Have you ever seen the commercial
on television where an investment
firm’s client is advised to “Stay
on the green line”? Following the line
represents the client’s path to success.
Organizations such as AMA also need a
plan to ensure their success. In the business
and association world this is most often
referred to as a Strategic Long Range Plan
(SLRP). AMA completed its SLRP for the
period 2010 through 2015 earlier this year.
Included in an SLRP is a set of goals, or
areas of importance, on which the
organization will focus in setting its longrange
path. Also included are objectives for
each goal that are specific levels of
achievement.
AMA’s SLRP is a roadmap that will help
us determine where we are now, identify
where we want to go, and establish how
we’re going to get there. It is a combined
effort of the AMA staff and AMA Executive
Council. Working together and using input
from members of our various committees
and from the general membership, we built
our SLRP as a means to assist the
association in establishing priorities and
better serve our members’ needs.
AMA’s SLRP identifies five prioritized
areas of importance. In alphabetical order
they are education outreach, flying site
acquisition and retention, government
relations, marketing development, and
membership growth.
A strategic plan needs to be flexible and
practical, and yet serve as a guide to
implementing programs, evaluating how
these programs are doing, and making
adjustments when necessary. Knowing that
what may be a high priority today may not
President’s Perspective
AMA President Dave Mathewson
H
be in three or four years, we built our plan as
a “living document,” one that has the ability
to adjust when conditions call for change.
All strategic plans include a selfassessment
as an initial step. This selfassessment
is typically called a SWOT
Analysis and is conducted to help identify
the organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses,
Oppotunities, and Threats. Self-examination
can be difficult but it’s an important first
step that is necessary to ensure future
success.
AMA began its self-assessment by
asking five simple questions: What is our
mission? Who are our members? What do
our members value? What have been our
results? What will be our plan?
To successfully implement our SLRP,
AMA will need to focus on its mission. We
will need to show accountability and
ultimately positive results. Success comes
down to value proposition and whether or
not we are providing the level of benefits
and support that our members want and
need.
AMA’s SLRP addresses the primary
concerns of our members, works toward
maintaining our history of education
outreach, and looks to the future by creating
a strong marketing effort that will build the
credibility of what we do as model aviation
enthusiasts. This credibility can only help
improve the perception of model aviation in
the eyes of everyone from our friends and
neighbors in our local communities to
elected officials from the local to the federal
level.
The result will be a stronger
organization, enhancing our ability to
protect and preserve model aviation going
forward, and provide a greater value
proposition to our members, while securing
AMA’s future as the world’s leading model
aviation organization.
To read AMA’s SLRP, visit our Web site
at www.modelaircraft.org.
I want to welcome AMA’s new education
director, Bill Pritchett, to the team. After an
exhaustive search, Bill clearly rose to the
top as the person best suited for the position.
AMA has always placed a high emphasis
on education outreach. It’s one of the five
prioritized areas identified in our SLRP.
Working with our Education Outreach
Specialist, Dr. Gordon Schimmel, and the
Education Committee, Bill will be
responsible for furthering and strengthening
our current programs while creating new
programs intended for our clubs and
members who would like to become more
involved in education outreach in their
communities.
Model aviation is a stepping stone to
careers in the aviation and aerospace fields.
As part of Bill’s job responsibilities, he will
continue to maintain our current programs as
well as develop new ones using model
aviation to assist classroom teachers who
wish to integrate aerospace education
concepts into math, science, engineering,
and technology education programs to meet
goals and objectives of the national
education standards for these areas.
Bill started in his new position on June 1.
I know he’s looking forward to getting up to
speed as quickly as possible.
The outdoor flying season is here and
things are ramping up quickly at the
International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) in
Muncie, Indiana. AMA is hosting a number
of high-profile events this summer including
the F5 Electric World Championships.
There has been a number of changes made
and new exhibits added to the National
Model Aviation Museum. If you intend to
take part in any of the summer activities at
the IAC, swing by the administration building
and say hello to some of our staff members
who work so hard on our behalf. MA
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson
AMA president
[email protected]
Mission Statement
The Academy of Model Aeronautics is a world-class association of modelers organized for the purpose of
promotion, development, education, advancement, and safeguarding of modeling activities.
The Academy provides leadership, organization, competition, communication, protection, representation,
recognition, education and scientific/technical development to modelers.
Model aviation is a stepping stone to careers
in the aviation and aerospace fields.
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Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/07
Page Numbers: 5