On Aug 26, 6:29*am, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.
wrote:
'GB[_5_ Wrote:









;781455']On Aug 25, 7:16*am, "

wrote:-
On Aug 24, 6:45*pm, Mitch Hudson wrote:
-
Rec.aviation.soaring favorite, Devin was kicked out of the Junior
Worlds for being up until 4:00 AM drinking on flying days, and
general
disrespect for the coaching staff. *It is unfortunate that such a
potentially talented young pilot was unable to meet his duties to the
U.S. team due to his drinking problem. *For those of you who wondered
why he got a "Zero" on the last day, this is why.-
-
Good on the U.S. team for making a tough decision to pull him from
the
contest before he became a safety factor for any of the other pilots
there.-
-
EX-

Good on the U.S. Team management.

GKemp-

Shame on you Mitch Hudson,

I was not aware that this discussion group could be used to embarrass,
slander, and humiliate another member. First of all Mitch you were not
there. I can only assume that you got your information from your
friend who had a major disagreement with Devin at the Junior Worlds.
The facts are unimportant for this discussion.
I am not one of Devin's drinking buddies, I am his 71 year old friend
and co-worker.
Mitch, the only thing you have accomplished with your post is hurting
Devin, his family and his friends.

Gabe Bourbeau
Minden NV

Gabe,

Respectfully, while this post may well embarrass and humiliate
Devin, it would only be slander if it was untrue. *We are all assuming a
lot, it would be good if there was some sort of official word from the
US team as to the reason for his dismissal. *If it is true, I would hope
that he would be embarrassed and humiliated, that might go a long way
towards improving his decision making abilities. *Drinking 'till 4 AM
the day of an event is not a smart thing to do.

As a 71 year old friend and co worker I hope you will try to give
him the benefit of your lifetime of experience. *Unfortunately it has
been my experience that youth fails to listen to the older, more
experienced crowd until it's too late. *We have had a number of
fatalities in the last few weeks in the soaring community from various
causes, most of which are to some degree associated with poor decision
making. *

What Mitch has done might be the best thing that could happen to
Devin. It appears to me that someone needs to get his attention. * Don't
be an enabler by dismissing his actions. An old Air Force Colonel gave
me a good kick in the ass once, I learned a lot from his guidance.

Walt

--
Walt Connelly

Walt,

There is a big difference between being an enabler and standing by
your friends.
The purpose of Mictch's post was not to help Devin.
This is not the proper venue to deal with this.
Gabe