AMA News — Executive Vice President (2009/03)
Executive Vice President
Mark Smith, [email protected]
Hi folks! December was a busy month for the Smiths. We attended numerous holiday parties around District IX. Holiday parties are a wonderful time for club members to gather with their families to eat, drink, and be merry.
A common theme I’ve noticed throughout these evenings is that there are many smiles and much reminiscing. Sometimes an energetic club member will assemble a PowerPoint presentation of club activities, which always brings comments from the audience. Annual club awards are usually presented along with some good-humored poking fun at ourselves.
Camaraderie is what this great hobby is all about, and our holiday parties exemplify this. These gatherings are a wonderful way to strengthen your club, and I hope that if you did hold a holiday party, you invited critical stakeholders to enjoy the fun.
What critical stakeholders, you ask? If your club leases your land, be sure to invite the folks you lease from. Are there dignitaries in the community or leaders from the charitable organizations you held fundraisers for who are available to attend the festivities? These are all ways to help spread the news that the model aviation club is an integral and vital asset in the community.
I met with the Marketing Committee in Champaign, Illinois. While I have weekly correspondence with the committee, we try to have face-to-face meetings at least twice per year. AMA’s new Marketing Director, Jeff Nance, gave the committee an overview of what he has accomplished in six short months and his plans for future marketing activities. Topics addressed included the sales channel for the Park Pilot Program, partnering opportunities with vendors and manufacturers, and our website.
One of my flying buds, Don Oppliger, and I drove to Wichita, Kansas, to participate in the first E-Spectacular indoor event on December 13. The first annual Central Plains E-Fly Spectacular was hosted by Ken Stitt of Clearview Field.
It was dark, windy, and very cold when I was helping Don load up several of his choppers, chargers, spare batteries, and transmitters. Oh no — next stop was back to my home to pick up my transmitter! Don was quick to thank me for taking him on a tour of Kansas City at o-dark-thirty. We finally arrived at the indoor event at approximately 9 a.m., which was located at the Century II Expo Hall in downtown Wichita.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and Don had his share of “challenges” that day.
This is a wonderful, spacious facility that contributed to a successful first-year event; however, Ken is quick to give much credit to Kim Walker, who was unable to attend because of family matters.
The weekend included:
- Open flying
- Noon flying demos
- Pylon racing
- Combat
- Nighttime flying
There was also competition for some beautiful trophies, which drew top-name competitors, including:
- Andrew Jesky
- Jason Noll
- Mark Leseburg
- Curtis Youngblood
- Nick Maxwell
Ken made sure the audience was part of the fun by bringing in the talented emcee Greg Poppel. Ken had the support of many local club members, and we were treated to outstanding hospitality from the folks in Wichita. This was a first-class event, and I’m confident it will grow in the future.
If you recall, last month I urged all clubs to become Leader Clubs. This program is another way to help secure your flying site. Information about the Leader Club program is available on the AMA website at www.modelaircraft.org/files/708.pdf. Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
That’s it for this month. Please keep in touch and have fun!
Mark Smith
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
