Silver State News: Today’s August 29^th, 2003, this is an interview with Mike Houghton, President and CEO of the Reno Air Racing Association, and we’ll just go ahead and jump into the fray here, because there’s a controversy going on between one of the airport tenants, who’s also a racer – John Parker – and the Reno Air Racing association (RARA), in regards to a dispute over Airport Closure is my understanding…is that correct?

Mike Houghton: "That’s Mr. Parker’s challenge, apparently. We don’t close the airport."

Silver State News: The Airport Manger has confirmed that. What is your position that your banning John Parker…as a matter of fact, what is RARA’s position?

Mike Houghton: "We haven’t banned John Parker. We have not invited John Parker to participate in the races this year and we feel that, as an organization, we have a right and an obligation to protect the organization where we feel the organization and the function of running the Air Races is at risk. And we feel that Mr. Parker has taken some activities that do place us in a position of risk in the short and the longer term, and we therefore decided we don’t want to invite him to race."

Silver State News: What are the activities that he’s involved in that are putting you at risk?

Mike Houghton: "That’s an issue between Mr. Parker and the Air Races and that’s been stated in a letter to him and it’s also been discussed in a meeting with him."

Silver State News: Well, I have a copy of the letter here, indicating that "The decision is non-negotiable as the Executive Committee had recently heard that you have personally made attempts to interfere with the relationship between the Reno Air Races and the Airport Authority of Washoe County (AAWC), as well as tenants at Stead Airport." And John is mystified….he does not know what is going on.

Mike Houghton: "John Parker has had a meeting with me and several discussions and we’ve discussed a lot of the issues. And John may not be willing to admit that he knows what they are, that’s John’s challenge. But our issue is with John."

Silver State News: Now, Lee Dodd – was he "un-invited" – what was the case with him? He was trying to lease an airplane from John Parker at cost…

Mike Houghton: "I have had conversations with Mr. Dodd and I have told him he is invited, he is more than welcome to participate at the Reno Air Races."

Silver State News: And what about the Glasair, Race 300, that he wanted to race?

Mike Houghton: "Who’s airplane is that?"

Silver State News: That’s John Parker’s.

Mike Houghton: "Mr. Parker as an owner is not invited to participate?"

Silver State News: Okay, what about (Dodd) as a "lessor?" I mean, he would not be…I mean, he’s just leasing the airplane to another team."

Mike Houghton: "No. The documents as they were submitted to the Reno Air Racing Association were from Mr. Parker. It wasn’t from Mr. Dodd."

Silver State News: You indicate, apparently, that you cannot go into the specific reasons as to…beyond this as to why…

Mike Houghton: "It’s not a public issue. We’re not going to do that."

Silver State News: According to the Airport Manager, a tenant had asked for a review of the safety issue involving leaving the Airport open during race week. He indicated that RARA was not that tenant. Is RARA involved in providing information as far as the decision goes?

Mike Houghton: "Which decision?"

Silver State News: As far as closing the airport.

Mike Houghton: "That’s the Airport Manager’s decision."

Silver State News: We understand that.

Mike Houghton: "And the FAA."

Silver State News: We understand that and we understand that the FAA (was involved).

Mike Houghton: "We don’t disagree with that and we think it is a hazard – it’s a hazard to Aviation. Anyone in their right mind who is not familiar with this particular airport, or who even is, is going to look out there on the ramp at night, and understand that there are certain hazards that I don’t think a responsible individual – such as the Airport Manager – should subject people to. So he’s made the decision to close the Airport and we don’t disagree with that."

Silver State News: And I can understand…

Mike Houghton: "…but it’s his decision, Mark."

Silver State News: …yeah, I understand that too, because he’s made that clear. It’s the "Airport Manager’s decision; the Airport’s decision;" and he says that you guys are not responsible for the decision, and he said that you guys "were not the tenant asking for the review of the safety decision."

Mike Houghton: "No, we weren’t."

Silver State News: Okay – so why is there a beef between yourself and Parker over Tenant Right’s issues?

Mike Houghton: "We’ve never said that there were Tenant Rights issues. We said that there were issues with Mr. Parker, and we’ve discussed some of those issues with Mr. Parker."

Silver State News: How many times have you had discussions with Mr. Parker over the years or over this year?

Mike Houghton: "There have been a number of discussions with Mr. Parker over the years with various officials from the Air Races."

Silver State News: Right…which led to?

Mike Houghton: "Which led to what?"

Silver State News: Agreements, disagreements, disputes?

Mike Houghton: "I don’t know…I wasn’t involved in all of those."

Silver State News: Which ones have you been involved in as far as Mr. Parker is concerned?

Mike Houghton: "As I told you, I communicated to Mr. Parker the decision of the Executive Committee."

Silver State News: And this was the decision of the Executive Committee – you did not have a hand in this decision?

Mike Houghton: "I don’t disagree with the decision they made."

Silver State News: "Did you have a hand in the decision though?

Mike Houghton: "What do you mean ‘a hand’? What does that mean?"

Silver State News: Were you one of the members of the Executive Committee making the decision together?"

Mike Houghton: "I don’t vote."

Silver State News: Okay, so you don’t vote.

Mike Houghton: "I provide perspectives."

Silver State News: You’re just doing what they…

Mike Houghton: "I provide perspectives. I don’t disagree with where they’ve gone. They’ve made a decision that they feel, and I feel, is in the best interests of the Air Races. And it’s not a public issue."

Silver State News: Going back to Lou (sic: Lee) Dodd, it was felt that he was banned or disinvited or whatever you want to call it.

Mike Houghton: "By whom?"

Silver State News: That’s my question…was Lee Dodd…

Mike Houghton: "By whom? I’ve already answered that question, Mark, haven’t I?"

Silver State News: I don’t recall. Did Lou (sic: Lee) Dodd…

Mike Houghton: "I answered the question. Lou (sic: Lee) Dodd…does Lou Dodd have a letter from the Air Race Association?"

Silver State News: As far as I know, he’s been…he’s back in the race.

Mike Houghton: "Then, there isn’t an issue. He’s not been disinvited or uninvited. He received an invitation to participate."

Silver State News: On the issue of the operation of the two aircraft, what is it about the operation of the two aircraft that John Parker as owner – prevents you from allowing the aircraft to be entered by another pilot?

Mike Houghton: "John Parker ‘the owner; has not been invited to enter any aircraft in this event."

Silver State News: Is there any other way this matter could be resolved?

Mike Houghton: "That’s between Mr. Parker and the Air Race Association."

Silver State News: What statement would the Reno Air Racing Association like to hear from Mr. Parker that would allow him to compete?

Mike Houghton: "Mr. Parker has been told that he needs to communicate with the Air Race Association problems that he may or may not have. As the letter indicated, this particular issue for this year is non-negotiable."

Silver State News: As far as the issue this year being non-negotiable, is that in line with the Rules?

Mike Houghton: "Yes."

Silver State News: Okay – which Rule?

Mike Houghton: "The Rules that permit the Air Race Association to invite or not invite any owner, pilot or alternate pilot, to participate in the event."

Silver State News: How’s the reaction been so far to Parker’s being uninvited from the event? The pilots, the fans?

Mike Houghton: "We’ve received no comments from any pilot. We’ve received no comment from the Class. We’ve received some e-mail as the websites have requested be sent to us…but not much."

Silver State News: Are you trying to send any message to other competitors or airport tenants with this actions?

Mike Houghton: "I don’t believe that there are any messages to be sent to anyone. We’re communicating directly with Mr. Parker."

Silver State News: It’s been stated that RARA is nothing more than a "Good Ol’ Boys clique" or a group of "Air Race Nazis," arbitrarily imposing their whims on fans, racers, whomever – tenants. What is your response to that? How do you feel…

Mike Houghton: "I have no response that that. I think it’s a whimsical statement -- emotional -- that really has no foundation."

Silver State News: If it has no foundation, why are so many people afraid of RARA? Why do they feel so much fear and intimidation?

Mike Houghton: "I didn’t know anyone was afraid of RARA."

Silver State News: Quite a few.

Mike Houghton: "Hmm? Those individuals then need to address the issue, ‘Have they talked to anyone at RARA about what their individual fears are?’ I think Mark, that you can say that I’ve always talked to anyone who’s ever asked me a question."

Silver State News: What is the status of RARA’s relationship with the tenants, pilots, community and the airport?

Mike Houghton: "Well, number one, I think the community…its an extremely positive relationship with the community. And the Air Race Association, I also feel, has got a very positive relationship with most of the tenants. I publicly recognize and admit that we’re a pain in the butt for two weeks; we are an inconvenience. And in that regard, we have done what I think we can do in providing the tenants with an opportunity to use the Air Races as an opportunity to entertain some of their friends. They get more than one pass to get to their hangar and their airplane. What do you think?"

Silver State News: My thinking is that you’ve got strained relations with quite a few people…

Mike Houghton: "How many?

Silver State News: and then the fear and the intimidation.

Mike Houghton: "How many? How big is it?"

Silver State News: Hundreds.

Mike Houghton: "What fear and intimidation? We don’t have contact with hundreds of people. You guys do in the Press."

Silver State News: Right…

Mike Houghton: "It’s up to you to try and present some of the things as they either may or may not be. Not to try and make things up or make them bigger than they are."

Silver State News: "Well, the Press has the Message Boards up as far as AAFO.COM or Warbird Aero Press.

Mike Houghton: "Yes they do."

Silver State News: People are posting there – are you reading the messages?

Mike Houghton: "Not really."

Silver State News: Not Really?

Mike Houghton: "No. I’ve read a couple of them. Most of them are personal attacks against me."

Silver State News: Yeah, I’ve seen a few. Yeah.

Mike Houghton: "And you know what…I’ve never met any of those people."

Silver State News: Interesting. Not a one, huh!?

Mike Houghton: "I’ve just met Mr. Pearce for the first time today. And he didn’t have anything to say about Mr. Parker."

Silver State News: All right, now you’re indicating that the Reno Air Races is (sic "are") an invitational now…or…

Mike Houghton: "No, it’s always been…"

Silver State News: Always been an invitational?

Mike Houghton: "…based on the Air Race Association. The Air Race Association has not invited other racers to participate in the past. It’s nothing new. As the promoter and producer, owner and operator of the Association, the Board of Directors has the right to invite or not invite anyone to participate."

Silver State News: But according to the Rules, the Racing organization – the event – invites the Classes, and the protocol is that the Classes are supposed to invite all qualified pilots – the competition is supposed to be open to "all qualified pilots."

Mike Houghton: "Except RARA reserves the right to invite or not invite anyone they choose. And that’s in the Rules of Competition."

Silver State News: Again, could you cite the exact Rule? (We look through the documents on the table. Silver State News came equipped with a May 13, 2004, revision. Prior to the meeting, Mr. Houghton informed Editor Mark S. Daniels that he had the wrong set of Rules…that a new revision existed. Mr. Houghton produced a new set of the 2003 Official Rules of Competition with a revision date of July 11, 2003, an edition change occurring two months after the May 13^th revision, and twelve days before RARA sent Parker his letter of July 23, 2003, in which he was "uninvited" due to a tenant dispute that RARA had with him over the exercise of his Tenant Rights.)

Silver State News: That’s the old one; here’s the new one…

Mike Houghton: (Reads from the July 11, 2003, revision:) "RARA reserves the right to invite or exclude any aircraft, pilot or owner."

Silver State News: Which one?

Mike Houghton: "(Item) F. It was formalized this year. However, even though it wasn’t written…it has been enforced or invoked before by RARA, so it’s the Rules of Competition as written by the organization, and the organization can apply, interpret or do what they feel is in the best interest of the event and the organization, and that’s what they’ve done in the past."

Silver State News: And what about the Racing Classes’ position – they believe they’re the ones that establish who races, who gets excluded, who gets disqualified…"

Mike Houghton: "As far as it relates to the qualification of someone to participate, and that’s the pilot qualification…the Classes determine the qualifications of a pilot. We determine, as an organization, who we want to participate. If we don’t want someone to participate, we don’t need to invite them to the event."

Silver State News: Okay, then how is it a National – a true National Championship or "real Air Racing" – when a Sport Class competitor, who is qualified with the Sport Class according to the Rules; his airplane, race ready, will pass inspection…

Mike Houghton: "We don’t know that."

Silver State News: "…or has passed inspection…"

Mike Houghton: "We don’tknow that. The Tech Committee hasn’t approved it yet, but that’s okay…"

Silver State News: That’s true, but going on the assumption that it passed last year and that it finished second place in the National Championship; and now he’s sitting on the sidelines because of some dispute with the Reno Air Racing Association, the fans are not seeing a true National Championship, as the second fastest competitor in the Class last year, is now being omitted over a non-racing issue.

Mike Houghton: "Well, you don’t know that. And it’san issue that’s between the Reno Air Races and John Parker. And that is that the organization feels that Mr. Parker’s activities are having an adverse affect on the event and therefore, he’s not being invited to participate."

Silver State News: What is the adverse affect that he is having on the…

Mike Houghton: "That is between Mr. Parker and the Association. It’s not a public issue."

Silver State News: Are you planning to advertise the National Championship Air Races as a an "Invitational" from here on out, because it’s not presently advertised…

Mike Houghton: "We function, we operate as an ‘Invitational,’ we send out the invitations."

Silver State News: I understand that to the pilots, but to the fans, they’re coming in, they’re thinking it’s wide-open Air Racing…

Mike Houghton: "We have no plans to change anything."

Silver State News: If you had this action to do over again, would you do it differently?

Mike Houghton: "Probably not. The Executive Committee discusses many issues throughout the year that affect the organization and they make decisions, and this is one of those that they do."

Silver State News: And, I’m going back – I think we covered this before, but I want to reclarify it again just so I make sure I have it on the interview – you have no problems with any other tenants beyond John Parker?

Mike Houghton: "We don’t have problems with John Parker as a tenant. We don’t feel that we have problems with the tenants. We recognize that there are some tenants who are not happy that the Air Races are here, or that they exist, and there are some tenants who would be delighted if the Air Races went away. That’s just a statement of ‘Fact O’ Life."

Silver State News: That’s fine, an if you had this action to do over again, would you do it differently?

Mike Houghton: "No. We hear it the way we heard it and we would pass along the information the way we did to John."

Silver State News: Is there anything you’d like to say that was not covered here in regards to this matter?

Mike Houghton: "Well, I think the Air Races this year has got a great event. We’ve got a good show; we’ve got (a) full race Class in the Sport Class. We think we’ve got a highly competitive event."

Silver State News: Okay, thank you very much. (I shut off the recorder, but Mike had more to say so I turned it back on again and he turned the recorder on me as his interview subject:)

Mike Houghton: "Mark Daniels…I’m interviewing Mark Daniels here…" (Laughing)

Silver State News: (Laughing) Mike’s turning the recorder around on me…(laughter), but my personal opinion? My opinion as an Editor? Probably not. It’s not a true Air Race in that it’s not all out, open competition. Every qualified pilot, every qualified airplane involved. I believe that the fact that that it’s an "invitational," as established now, though you may have operated that way, is established in print now, needs to be advertised to the fans so that they know what they’re coming to see. That you pick and choose the pilots and planes that will be or participate…

Mike Houghton: "We always have. The organization always has. That hasn’t changed."

Silver State News: Where you pick and choose the pilots, but I’m talking about advertising. Advertising to the fans…

Mike Houghton: "It won’t change."

Silver State News: It won’t change?

Mike Houghton: "No."

Silver State News: Okay. And God, what was the last thing? I just don’t think this is an issue with an Air Racer, and I don’t think that the Air Racer has done anything wrong in regards to violating any Rules or making the Sport or this Association look bad.

Mike Houghton: "And we disagree with you…"

Silver State News: That’s fine. We all "agree to disagree…"

Mike Houghton: "That’s always our right to disagree, isn’t it? You and I have not always agreed on everything…"

Silver State News: That’s true.

Mike Houghton: "We’ve agreed on some things…."

Silver State News: That’s true.

Mike Hoguhton: "We’ve gotten along generally."

Silver State News: Uh-huh, as much as we possibly can, but…

Mike Houghton: "I think so…I think we’ve gotten along."

Silver State News: …this also comes down to another issue…oh, I’m sorry…do you want this off?"

The Recording was terminated at this point – End of Interview.