This conflict of interest has been around since before we even started running HPT. I think you could end the argument quickly with looking at some simple basic stuff.
First is, why we have a guy, who until his wife was hired, was running "Big Ed's Handymand Service", in charge or at leasst a significant player in track safety. Fix my broken gutter or or fix my vacuum cleaner, but lay out my race track or make decisions involving my safety on same?... I don't think so.
That's simply forgetting the possible conflict of interest and common sense to me. But then there's that...
There were always signs of trouble in this hiring in both questionable events before and after Terry's hiring. The first sign of the problem was almost day one of Ms. Ozments tenure. IIRC, one of the RMDIV tracks got shut down for safety reasons by the SCCA safety staff and as i remember it... an inspection by... yes, Ed Ozment. Well it turns out this wasn't the first time such had happened and and in another previous instance much like it, the resulting actions were a BIG problem. It turns out that the track in this case and at least reported in one other case was offered an exclusive solution to fix the problems to be implemented by... uh... Ed Ozment, who was all of the sudden in the track construction and safety business as an independent contractor.
Forget about the award of the Runoffs to HPT. I doubt Terry had anything to do with it and she lacks the intellectual agility or business acumen to do "deals" anyway. That deal was one stumbled through by an almost as inept group of folks we refer to as the BoD. She's only a paper pusher with a big title who really doesn't do much of anything other than administration much like her previous job, which IIRC, was a low end supervisor at the phone company.
The bottom line is that there really is too much tied together here anyway you look at it and hashing out issues over what's already been done will be fruitless. Looking ahead and to avoid even the perception of conflict, Mr. Ozment really should not be involved in working, bidding, planning or being involved in any other way with SCCA business operation as long as Terry is in her position. The relationship is too slippery a slope to walk. Why do it? Hate to break up the SCCA family tradition but Ed needs to find work outside of projects involving the SCCA and/or Terry needs to remove herself as a decision maker in situations where Ed has anything to do with it. The latter I feel is impossible so Ed, go back to fixing pool filters, broken sinks and patio furniture and leave race track design to a professional who is not married to the VP of Club Racing.
Now we're back to non-free temp memberships.
