FROM THE COPILOT’S SEAT - 2012/05

ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news
www.ModelAviation.com MAY 2012 Model Aviation 135
What a difference
a month ... and a
year … can make!
Enter the FAA
reauthorization bill
and the addendum
that was attached
and sponsored by
Senator Inhofe of
Oklahoma on our behalf. Last month
it was a dream of your AMA Executive
Council and our FAA workgroup,
and today it is reality. To say it was a
one-in-a-million shot would not be an
understatement.
NAA President and CEO Jonathan
Gaffney had this to say: “I have spent
well over 20 years here in the nation’s
capital—including five years working
as a senior staffer in the House and
12 years doing some heavy lobbying
of two branches of government. That
AMA was able to accomplish this is
just remarkable.”
The Academy scored a major
victory for its members when the FAA
Reauthorization Bill was passed by
Congress and signed by the president
in February, but we aren’t out of the
woods yet. The FAA still controls the
National Airspace System (NAS) and
we are waiting for its response to the
new law.
There is still work for us to do, but
what a difference a month can make!
It is February as I write this and
there is still some snow around, but
by the time you read this, the weather
will be warming and Northeastern
residents will also be outside flying.
For many years the Westchester
Radio AeroModelers (WRAM)
Show, sponsored by the Westchester
Radio AeroModelers, was held at the
Westchester County Center Theater in
White Plains, New York.
This is the only trade show in the
eastern part of the US, and it had
experienced a decline in the number of
vendors and a corresponding reduction
of attendees. Parking was difficult and
it was an expensive show to get to and
attend.
Show manager, Lou Scarlino,
together with the WRAM members,
made a gutsy call to move the show
west, across the Hudson River, and
south to Secaucus, New Jersey,
roughly 35 miles away.
They selected the Meadowlands
Exhibition Center, located in the
Meadowlands Complex, which
contains a number of hotels,
restaurants, shops, and the stadium
that the New York Giants (of Super
Bowl fame!) and the New York Jets
call home.
The venue is modern, with free
parking and a lot of it. The big
question and gamble was will this
change in venue change the fortunes of
the WRAM Show and will vendors and
modelers attend?
That answer came on the weekend
of February 24-26, and in a big way.
Although the number of vendors
appeared to be up slightly, the
modelers came out, filling the wide
aisles. I had an opportunity to speak
with Lou about the change and he was
all smiles. Their gamble had paid off!
He has done a terrific job and really
hit a home run this year. Lou told
me that this would be his last year
to manage the event. Lou, you are
certainly going out a big winner and
thank you for volunteering for this
huge task. You have certainly made
a difference for the modelers in the
Northeast, and for the WRAM Show!
I spoke with a number of vendors
and in every case it was a great event
for them. One of them said it was
better than the Toledo Show, and that
says a lot! I have no doubt that next
year’s WRAM Show will have more
vendors and those aisles will again be
filled with happy shoppers. What a
difference a year makes!
On the AMA club business side of
things, I have received calls and spoken
with a few AMA clubs and AMA
members of late, concerning what their
club bylaws should contain. I let them
know that AMA published a set of
guidelines for chartered club bylaws,
which can be downloaded from the
Documents section of the AMA
website (number 535A).
Roughly 10 years ago, the Academy
notified all clubs that they must amend
their club bylaws to include a legal
process of removing a disgruntled club
member from membership. We have
seen on numerous occasions where
a club experienced the wrath of an
unruly member.
Every club should have the legal
ability to remove such a member and
we need each club to comply with this
request. If you haven’t already done
so, please amend your club bylaws
accordingly and send AMA a copy
for our files. This will help to protect
your chartered club status, as well as
protecting us.
While you are at it, we could also
use your field GPS coordinates,
especially when applying for an AMA
sanction for your next event.
Thanks for reading and until next
month, help secure our future and take
a youngster flying.
FROM THE COPILOT’S SEAT by Gary Fitch, Executive Vice President
What a diff erence ...
gmfi [email protected]