November 2006 159
A SEASONED gandy dancer with three young children and a lovely
wife was laying a section of track on a trestle high above a rocky
gorge in Colorado when to his exquisite horror and dismay he tripped
on a loose spike and took a header over the side.
The 800-foot fall would have really hurt this fellow, but there was
a safety net and the net worked, so I thought we’d talk about
networking.
I wrote some columns approximately three years ago about
networking and its value to a club. This month I want to review and
synthesize those columns.
I am told stories almost every month about how a network contact
proved to be the icebreaker in what were otherwise fruitless field
negotiations. “You know Wes, we were at a stalemate until one day
when Nate’s wife was talking to the mayor’s sister at lunch …” is the
kind of thing I hear.
Whether you are a club officer or merely a member who wants to
ensure your flying opportunities far into the future, insist on getting a
network list started in your club. How do you start?
How about establishing a network of key contacts throughout your
community? These would be people who might be able to provide
support for our sport, although they aren’t directly involved in it. If
you try a few of the following ideas, you’ll be surprised at the
influence you can bring to your side of the negotiating table.
Establish a communications chairperson/secretary/honcho—
whatever you want to call the position—in your club, or decide to
take up the challenge yourself! Using the club roster, send a regular
mail or E-mail survey to every member in the club. On the survey ask
each member to identify influential people in the community with
whom he or she has at least a casual relationship. List the types of
contacts you are trying to develop and ask for suggestions.
Does anyone in the club know the mayor, a city council member, a
freeholder, a parish official, or a chamber of commerce official? What
about a member of the board of education or a science, math, history,
or physics teacher? In a recent article, I wrote about the wife of a club
member who went right to the mayor’s office to promote a point. That
meeting was instrumental in the club successfully getting a new flying
site. The wife didn’t necessarily know the mayor personally, but
voting for her made them vicarious friends. The point is that even if
you don’t know someone, knocking on the door can help.
How about county, state, or federal governmental officials? We’ve
had more than a few meetings with federal legislators in Washington
DC just because a member was friends with an elected official.
Does your spouse have any such contacts? How about the kids?
Do they go to school with or socialize with the kids of any influential
people?
Find out who knows someone in the news media, whether it is the
newspaper, local radio, or television. It doesn’t have to be the editor or
the news anchor. Media people at any level can represent a foot in the
door.
For some of your more outgoing club members, the development
of affinity contacts is a real possibility. These are not necessarily
personal contacts at the moment, but because you have a common
bond through a high-school or college class, a church affiliation, or
something similar, you can develop a relationship for the future.
You can develop an exhaustive list and you will develop some key
contacts.
How about this? If you or someone in your club develops a “key
contact” survey, send me a copy. If you have ideas but don’t want to
develop a full survey, call or E-mail me with the ideas. I’ll be
developing a survey as well. I’ll take all of the ideas submitted and
come up with a usable document we can have available on the Web
site.
After you have mined all of the contacts you can from your current
membership, you’ll have a tool to use whenever you accept a new
member. The new member fills out the survey as part of the
application process, and your club’s key-contact list stays current.
Now that we have the list, what do we do with it? Once you have
completed your initial list—remember, the list has the potential to
grow with each new member who joins your club—you will want to
divide it into major key-contact categories. You might want to
establish the categories of public-relations contacts, political contacts,
charitable-organization contacts, educational contacts, plant-andequipment
contacts, and chamber of commerce contacts. This isn’t an
all-inclusive list, but it might give you some ideas.
Here are a few ideas about how you might use your contacts
category by category. Again, these are only a few suggestions. Your
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
AMA News
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
Does Your Network Work?
“You know Wes, we were at a
stalemate until one day when Nate’s
wife was talking to the mayor’s sister at
lunch …”
Flying Site Assistance continued on page 160
Wes De Cou,
Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VIII - XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar,
Coordinator
Eastern Region
Districts I - VII
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Need help getting or keeping a flying site? We’d be happy to help.
Contact AMA’s Flying Site Coordinators at the following
addresses.
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining160 MODEL AVIATION
unique situation and the degree to which your contacts are personal or
professional friends of your members will determine your next moves.
Public Relations Contacts
This list of contacts would include people in radio, television, the
local PBS station, the local newspapers, friends who are publicrelations
professionals, etc.
Have the club secretary or another willing club member assume the
responsibility of appraising these key contacts whenever your club is
going to sponsor or participate in an event involving the public. If you
hold an event to benefit a local charity, let all of the key contacts know
about it in advance and try to have them in attendance when you
present the check.
Events such as groundbreaking ceremonies for a new field, the
dedication of a new field, your club’s participation in active flying
demonstrations or static displays, involvement in local public
events—all of these are examples of opportunities for positive
exposure for your club. Let your local public relations contacts know
what’s happening!
Political Contacts
This category includes anyone in a visible elected or appointed
position at any level from federal to state, county, or local.
Make sure these key contacts know who you are and what you
do. Other than the plain fun of building and flying with your friends,
there is an educational and recreational story to tell.
When you’re talking to political figures, be sure they are aware
of any give-back activities in which the club participates. These are
activities such as working with local Scout troops or school groups.
Whenever your club conducts a charitable event or works with
local citizens during a learn-to-fly-model-airplanes event or a similar
program, be sure to invite local political figures. They will see the
value you add to the community. The perception that you are indeed
a value-added organization is helpful when residential encroachment
says it’s time to think about relocating the flying field.
Charitable Organization Contacts
People who are heavily involved with organizations or events
such as Toys for Tots, the Special Olympics, or the Ronald
McDonald House are included on this long list.
See what your club can do to support one of your local charities
and make sure the public relations key contacts and the political key
contacts know about it.
I’m familiar with some instances where admission to flying
events consisted of an unwrapped toy, no value specified, to be
donated to the Toys for Tots program. Large models, small models,
and helicopters flew great demonstrations all day long. Moms, dads,
and kids got buddy-box time, and Toys for Tots received a welcome
contribution.
In another case, a local club collaborated with the Special
Olympics people to provide entertainment for the athletes during the
time between their events. Flight simulators and static displays,
including engine runs, were a great hit with the participants.
We give to the charitable organizations because we recognize
their needs. If local key contacts know we’re good citizens in that
regard, then we benefit as well.
Educational Contacts
School personnel and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders are
among contacts in this category.
Find out if there is a model aviation club, or interest in one, in
your local schools. Volunteer to help with such a club.
Volunteer to put on a model-aviation demonstration as part of a
sixth- or seventh-grade science program. I did this in some schools
in New Jersey and had a ball. A description of the forces acting on
an airplane, a demonstration of the action of the flight surfaces, and
a flight demonstration on the soccer field—don’t forget the buddy
box—added up to many invitations for the same session in other
schools.
The Boy Scouts have a merit badge for aviation. This is an
excellent opportunity to offer instructional help for a youngster
while garnering another public-relations point for the club’s résumé.
Chamber of Commerce Contacts
This category means anyone in the chamber of commerce office.
Even if you don’t have a member who knows someone in the local
chamber of commerce, go to your local office and discover what
events are happening in the near future in the community. Find out
who’s in charge and see if a model-aviation demonstration would be
a welcomed addition.
Many clubs around the country participate in fairs or other large
public gatherings and are able to display all aspects of our hobby.
Plant and Equipment Contacts
This one’s nifty. Who in your club knows someone in the
landscaping business? The paving business? The lumber business?
Someone in heavy equipment?
I’ve been invited to many fields around the country where
improvements to the site were virtually free of cost to the club. At
the least improvements were done at cost. Someone knew someone,
made a case for the recreational and educational value of the sport,
and asked for help. That last part—the asking—that’s the tough part.
But it’s also the surprising part because often you’ll find a
benefactor.
The key contact list is only one of myriad strategies available for
clubs to adopt in an attempt to solidify their positions in the future.
The real necessity is that you do something.
If we hide our heads (and our clubs) in the sand and remain inert,
then when residential encroachment jeopardizes our fields, it will be
easy for the powers that be to give us the boot. No one will know who
we were or what we did.
But we’ll know what we did—nothing!
Avoid that 800-foot fall. Get a net … network … working!
Flying Site Assistance continued from page 159
Register as an FSA Volunteer!
The Flying Site Assistance Program consists of a network of
volunteers who serve as the AMA’s eyes and ears.
These volunteers read newspapers and listen to and watch
news programs to be aware of any activities that could impact
an existing or potential flying site.
It is just a matter of collecting information regarding flying
sites, advising local modelers and AMA clubs in the area, and
passing it on to one of the AMA Flying Site Assistance
Coordinators.
Join this ambitious program as a service to your fellow
modelers. Anyone interested, contact me at the address on the
previous page.
EC Meeting Minutes Available
A complete copy of the approved minutes of any quarterly
Executive Council meeting is available to any AMA member
upon request.
A copy of the most recently approved minutes will be
provided at no charge. Council meets quarterly, and minutes
from a given meeting are approved at the following meeting.
Additional copies, or minutes from other meetings, are $5 each
(shipping and handling charge).
Requests may be submitted to AMA administration by
telephone, via fax, in writing, or via E-mail at mvojslav@
modelaircraft.org.
For telephone requests, dial (765) 287-1256, extension 201;
fax requests use (765) 741-0057. There is a $10 minimum for
credit card orders.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/11
Page Numbers: 159,160
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/11
Page Numbers: 159,160
November 2006 159
A SEASONED gandy dancer with three young children and a lovely
wife was laying a section of track on a trestle high above a rocky
gorge in Colorado when to his exquisite horror and dismay he tripped
on a loose spike and took a header over the side.
The 800-foot fall would have really hurt this fellow, but there was
a safety net and the net worked, so I thought we’d talk about
networking.
I wrote some columns approximately three years ago about
networking and its value to a club. This month I want to review and
synthesize those columns.
I am told stories almost every month about how a network contact
proved to be the icebreaker in what were otherwise fruitless field
negotiations. “You know Wes, we were at a stalemate until one day
when Nate’s wife was talking to the mayor’s sister at lunch …” is the
kind of thing I hear.
Whether you are a club officer or merely a member who wants to
ensure your flying opportunities far into the future, insist on getting a
network list started in your club. How do you start?
How about establishing a network of key contacts throughout your
community? These would be people who might be able to provide
support for our sport, although they aren’t directly involved in it. If
you try a few of the following ideas, you’ll be surprised at the
influence you can bring to your side of the negotiating table.
Establish a communications chairperson/secretary/honcho—
whatever you want to call the position—in your club, or decide to
take up the challenge yourself! Using the club roster, send a regular
mail or E-mail survey to every member in the club. On the survey ask
each member to identify influential people in the community with
whom he or she has at least a casual relationship. List the types of
contacts you are trying to develop and ask for suggestions.
Does anyone in the club know the mayor, a city council member, a
freeholder, a parish official, or a chamber of commerce official? What
about a member of the board of education or a science, math, history,
or physics teacher? In a recent article, I wrote about the wife of a club
member who went right to the mayor’s office to promote a point. That
meeting was instrumental in the club successfully getting a new flying
site. The wife didn’t necessarily know the mayor personally, but
voting for her made them vicarious friends. The point is that even if
you don’t know someone, knocking on the door can help.
How about county, state, or federal governmental officials? We’ve
had more than a few meetings with federal legislators in Washington
DC just because a member was friends with an elected official.
Does your spouse have any such contacts? How about the kids?
Do they go to school with or socialize with the kids of any influential
people?
Find out who knows someone in the news media, whether it is the
newspaper, local radio, or television. It doesn’t have to be the editor or
the news anchor. Media people at any level can represent a foot in the
door.
For some of your more outgoing club members, the development
of affinity contacts is a real possibility. These are not necessarily
personal contacts at the moment, but because you have a common
bond through a high-school or college class, a church affiliation, or
something similar, you can develop a relationship for the future.
You can develop an exhaustive list and you will develop some key
contacts.
How about this? If you or someone in your club develops a “key
contact” survey, send me a copy. If you have ideas but don’t want to
develop a full survey, call or E-mail me with the ideas. I’ll be
developing a survey as well. I’ll take all of the ideas submitted and
come up with a usable document we can have available on the Web
site.
After you have mined all of the contacts you can from your current
membership, you’ll have a tool to use whenever you accept a new
member. The new member fills out the survey as part of the
application process, and your club’s key-contact list stays current.
Now that we have the list, what do we do with it? Once you have
completed your initial list—remember, the list has the potential to
grow with each new member who joins your club—you will want to
divide it into major key-contact categories. You might want to
establish the categories of public-relations contacts, political contacts,
charitable-organization contacts, educational contacts, plant-andequipment
contacts, and chamber of commerce contacts. This isn’t an
all-inclusive list, but it might give you some ideas.
Here are a few ideas about how you might use your contacts
category by category. Again, these are only a few suggestions. Your
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
AMA News
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
Does Your Network Work?
“You know Wes, we were at a
stalemate until one day when Nate’s
wife was talking to the mayor’s sister at
lunch …”
Flying Site Assistance continued on page 160
Wes De Cou,
Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VIII - XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar,
Coordinator
Eastern Region
Districts I - VII
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Need help getting or keeping a flying site? We’d be happy to help.
Contact AMA’s Flying Site Coordinators at the following
addresses.
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining160 MODEL AVIATION
unique situation and the degree to which your contacts are personal or
professional friends of your members will determine your next moves.
Public Relations Contacts
This list of contacts would include people in radio, television, the
local PBS station, the local newspapers, friends who are publicrelations
professionals, etc.
Have the club secretary or another willing club member assume the
responsibility of appraising these key contacts whenever your club is
going to sponsor or participate in an event involving the public. If you
hold an event to benefit a local charity, let all of the key contacts know
about it in advance and try to have them in attendance when you
present the check.
Events such as groundbreaking ceremonies for a new field, the
dedication of a new field, your club’s participation in active flying
demonstrations or static displays, involvement in local public
events—all of these are examples of opportunities for positive
exposure for your club. Let your local public relations contacts know
what’s happening!
Political Contacts
This category includes anyone in a visible elected or appointed
position at any level from federal to state, county, or local.
Make sure these key contacts know who you are and what you
do. Other than the plain fun of building and flying with your friends,
there is an educational and recreational story to tell.
When you’re talking to political figures, be sure they are aware
of any give-back activities in which the club participates. These are
activities such as working with local Scout troops or school groups.
Whenever your club conducts a charitable event or works with
local citizens during a learn-to-fly-model-airplanes event or a similar
program, be sure to invite local political figures. They will see the
value you add to the community. The perception that you are indeed
a value-added organization is helpful when residential encroachment
says it’s time to think about relocating the flying field.
Charitable Organization Contacts
People who are heavily involved with organizations or events
such as Toys for Tots, the Special Olympics, or the Ronald
McDonald House are included on this long list.
See what your club can do to support one of your local charities
and make sure the public relations key contacts and the political key
contacts know about it.
I’m familiar with some instances where admission to flying
events consisted of an unwrapped toy, no value specified, to be
donated to the Toys for Tots program. Large models, small models,
and helicopters flew great demonstrations all day long. Moms, dads,
and kids got buddy-box time, and Toys for Tots received a welcome
contribution.
In another case, a local club collaborated with the Special
Olympics people to provide entertainment for the athletes during the
time between their events. Flight simulators and static displays,
including engine runs, were a great hit with the participants.
We give to the charitable organizations because we recognize
their needs. If local key contacts know we’re good citizens in that
regard, then we benefit as well.
Educational Contacts
School personnel and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders are
among contacts in this category.
Find out if there is a model aviation club, or interest in one, in
your local schools. Volunteer to help with such a club.
Volunteer to put on a model-aviation demonstration as part of a
sixth- or seventh-grade science program. I did this in some schools
in New Jersey and had a ball. A description of the forces acting on
an airplane, a demonstration of the action of the flight surfaces, and
a flight demonstration on the soccer field—don’t forget the buddy
box—added up to many invitations for the same session in other
schools.
The Boy Scouts have a merit badge for aviation. This is an
excellent opportunity to offer instructional help for a youngster
while garnering another public-relations point for the club’s résumé.
Chamber of Commerce Contacts
This category means anyone in the chamber of commerce office.
Even if you don’t have a member who knows someone in the local
chamber of commerce, go to your local office and discover what
events are happening in the near future in the community. Find out
who’s in charge and see if a model-aviation demonstration would be
a welcomed addition.
Many clubs around the country participate in fairs or other large
public gatherings and are able to display all aspects of our hobby.
Plant and Equipment Contacts
This one’s nifty. Who in your club knows someone in the
landscaping business? The paving business? The lumber business?
Someone in heavy equipment?
I’ve been invited to many fields around the country where
improvements to the site were virtually free of cost to the club. At
the least improvements were done at cost. Someone knew someone,
made a case for the recreational and educational value of the sport,
and asked for help. That last part—the asking—that’s the tough part.
But it’s also the surprising part because often you’ll find a
benefactor.
The key contact list is only one of myriad strategies available for
clubs to adopt in an attempt to solidify their positions in the future.
The real necessity is that you do something.
If we hide our heads (and our clubs) in the sand and remain inert,
then when residential encroachment jeopardizes our fields, it will be
easy for the powers that be to give us the boot. No one will know who
we were or what we did.
But we’ll know what we did—nothing!
Avoid that 800-foot fall. Get a net … network … working!
Flying Site Assistance continued from page 159
Register as an FSA Volunteer!
The Flying Site Assistance Program consists of a network of
volunteers who serve as the AMA’s eyes and ears.
These volunteers read newspapers and listen to and watch
news programs to be aware of any activities that could impact
an existing or potential flying site.
It is just a matter of collecting information regarding flying
sites, advising local modelers and AMA clubs in the area, and
passing it on to one of the AMA Flying Site Assistance
Coordinators.
Join this ambitious program as a service to your fellow
modelers. Anyone interested, contact me at the address on the
previous page.
EC Meeting Minutes Available
A complete copy of the approved minutes of any quarterly
Executive Council meeting is available to any AMA member
upon request.
A copy of the most recently approved minutes will be
provided at no charge. Council meets quarterly, and minutes
from a given meeting are approved at the following meeting.
Additional copies, or minutes from other meetings, are $5 each
(shipping and handling charge).
Requests may be submitted to AMA administration by
telephone, via fax, in writing, or via E-mail at mvojslav@
modelaircraft.org.
For telephone requests, dial (765) 287-1256, extension 201;
fax requests use (765) 741-0057. There is a $10 minimum for
credit card orders.