Nashmd11 and Avg Joe,

I asked Steve about his decision to leave the negotiating committee after the last IPA presidential election.

Steve was never sent to Harvard for a course. No $ was ever spent training him for negotiations. Someone else, J. L., resigned for personal reasons that April, about five months before Steve was asked to serve. Perhaps you are confusing the two?

Steve was asked to join the committee in September of that year, only one month before negotiations were suspended in October.

The new IPA president, Tom Nicholson, advised Steve that he should NOT expect to be part of the new negotiating team, although he could expect to continue to serve IPA as he had faithfully for ten years or more.

Based on that input from the new leadership, Steve decided to leave the negotiating committee with no IPA resources invested in his having been there for only one month of active negotiations. He did continue to serve his IPA brothers and sisters and continues today to serve as the Accident Investigation Committee Chairman.

I hope this helps everyone become more informed for this important vote!