This will be my last column as
acting executive director. It has
been a pleasure and a challenge
working in this capacity one more time.
It never ceases to amaze me that after
36 years of service to the Academy, each
year brings something new to the table.
The sport/hobby is changing so rapidly
that it is sometimes difficult to keep up
with the new technology, much less stay
one step ahead.
By now most members know that a new
Executive Director has been selected. If
you haven’t read about him elsewhere, I
will let you know a little about him.
Jim Cherry comes to AMA from
Pensacola, Florida. He brings a wealth of
knowledge and expertise to the position,
with 27 years of association experience
serving as the head of various chambers
of commerce throughout the south. He
served as president of the Florida
Association of Chamber Professionals
(FACP) and the Arkansas Chamber of
Commerce Executives (ACCE).
He is a past board member of the
National Association of Membership
Directors and the Southern Association
of Chamber Executives and a former
member of the North and South Carolina
Association of Chamber Executives.
Jim is also a current member of the
AMA, and I am looking forward to
working with him. Let’s all give Jim a
warm welcome.
I want to thank the clubs that responded
to my October 2006 column concerning
how new people were treated at a club
field. It is good to see that this is not the
normal procedure. Clubs are AMA
ambassadors to the new people.
We are developing some programs
for clubs to use to introduce new
members to the hobby. One program that
is out there already is the Buddy-Box
Program for new members. In 2006 we
introduced the updated version of the
Introductory Pilot Program, which
allows new members to fly with an
instructor for 60 days without joining
AMA.
We still have the 90-day trial
membership that has done well in the
last several years. Approximately 60%
of those trial members have become full
AMA members. There are a few more
programs in the works for 2007 that we
will announce later. I hope your club
will take advantage of these and help the
membership grow.
Because of a recent column, I received a
letter from an individual about how
his club has tried to increase its
membership. I will not mention names,
but I’ll relay what type of program they
tried.
“Like many clubs, we are constantly
trying to expand our membership and
promote our great hobby/sport. We have
been trying many different things to
increase participation of our members in
meetings and overall involvement. One
idea we have started this year is a yearend
‘attendance raffle.’
“Entries for the raffle are only taken
from sign-in sheets from that year’s
meetings, so the more meetings you
attend, the greater the chance of winning.
This appears to be a good incentive for
members to attend meetings on a regular
basis.
“The problem is where to get the
raffle prizes. It may be that you go to
your local hobby shop(s) because new
members benefit the hobby shop along
with the club. It may be that you hold a
cookout and use the proceeds for
purchasing raffle prizes.
“I am sure some of the club members
may have merchandise that they are not
planning to use. Go to swap meets where
you can pick up some good deals.
Another idea would be to purchase a
person’s AMA membership for the
following year or give him or her one
year club dues at no charge.”
It sounds as though this is a great
incentive to encourage members to attend
club meetings or work parties! MA
Safe flying.
Joyce Hager
Acting Executive Director
[email protected]
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/01
Page Numbers: 208