It all depends on your mission
by P/C Joseph A. Tringali
ICA Vice Commodore for Education
It goes without saying that what is
important to you is whatever is important to you. There are many ways of expressing that idea, everything from "It
all depends on who's telling the story," to "It all depends on whose ox is being gored." The fact
is, the bias of the person telling the story often determines how the story is told. Whether assistance to the poor
is seen as Socialism or Christian Charity depends on whether the person talking about it is a political candidate or a Salvation
Army major.
But some comparisons are so outrageous that it's hard to understand the other guy's point of
view. A good example is the recent Academy of Yachting Officers and Professionals sponsored by the International Commodores
Association compared with the upcoming Knighting of the President of the International Order of the Blue Gavel.
Let's begin with this Academy. Recently a
group of yachting association officers, members and managers gathered in Orlando, Florida, for a three-day seminar that
covered everything from "How to Run a Meeting" to "How to Stay Out of Trouble with the IRS," to "How
to Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act," to "How to Protect Yourself from Liability as an Officer or
Director." It was, in the words of one participant, "Everything you need to know about running a yacht club."
Presenters included attorneys, an author and nationally-recognized expert on club taxation, and a senior vice-president of
the nation's largest and best provider of insurance for yacht clubs. At the banquet on Saturday evening, ICA Commodore
Richard Oakley awarded each participant a special lapel pin recognizing his or her status as a "Fellow of the Association."
More than just a pin, each participant left Orlando loaded down with books and DVD's: a year's worth of material and
information to share with their home clubs.
While the Academy was finishing up in Orlando, members of
the International Order of the Blue Gavel were gearing up for the Knighting of their President by the Queen of Rosaria.
It seems that many years ago, the City of Portland, Oregon, decided to call itself the City of Roses, and a bunch of local
citizens created the mythical Kingdom of Rosaria. They declared themselves "Royal Rosarians" and began dressing
up in white suits with straw hats and fancy capes. These folks give themselves fancy titles like "Lord
High Sheriff" and act as the official greeters and ambassadors of goodwill for the City of Portland. (You
can check this out at www.royalrosarians.org.) Every year, the Rosarians elect a local high school girl to be their queen and, during the course of the year,
the Queen of Rosaria "knights" various visitors. (Last year the new knights included "Puddles,"
the duck mascot of the University of Oregon.) The IOBG Spring meeting is always scheduled during the Rose
Festival so the incoming president can be "knighted." Forever after, each IOBG knight sports a red
ribbon from which dangles a gold charm of a rose. It's pleasant and harmless fun -- albeit expensive fun much
of which is paid by members' dues. While it feeds the egos of the "knights," it has never
been shown to be of any value to their home yacht clubs.
All of which brings us back to the beginning. What
is important to you? Is it important to belong to an organization that promotes yachting traditions, and keeps you up-to-date
on issues like taxes and liability so that you can take valuable information to your home club? Or is it imporant to
be knighted by a high school girl and wear a red ribbon with a gold charm to show off to other members of your club?
That is the difference between the ICA and the IOBG. Look at the facts, then decide for yourself.
