AMA News Executive Vice President - 2009/05

140 MODEL AVIATION
HI FOLKS! As I write this in early
March, I’ve been addressing some family
health issues and been out of touch for
most of January and February, but I’m
back and ready to put my nose back to the
grindstone!
I attended the AMA Expo in Ontario,
California, in early January and I think it
was one of the best. I attribute much of our
success to Lora Knowlton who is an avid
modeler from the Denver area and owns
her own promotions company.
AMA contracted Lora to manage the
show, and with her excellent
administrative skills and outstanding
interpersonal skills, she made this one of
the best shows ever. Great job, Lora!
This was the first year we involved our
public-relations firm, JWalcher, which was
able to get TV, radio, and newsprint
coverage in addition to much Web-based
content.
We held the January Executive Council
(EC) meeting on Sunday at the Expo. We
had the opportunity to meet and speak with
a representative of the Federal Aviation
Administration. This was an informative
meeting and much AMA business was
accomplished.
Please take a look at the minutes on our
AMA Web site.
AMA has hired a New Media/Web
Designer. Mark Benson reports to AMA’s
Director of Marketing, Jeff Nance, and is
focused on updating/overhauling the AMA
and Park Pilot Web sites. You should be
noticing Mark’s talent in the near future as
he and Jeff are positioning our Internet
presences to be user-friendly and most
informative.
I caught a ride with one of the EC
members to Las Vegas after the meeting in
Ontario. One Sunday afternoon, Greg
Clemensen, an AMA associate vice
president, picked me up and we visited
three local club flying fields.
Greg let the club members know in
advance that I was going to be in the area
so I had the privilege of meeting and
speaking with several modelers. Our first
stop was the Bennett field, then we went to
the Vegas Aces Park Pilot field. Finally we
traveled to North Las Vegas to visit with a
couple of clubs that share the McCool flying site.
Three of the local club presidents, Brian Vyhnal, Tom Brandt, and Greg Thomas,
posed for a picture next to a beautiful 1/3-scale Balsa USA Fokker D.VII that was built
and owned by Propnuts club member, Warren Cross.
I want to take a minute to address something most serious. Last year, my bride of 38
years badgered me into going to the dermatologist to have a routine check-up. I have
always been dark complected,
never used suntan lotions, and
rarely got sunburned. I thought
this visit was a huge waste of
time and money.
The doctor was concerned
about a mole on my face and
did a biopsy … the result was
melanoma! Luckily, it was
caught in time and my scar is
barely visible. My point here is
to urge you all to use sun screen
because it just may save your
life.
This wonderful hobby of ours
requires us to put our bodies in
the sun, which can be deadly.
Take it from someone who’s
been there, done that, and will be
visiting my dermatologist every
three months for the rest of my
life: this stuff is serious!
I hate to end on such a down
note, but I have been blessed to
count so many of you as my
close friends and wanted to
inform you of this danger.
I’ve mentioned it several
times, but this hobby is all about
camaraderie and you are what
make this hobby so great for me!
Until next month, have fun and
stay in touch!
Mark Smith
Executive Vice
President
14632 W. 50th St.,
Shawnee KS 66216
Tel.: (913) 568-4347
Executive Vice President
Mark Smith; [email protected]
Vegas Aces enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
I had a great time chatting with many members of
the LVRC club.
Three Las Vegas club presidents.
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