AMA News: District VIII-2007/03
In Memoriam
It is an awesome responsibility to prepare this column every month. The time slips away and suddenly it’s time to prepare another one.
This month I have a piece of sad news to report. On December 18 we lost Jerry Miller Sr. A lifelong modeler and full-scale builder and pilot, he would have been 71 on December 24.
Jerry was a fixture at nearly every warbird meet in South Texas and routinely won prizes at the famed Bomber Field events in Monaville, Texas. He never met an airplane he didn’t like. He will be missed by modelers throughout District VIII. Jerry is survived by his wife, Trudy, and sons Bill and Gerry Jr.
Website updates
News about the District VIII website! I mentioned last month that we had some changes coming and webmaster Bill Lee got them up and running faster than I expected. Visit www.ama-dist-8.org to see the changes.
VP Video Corner
The site now has a "VP Video Corner" where I will present matters of interest that I am unable to put in this column. I solicit your input for use in both places.
Forums and Safety
There is a forum for each associate vice president (AVP) to post happenings in his or her respective area. Please frequent these forums and provide input and feedback to the AVP in your area.
We have also placed a forum on the site for safety. As some of you know, we have had "Safety Notes" on the web since July and our new safety coordinator, Chuck Waller, will be continuing those notes. He could use assistance and input from all clubs in the district and would like to initiate an exchange with club officers.
Please give Chuck your attention and your support. He is a life-long modeler and while his interests are primarily RC, he will post safety concerns on any aspect of the hobby.
Events
The ProBro (Profile Brotherhood) enjoyed a weekend of hovering and flying with the San Antonio Prop Busters (SAPB) last year. This was the first time SAPB hosted the event but everyone had much fun—day and night—and it looks as though it may happen again next year.
While "violating" a duck sounds odd, it was fun watching them hover and knock the plastic duck over with the tails of their Profile airplanes. ProBro pictures are courtesy of Humberto Perez.
Volunteerism
I have some quick comments on an old subject. Most clubs operate with 10% of the membership doing 100% of the work. Less than 10% of AMA's membership volunteers to do the work required to keep AMA operating.
If you are new to your club or AMA, ask how you can help. You might:
- run a weed eater
- flip burgers
- manage registration
- sell raffle tickets
Not every job requires a seasoned modeler to be properly executed. On the other hand, if you are an old veteran at the volunteering stuff, grab someone at your next event and ask him or her if you can explain how to run a flightline or scribe for a scorer. Most of us will help and just need to be asked (or maybe convinced) and then given a little training.
Our organization requires volunteers from the person straightening up chairs after the meeting to Dave Brown, our AMA president. Please look for a way to be of assistance. It will make you feel good and keep your organization running smoothly.
Notable volunteers
John and Chris Hess are known for national and international CL Combat involvement. They routinely run RC flightlines for Tri-City Fliers’ events even though neither flies RC.
Have fun and fly safely. See you on the flightline.
Jim.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
