District IX
Mark Smith, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Covered States
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
2006 Marketing Plans
If you remember from last month, I am going to take some of my space to write about the 2006 marketing plans. As you might recall, my background is in marketing with Sprint. It didn't take our president, Dave Brown, long to ask if I would chair the Membership Development Committee, also known as the Marketing Committee.
Our membership numbers have been declining for the last several years while the industry has been growing. It seems we have not been meeting customer needs.
With the help of two very bright men, Eric Meyers and Wes De Cou, we have developed several programs to begin to address these needs. We will continue to work with the Executive Council on the details of implementing these programs. Briefly, we have designed a five-phase approach as follows:
- Capture a significant market share of the indoor and park flyers by providing them with a turn-key method to secure flying sites.
- Stimulate new nitro flyers through a free buddy-box program upon receipt of their AMA dues.
- Revitalize the Introductory Flight Program with a color-rich binder explaining how to earn your solo wings.
- Begin promoting our world-class flying facility in Muncie, Indiana. Many members have not seen it, let alone "played" there. The fourth program is targeted to start this process in the fall of 2006 with a sensational air show you won't want to miss.
- Launch an integrated advertising campaign with a new slogan to inform the current membership that AMA is much more than just insurance. These advertisements will also appear in other industry and non-industry publications.
Look for advertisements to launch these programs. Much work has gone into this effort, and I am sincerely appreciative of all the hard work our volunteers have contributed. I am confident and excited about the potential of these programs to grow our membership numbers for 2007 and beyond.
January 1 Fun-Flys
As usual, many of us participate in a New Year's Day fun-fly so that we can boast that we have our first flight in for the year. Believe it or not, I know of some enthusiastic members who arrive at the field before dawn to be the "first!" Since we all live in this six-state region where temperatures sometimes get a little on the uncomfortable side, those early arrivals can be memorable.
District IX Fun-Flys
I have allocated a small amount of our budget for three District IX fun-flys in 2006.
- Jerry Tuttle has spearheaded the Kansas/Nebraska fun-fly slated for May 6–7. We hope to host all venues of flying, including turbines, control line (CL), and free flight (FF). Be sure to look for the advertisement in MA magazine.
- Travis McGinnis and Mike Harrington are planning the Colorado District IX fun-fly.
- Fred Hildebrand, Troy Lapp, and Max Hansen are working on the Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota fun-fly.
Please contact your associate vice president for details and see if you can lend a hand.
That's it for this month. Until next month, have fun and keep in touch!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
