Forward from Jim Skog

Jim Skog asked me to post his perspective on current affairs. He’s having trouble accessing this forum; the words to follow are his.
<div>Sky Soaring has been sending emails with views and concerns. I wonder if I might enter the arena. The last 50 years have allowed me well over</div>
<div>10,000 instr. and tow rides. In early `72 Frank Baldwin, fellow Guard  and airline pilot, led me to his CAP unit on the Aavang farm, east of Huntley.</div>
<div>Clarence Aavang was a flying farmer, kind enough to allow the CAP to use his strip. Dick Molbach, Rudy Gaspereich, Bob Haney, were all active.</div>
<div>along with others.  Larry and Terry Kase, Geoff Weck, were CAP. Frank enlisted several of us in a club that became Sky Soaring. My 1st flight</div>
<div>was May 72. One day a CAP tow pilot landed in a soft patch and tipped the L-19 over on its back. It stayed there for some time when Haney</div>
<div>bid, bought and fixed it up. He was noble enough to allow the club to own it for what he had spent on it, maybe 7 or 8K. There is no finer tow</div>
<div>plane and I do not understand parting with it. We used it 30 some years. (It belonged to the shareholders)</div>
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<div>Aavang liked to fly. He rented and did not own the farm. He informed us the new owners closed down flying. I believe at that time Tom Tichy was</div>
<div>flying his plane and landed at Binsky in Hampshire. (our strip now)  He was made aware Binsky was hoping for a buyout. Tom, Dr.Close, Bill Lee,</div>
<div>Skip Smith worked on a deal. My last flight at Aavang`s was 11/81.  My 1st flt. here was 5/82. The venture was put together as an LLP. The</div>
<div>board was given one share to fit in as a shareholder mgr. whose role was to guide the club and guard the interests of shareholders. Article 7 of</div>
<div>the Ops Agreement points out using assets for stockholders benefit. I think new board members often were not aware of this. I have been in a</div>
<div>dozen LLPs  (my brother in law sold me one) They were popular til Congress closed the door on tax benefits. Mine were similar, duration of 30</div>
<div>or 40 years, then end. All dribbled out enough return to pay taxes—–our LLP never has. Not long ago the emphasis was each member own a</div>
<div>share. For reasons never clear,  later, the board felt they should acquire ALL shares. Tell me how that fulfills fiduciary responsibility</div>
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<div>Suppose one of our old members had a condo in Hawaii for many years. He enjoyed it but was the only original left. The condo board decided</div>
<div>they would take over the whole thing and return the money he had put into it. They were a confident young group and convinced themselves</div>
<div>this was OK.  Should he bow out and accept it?</div>