In response to the “Call for 2021 Trustee Candidates” article published in the September/October 2020 issue of AHRMA MAG, I am submitting this letter of interest for a position on the AHRMA Board of Trustees. I have been an AHRMA member in good standing for 12 years and have participated in National and Southeast Regional events during that time.
Like many of us in AHRMA, I began racing motorcycles as a teenager; for me it was in high school in the early 70s. I was completely absorbed with the mechanical challenges of keeping my bike running in top form for three motocross heats, but more importantly in securing bragging rights over my fellow competitors and high school class mates in the upcoming week.
Also, like many of us, I moved on with life as I entered college, started a career and had a family. It wasn’t until 2006, while looking for a mechanical project for my teenage daughter that I came across the idea of “rescuing” a basket case Hodaka. Tearing that bike down to every nut and bolt and rebuilding it not only generated priceless memories with my daughter, it also rekindled my interest in working on and riding some of the best motorcycles ever built (I admit to a bias here!).
Over the past 12 years I have enjoyed being an AHRMA member and have been the recipient of efforts from countless AHRMA staff members and volunteers at racing events, and from well written website articles and publications. I would be honored to pay some of that effort back by serving as an AHRMA Trustee.
At the highest level, an AHRMA Trustee must perform three important duties; duty of care, duty of loyalty and fiduciary responsibility. I would like to present my experience and perspective in each of these areas:
Duty of Care: As a retired optometrist and medical device industry executive for over 30 years, I have had extensive experience in reviewing data, filtering that data when necessary and drawing meaningful conclusions when providing care for my patients or serving my company. It is critical to gather all relevant facts for a given decision while guarding against “paralysis of analysis”. My decades of experience as a clinician and research and development executive have prepared me for making those decisions in an efficient and effective way.
Duty of Loyalty: While in the corporate world, I also completed a career in the United States Air Force, retiring from the Reserves with the rank of Colonel in 2010 after 30 years of service. I have adopted as my own the Air Force Core Values of “Integrity first, Service before self and Excellence in all we do”. These values have served me well in all aspects of my life and will continue to be my foundation if elected as an AHRMA Trustee.
Fiduciary Duty: I had the pleasure of serving on the Senior Management Board of a medical device company during the last seven years of my career. The responsibility of the Board was to serve the interests of our shareholders including, among other things, managing the P&L of our $800M Division. Furthermore, within my own function I was responsible for managing a multimillion-dollar budget which included expenses for personnel, consultation contracts, required government payments, travel, etc. A fiduciary’s responsibility is to understand and represent the needs of the individuals being represented. I have accomplished this in life and in my career by open, honest and frequent communications. If elected as an AHRMA Trustee, I would make understanding members’ needs a priority by routine communication through discussions at events, or by being accessible by phone, text or email.
I am now retired from corporate life and I look forward to applying my energy towards something that over 3,000 of my AHRMA friends and I thoroughly enjoy. AHRMA serves an essential role in preserving the interest and history of motorcycles during a pivotal time in their development. I would be honored to serve AHRMA as a Trustee and to help maintain this important link to the past.
Respectfully,
Scott Robirds, O.D.
scott.robirds@gmail.com
770-377-7432
