District IV
From Chris Sanders
CHRIS SANDERS, webmaster of the Riverside Aero Modelers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, submitted the following about a club that dreamed big. This can be an inspiration to all of us.
"The test of success is not what you do when you’re on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." —General George S. Patton Jr.
The Riverside Aero Modelers (RAMS) club has been in existence since the early 1980s. Since that time the club has seen its ups and downs. Membership and participation has always followed suit. It wasn’t until the last couple of years that a few members had a much grander vision for the club: a vision that saw the potential for excellence.
RC clubs are analogous to our aircraft; they all have potential and kinetic energy. Our aircraft and clubs both soar to great heights when the right amount of time and effort are invested in them.
Background and Goals
During the past decade our club had made strides to keep just above the status quo. Last year several members sat down and began discussing goals. The goals, however, were on a much grander scale this time. We elected to dream big.
At the time, our club had an okay website, a paved runway, a concessions stand, two shelters, and fairly nice grass (when we had enough rain). That big dream entailed tackling nearly every aspect of the aforementioned. We didn’t start out by doing everything at once. We started one project at a time.
Improvements Undertaken
We began by repairing and sealing the runway. Then we repaired and upgraded our dilapidated concessions area. This took a couple of weekends, but through a little sweat equity and donations of materials we were able to knock this out quickly.
Next we addressed the patchy grass and chickweed ruining our field. With a little inspiration from Joe Nall, we decided to plant Bermuda grass. This was a little trickier since Bermuda needs that extra mile of preparation and care to flourish. Before seeding we used a Bobcat to level areas around our landing areas.
Thanks to Phillip Grimes (who also cares for our greens) and a few highly valued club members who worked tirelessly to prepare, seed, fertilize, and water the Bermuda grass until it began to grow on its own.
In a bit of serendipity, our greenskeeper was able to purchase an old golf course mower with an 18-inch reel deck. That was huge for our club since now it only took 1–2 hours to mow as opposed to 8–10.
The next task was putting a new face on our club by creating a new website that incorporated newer web technology. Being an IT professional in the graphics industry, the new webmaster put together a clean look that highlighted the many positive aspects of our organization.
Conflict and Renewal
Unfortunately, it was during this time that a group of malcontents decided for themselves that they wanted no part of the changes despite the fact the club voted for the changes. After much dissent, this group made the decision to split from our club. This resulted in a great deal of tumult and chaos and our club reached an all-time low.
We discovered in time, however, that once this small group departed, so did the club’s "shackles of torpescence, mediocrity, and remonstration." The remaining club members banded together and set even higher goals.
Our primary ambition was to host our own first annual RC swap meet, increase membership, and recommence improvements to our field. Within four months of our informal summit we hosted our first annual swap meet with great success. It was followed by rechartering our club with the International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA). Two successful AMA-sanctioned fly-ins later, we were again met with adversity.
Drought, Irrigation, and the New Shed
Our region was stricken with an abnormally long period of drought resulting in the loss of some of our prized greens. Luckily our club is located in farm bottomland with a trickling creek nearby.
We gathered our resources, dammed the creek, and began to water the grass section by section. This was an arduous process because of the sheer size of our field. Once again serendipity visited us. One of our members who owns a plumbing company volunteered not only his machinery but the materials as well, to install an irrigation/sprinkler system.
For nearly a week, several members showed after 5 p.m. and worked like madmen to get our new irrigation system in place. Trenches were dug, pipe was set, and a new dam was built for the water reservoir. Now that we had water, we reseeded with another round of Bermuda grass.
Our last task was building a new shed. Many members banded together and donated resources and materials to the club.
Community Effort and Lessons Learned
Despite the fact the club completed some tremendous goals it did not break the bank in doing so. Many members from many different occupations donated their time, money, and resources toward the improvements. The greatest donation, of course, was the sweat equity provided by many generous and enthusiastic members.
Because of our hard work, commitment, and diligence, the club’s flying site has quickly evolved into a showcase field. An even greater achievement was the coming together of the members to boost club morale to an all-time high. Yes, we have a wonderful field at which to fly, but the greatest reward has been a tight fellowship of proud members.
During the past year our club has learned some valuable life lessons. The fruits of achievement are sweetest when fertilized with diligence and perseverance. Never let your detractors distract you from your goals. Dream big and follow through. You can accomplish anything as long as you’re willing to take the first step.
Please visit www.riversiderc.com for a continuation of our story.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
