David,<div><br><div>As a paid member, you ARE able to sign up to be permitted access to PTG-L, which is precisely where this commentary belongs, assuming it needs to be aired anywhere at all. Please keep it OFF this non-political, technical list.
</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Paul Bruesch</div><div>Stillwater, MN<br><div><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 6/13/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">David Andersen</b> <<a href="mailto:david@davidandersenpianos.com">
david@davidandersenpianos.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0;margin-left:0.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><span class="q"><br><div>
<div>On Jun 13, 2007, at 7:53 AM, Ron Berry wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span style="border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0px 0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:auto;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px">
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I received an updated Bylaws report which I have posted on the web. There</span></span></font><span style="text-align:-khtml-left"></span></div><div align="left"><font face="MS Sans Serif" size="2"><span style="font-family:MS Sans Serif;font-size:13px;text-align:-khtml-left">
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http://www.ptg.org/members/docs/2007/Council/</a></span></u></span></font><span style="text-align:-khtml-left"></span></div><div align="left"><font face="MS Sans Serif" size="2"><span style="font-family:MS Sans Serif;font-size:13px;text-align:-khtml-left">
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</blockquote></div><br></span><div>As an apparently endangered and, in some quarters, reviled "associate," I'm not sure if I can post to, or go on, PTG-L.</div><div><br> </div><div><span>Let's see: 4,300 members of PTG; less than 400 at the National Convention; to me, if I was active and "owned-in" to an organization's well-being, those numbers
<b>suck. </b>And reveal some deep disconnect between leadership and membership.<b> </b>And now a portion of our membership is actively pursuing more judgement, more exclusion. </span></div><div><br> </div><div><span>Makes me feel respected and appreciated.
<span style="font-size:13px"> (Irony alert.)</span></span></div><div><br> </div><div>The RPT test standards, IMO, are ridiculously low. I have followed RPTs and their work for 25 years. The good ones are awesome, and deeply inspirational to me---but that's several. The others---the majority---are just tune & run guys, with no real interest in piano service.
</div><div><br> </div><div>Inspiration feels vastly different than exclusion and judgement.</div><div><br> </div><div><span>This is offered with humility; I am one of a big (relative to our discussion---in the hundreds) number of gifted and hard-working men and women who work on some of the greatest pianos in the world on a daily basis, for some of the greatest artists that ever lived---and have made a decision, for whatever considered and no doubt intentional reason, to either not use or not pursue the RPT designation. If I was leading a non-profit service organization based on a highly personalized, difficult, and prized skillset---maintaining great pianos at their highest level---I would literally fall over myself extending hands to those of our profession who have risen to the top of their game, whether members or not. I would welcome and treasure their real-world, hard-won input. I would ask them, in an atmosphere of collegiality, equality, and respect, why they have chosen not to support our fantastic PTG and its best-in-the-world continuing education programs. I would ask them what we can do as a Guild to
<b>feel like</b> and <b>be</b> an organization that attracts more than 6 or 7% of its total membership to its national conference.</span></div><div><br> </div><div>This is written and sent with respect and gratitude that PTG exists and that it provides me with an excellent teaching platform, among many other tangible and ethereal benefits; we have a sacred obligation to pass on our hard-won skills to the next generation. I write this because I love our work and our Guild, and as a positive force, willing to work towards understanding and unafraid of genuine, authentic, and respectful communication, confrontation, and resolution---another " highly personalized, difficult, and prized skillset...."
</div><div><br> </div><div>My best to you----and see some of you in Kansas City. Please feel free to buttonhole me about this subject.</div><span class="sg"><div><br> </div><div>David Andersen</div><div>Malibu, CA</div></span>
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