replacement at NAA, I did not want any
perception of conflict of interest.
Only after the position at NAA was
filled did I ask permission from retired
Admiral Wes McDonald, the NAA
chairman, to speak with Don about the
AMA possibilities. Adm. McDonald
encouraged me to do so, saying that he
thought Don would make a great addition
to the AMA staff. I probably did not need
to ask permission, but I felt that it was
wise to make sure that no one at NAA
felt that AMA had usurped its employee.
As I am writing this, I have returned
from NAA’s fall awards dinner where
Adm. McDonald was presented the
Henderson award in recognition of his
many years of service to aviation and his
11 years as the NAA chairman. Our
participation in FAI goes through NAA,
but the value of NAA to AMA has spread
well beyond the FAI involvement. Adm.
McDonald and Don Koranda have had
much to do with that importance.
Concerning FAI, a question has arisen
regarding participation of non-US
citizens on US World Championships
teams. It is a complex issue. FAI rules
state that people who represent a country
must be either citizens of that country or
residents of that country who have lived
there for at least 185 days per year for
the past three years. In addition, FAI
requires that at least three years must
have elapsed since a competitor has
represented another country.
AMA has used the FAI rule as its
requirement in the past, and people who
have inquired were told that this was the
I AM PLEASED to announce that at its
quarterly meeting on October 30, 2004,
the AMA Executive Council (EC) voted
unanimously to appoint Don Koranda as
AMA’s new Executive Director (ED).
Don brings to AMA nearly 30 years of
experience in membership-association
management and has been the president
of the National Aeronautic Association
(NAA) for the last six years.
Before serving as the president of
NAA, Don spent 21 years with the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
(AOPA) and was a vice president of that
organization. During his tenure as NAA
president, Don was designated NAA’s
representative to the AMA EC, so he is
not a complete outsider in terms of
knowledge of AMA and aeromodeling.
Don’s experience and visibility
within the aviation community will be
valuable to AMA. I have high respect
for Don and look forward to working
with him for the advancement of AMA
and aeromodeling.
Joyce Hager, who has done a terrific
job as AMA’s ED for nine years, will
remain an important part of the AMA
staff, and her experience will continue
to be valuable to AMA. Joyce has
spoken to me and others during the past
couple of years about her desire to be
placed in a less-stressful position, but
one where her experience and talent
would be used.
The timing was right for us to take
advantage of Don’s availability because
he had announced his resignation as
NAA’s president earlier in the year. Don
wished to pursue a new challenge and,
as it turns out, AMA will be that
challenge. I have little doubt that Don
will be up to anything that is presented
to him.
I cannot take credit for this move
since I remained in the background
while others on the EC did most of the
work, but I am thrilled that we were able
to hire Don Koranda. Because I was a
member of the NAA committee that
searched for and hired Don’s
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
January 2005 5
I have little doubt that
Don will be up to anything
that is presented to him.
requirement for US team participation.
A few people have been pushing for
a change in our FAI policy that would
require citizenship for all US team
programs. This will be a difficult subject
to resolve; I’m not even sure this is a
matter for AMA to decide. It could be
an issue for NAA to decide and apply to
all of the FAI teams going to World
Championships—full-scale teams as
well as aeromodeling teams.
Further complicating the decision is
the issuance of sporting licenses, record
attempts, etc. I don’t look for anything
to happen quickly on this complicated
issue. Much is at stake for those
affected. Stay tuned.
The FCC has passed the new rules
regarding Broadband over Power Lines
(BPL). Despite our efforts to defeat
them, they did, however, include most
of the limitations we wanted so the
effect on aeromodeling—while still
unknown—is likely to be little or none.
Assuming the BPL operators are
operating within the rules, there should
not be a big impact on aeromodeling.
Watch for future articles on this
subject. For now, you can be assured
that AMA and members of the
Frequency Committee are watching
closely.
This could be my last column as your
AMA president, depending upon the
outcome of the election—AMA’s, not
that one. Should it be my last column, I
ask that you support the new AMA
president in the same way you have
supported me.
I know the people who are running
against me well and I know that if elected
either of them will do a good job on your
behalf. It has been rewarding to have
served as your president, and I will surely
support the winner of the AMA election.
(Actually, I will support the winner of that
other election as well, but perhaps not
quite as enthusiastically.) MA
SINCE 1936
Dave Brown
AMA president
[email protected]
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Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/01
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