Troubling...

I just received an email from a person I do not know, and she is not "of our hobby". And what she brought up is troubling, to say the least.

I am not going to mention any names, but the person(s) involved will know who they are, and I would implore them to rethink their priorities...

Here is a copy of her email to me, with names deleted:

-----Original Message-----From:
To: ptwoodycrew@aol.com
Sent: Sun, 24 May 2009 9:28 pm
Subject: politics
Hi,

I received this email from someone I do not even know! Perhaps my husband knows him. You can bet your bottom dollar I would NOT vote for this man if he was the ONLY person winning. I do not think politics belongs with car enthusiasts. I have no problem with you (HotKarz) being fair about the voting for "Best of the Fifties" (Editor's note - it's Best of the Best), but wanted to let you know how some people are trying to gather votes. Believe me, I have told all of our friends about the email I received! Can’t understand the nerve some people have!

Thanks for listening.

"Hi Folks, As some of you may already know, I was fortunate enough to take First Place at the Bonney Eagle Car Show. Becuase of this, I am eligible to win the "Best of the Fifties" title. All that I have to do is play a little politics. That's where you come in... If you could be so kind as to send an e-mail to ptwoodycrew@aol.com with "Best of the 50's" in the subject line and write my name (deleted) in the message, then your votes will help me win the title. Only one vote per e-mail address. I appreciate your support. Thank you, (name deleted) "

Let me be perfectly clear: while it does not violate any HotKarz rule to use such tactics, that does not make it right. Politics has NO place in something designed to be fun and exciting. If there is one thing I stand for, it is FAIR PLAY. All of you know this. In fact, it is the sense of fair play that often puts me at odds with some of you. But this sort of behavior is anything but fair.

That said, your tactics may get you the "title", and the trophy. But it will not make you a winner. A true winner wins by playing fair. Getting the trophy is relatively easy. EARNING and DESERVING it is quite another story.

Don't get me wrong - I still consider this person a friend. Albeit a bit wayward, and having strayed from the right path. I hope for his own sake that he finds his way back. We all make mistakes. We all succumb to temptation once in awhile.

The rules will change somewhat next year, to prevent this kind of abuse of trust and the honor system. That is unfortunate, because I would have liked to be able to rely on honor. Show me a person who values honor, and I will show you someone worthy of being a friend.

In fact, I would like to hear from the folks if they feel, in light of this, that the rules should change THIS year. Let me know if we should continue with voting (popularity contest), or moving to a simpler method that is more fair - every time a vehicle takes 1st place in the shows, that vehicle earns one point. The 3 vehicles that win MOST OFTEN would, of course, have the most points and would win Best of the Best. And anyone who wins a People's Choice or Best of Show would get an extra 2 points. In the event of a tie, you, the folks, would break the tie by casting tie-breaker votes at the show where the awards are presented.

Whaddaya think? Lemme know at ptwoodycrew@aol.com

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