.
(c) If this corporation has provided for the payment of dues by members, upon a failure to renew his or her membership by paying dues on or before their due date, such termination to be effective thirty (30) days after notification of delinquency is given personally or mailed to such member by the Secretary of the corporation. A member may avoid such termination by paying the amount of delinquent dues within a thirty (30)-day period following the member's receipt of the notification of delinquency.

SECTION 8. RIGHTS ON TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

All rights of a member in the corporation shall cease on termination of membership as herein provided.

I have not asked for nor will I accept money.

In a somewhat recent conversation (November, 2008) the current program director (Michael Mason) indicated that a letter of apology sent to me and copying the membership as a whole might be appropriate.

Belated though it would be, I agreed, but no such letter was forthcoming.

The following items should be considered. The one in bold is non-negotiable. None of these requests would cost SEA a dime and would likely result in increased income to the organization.

• public letter of apology
• reinstatement of my membership
• allow me the opportunity to resume teaching keelboat classes (those classes on sailboats with auxiliary engines, thus increasing SEA revenue)
• reinstate my port supply card (used for SEA purposes, as I did previously)
• have visibility regarding compliance issues (e.g., USCG regs), including a seat on the board for a regular term beginning in 2010

If you're reading this, that means I have not received a response to my repeated inquiries.