Whenever an AMA officer becomes
incapacitated, it is necessary to fill his or
her position on the EC. Somehow, the
word “replace” seems inappropriate.
We turn to the AMA Bylaws for
guidance, but they are difficult to
interpret when it comes to a specific task.
In the case of filling a District VP
vacancy, the bylaws speak of a special
election, but the next line in the same
sentence refers to the EC appointing an
interim VP if an EC meeting is called or
scheduled within the nominating and
voting period. Looking closely at our
bylaws, conflicts such as this are
common and require some explanation.
AMA’s bylaws were originally written
in 1936 when AMA was founded, and
they have served us well. Sometimes they
seem to be confusing, but the meaning
usually becomes more obvious if you
look back into history and consider the
way AMA operated in its first few years.
In the early days, actual face-to-face
meetings of the EC were rare. I don’t
think the EC held regularly scheduled, inperson
meetings until approximately the
1960s. A meeting of the EC was an
important event, and the founders wanted
to ensure that each AMA district was
represented, resulting in the need for the
EC to appoint an interim VP. The system
is clumsy at best, and is made more
difficult when the timing is so close to
the normal election process.
IT IS DIFFICULT to write this column
because I have to tell you of the passing
of a legend of AMA’s leadership. On
May 21, 2004, District V Vice President
(VP) Jim McNeill passed away after
suffering a heart attack. It occurred while
he was preparing to visit an event
conducted by one of the clubs in his
district.
Jim served on the Executive Council
(EC) for 33 years, first as District V VP,
then Secretary/Treasurer (now called the
Executive Vice President), and again as
District V VP. Although Jim was
occasionally controversial, there was no
one with a greater love for AMA and
service on the EC.
I was asked to speak at his services,
where it was obvious just how dedicated
to AMA and aeromodeling Jim had been.
Pictures of Jim from his youth in the
early 1930s showed an ardent
aeromodeler.
AMA has lost a legend; Godspeed, my
friend.
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
September 2004 5
AMA has lost a legend;
Godspeed, my friend.
This is not the first time that this
procedure has been needed. The
“conflicting” statements in the bylaws
are difficult to interpret consistently. In
anticipation of this situation, during the
first EC meeting of the year, each VP is
asked to provide the EC with the names
of two people. These recommendations
will be the candidates whom the EC
nominates for a special election if that is
called for. It also serves to identify who
would be the VP’s choice if an
appointment became necessary.
Ironically, it is up to the remaining
EC members to come up with these
candidates, yet it often results in them
having no idea who to select. This
process at least gives some semblance of
reason to the appointments.
Obviously, our bylaws need to be
updated to manage the realities of our
times. There is a big difference between
the needs of an organization of AMA’s
size now compared to those of 1936.
The bylaws have been modified
throughout the years, but such
patchwork changes can only go so far.
The time has come for a complete
review and updating of the bylaws. The
EC has been working on this for the last
couple of years. The second day of our
EC meetings has often been dedicated to
this project, but we need to make this a
higher priority.
Why would it be so important to
appoint an interim VP to attend an EC
meeting, yet if a VP is unable to attend
an EC meeting, the person representing
that district in place of the absent VP is
not allowed to vote? How does that
make sense? It is important that all
AMA districts are represented at all
meetings, and the representative is
entitled to vote. This is one area we
need to fix. MA
SINCE 1936
Dave Brown
AMA president
[email protected]
09sig1.QXD 6/24/04 10:05 am Page 5
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/09
Page Numbers: 5