How good/bad is your association involved in politics?

[JRutledge]

Let me first say that I am not one who buys into the whole "politics" discussion that many officials like to have. I feel ultimately everyone has a system and if they work within that system they can benefit or parish. I honestly feel that most officials use any downfall as an excuse for their careers despite what is actually true.

Having said that that politics in my area exists, but it has little or nothing to do with the overall success of officials or who does what. There are all kinds of factors to how an official can succeed and the organizational structures where I live only play a small role in what an official can or cannot do. I guess I do not consider it bad or good. It is what it is. And at least where I live I have to please multiple people in order to work games which leads to other opportunities. None of this is in the hands of one or two people.

Also you said that the association does not make mentors help out the rookies. I guess what I do not understand is how can anyone make someone help people if they do not want to? I know I found my own mentors and did not need an association structure to find people that I thought were helpful to me personally. I would agree that associations are there to help officials achieve a common goal, but that goal is not always to help everyone out in a structured way. In other words, if you get games from your association, that might be the main focus of the association. The multiple associations that I belong to main focus are training. So I get out of if what I decide to put into it.

Peace