AMA News: District VIII-2007/12
Merry Christmas to all! I can't believe I'm writing the December column already.
Personnel changes
We have a new Associate Vice President (AVP) for Central Texas. Doug Staines has agreed to step into the shoes vacated by Max Blose. Doug is a longtime modeler with interests in RC Scale and Combat, as well as CL and FF. He truly enjoys instructing RC. Doug is a native of Canada and has been a member of the Temple Aeromodelers for six years, currently serving as president.
Max steps down after more than 18 years as AVP, serving with four different vice presidents. He has been a valuable and important contributor to the district leadership, and his departure will leave a hole that will be difficult to fill. Doug is clearly qualified and looks forward to working with modelers in the area. Please give these men your handshake and thanks for their efforts when you see them.
Events
- The 25th Annual Greater Southwest Jet Rally was held in Waco, Texas, in September. It attracted approximately 80 pilots with beautiful aircraft. Chuck Waller and I enjoyed the nice weather and great flying.
- The Tri-City Flyers hosted several CL Stunt pilots in Seguin, Texas. The event was down on attendance but not on spirit or competition. Plenty of flying went on during the two days and the event was well received by all in attendance. Flying was good, but taking pictures was hard — I seldom got the airplane and the pilot in the same photo. The delay between pushing the shutter and the camera snapping is awkward.
- The seventh annual Rice Memorial, in memory of my dad, was record-setting with 112 pilots and nearly 300 airplanes. Jim Cherry, AMA's executive director, attended and did quite a bit of flying. Everyone seemed to enjoy the fellowship and the facility in Kingsbury, Texas. There was nearly $5,000 in prizes this year thanks to our sponsors.
Awards:
- Pilots' Choice: Don Hirt
- Mr. Multi: Greg Ermatinger
- Helping Hand: Jennifer Stout (she flew in her first-ever event and worked behind the scenes to make it all come together)
My mom, who is 89, was the trophy girl again this year and handed out the prizes.
Photos of this and many other events across the district are now available on the District VIII website (ama-dist-8.org) under the "Galleries" button.
In memoriam and health updates
As I write this, Dr. Sandy Frank is in critical condition in Indianapolis, Indiana, after a car wreck. I hope by the time you read this he will be well on his way to recovery.
On another sad note, Stinger Wallace passed away this month. He was serving as president of the Lufkin Area RC Club and was a fixture at events across the district. His flying skills and personality will be missed by us all.
Closing
That's it for this month. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and begins the New Year with beautiful new aircraft. Have fun and fly safely! See you on the flightline.
— Jim
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
