As for Beerlover's comments, what more could you ask of the NSS when WNS came on board? We had a lot going there, with Peter Youngbaer researching and sharing all kinds of info and the NSS BOG was doing what they thought was needed. There's only so much that a volunteer organization can do and with the funding that they had. I guess if they were paid executives and had the funds that large companies have, they could have put out more info, but they were in line, I thought, with BCI. What was it Beerlover that you would have done different in their case? They communicated and did as much as they thought they could do, trying to get the FS, BLM, Fish & Game folks to understand that it wasn't cavers spreading the fungus, but who in those first few years when no one knew that much about it, but it went on a lot of deaf ears. They recognized problems and at each of the conventions, they came up with decon stations and sharing of caving equipment, etc., so...rather than blame, let's hear what you would have been doing to help out this problem, which still is. Even though WNS hasn't effected the West, as they said it was going to do, the convention at Ely, Nevada, is prepared to have decon stations and loaner gear, so that anything a caver from back East, won't share!
"They were more interested in building a shrine to themselves with the new overpriced building. How is that balloon mortgage payment coming along, by the way?"
I had to chuckle at your thought here, what with describing the new headquarters, as a shrine, since that's what it used to be for the Shriners.
As for it being in the way of doing work on the WNS projects, just how much do you expect from volunteers? The few people that are paid are office staff and keeping the NSS together in the office and in the library/store situations. So...again, if you think it's a shrine, would you have kept the old NSS Office at #1 Cave Avenue?
When I made my first donation to the building fund, I was wondering what we were getting for the money, but after helping to cart materials from the old office over to "the shrine" as you call it, along with carrying equipment to the convention site in 2014, I quickly recognized what a great buy those on the real estate team made. I wasn't involved with looking at all the sites, making those decisions whether to move out of Alabama and/or settle in Kentucky or Ohio, thank God. Getting involved with real estate is a full time job/chore and I'm glad we had some great volunteers taking that project on. And, I appreciate the work that all of the volunteers that are working on making "the shrine" a better and sharper looking place to have meetings, to have outside organizations rent the site, etc. and to know that "the shrine" will be around for decades from now. And, to know that there are three caves on the property to boot kind of brings a tear to your eyes, 'eh what?
If cavers continue to pay down the mortgage, like we've done in the past, the mortgage will disappear; and, hopefully, you've helped with that, also, like so many others have.
In closing my soap box, I started this dialogue with a question about Cave Chat disappearing, possibly; and, not knowing it would lead us into other discussions.
I know I haven't satisfied you with my answers, for I believe you're upset about something more than what you wrote about,
although you have brought up some interesting concerns. I just don't believe they belong in this discussion; and, hopefully, you'll be getting more involved with the NSS and make it the great organization it used to be...and still is!