By now you know that Jim Wallen, former District IX vice president, passed away on March 29. The best tribute to him is the legacy he left in the AMA and District IX. He touched and influenced us all. Personally, he was my mentor for all things AMA. I will miss his advice and quiet wisdom.
In March, I attended the Joint Council meeting in Denver. Organized by Associate Vice President (AVP) Tom Neff, this meeting brings together all of the clubs within driving distance of Denver. The purpose is to coordinate efforts, programs, and events across all of the area clubs.
As the gavel went around the table, each club’s officers gave general club news, notable projects, and any concerns affecting modeling their communities. I was glad to be a part of the meeting and applaud their continuing efforts to work together. The next meeting is scheduled for September.
One outcome of this meeting is an all-encompassing event calendar put together by Mike Cross. Norm Berger, our webmaster, is also putting this calendar on the District IX website and it will allow your club’s officers to add events to the calendar themselves.
Kendall Baerg, our new AVP in South Dakota, and I attended the Sioux Falls Sodbusters Auction at the end of March. This auction, in its 30th year, has been a major fundraiser for the Sodbusters. It always has a good turnout from miles around and this year was no exception Roughly 115 registered buyers vied for approximately 300 pieces of RC “gold.”
For their hard work, the club realizes enough profit to keep their dues low and last year they added a new John Deere mower to the club’s field maintenance inventory.
Tim Mallat and the Sodbuster crew have this event so well organized that the 300 odd items were all sold by 3 p.m. I even managed to exchange some of my old junk for new junk!
Great job, guys! I’m looking forward to it again next year.
Jim Stulken of the Grand Island Modelers club in Grand Island, Nebraska, shared this information about the club’s annual mall show at the Conestoga Mall. This event drew airplanes from a three-state area. Jim wrote:
“Weekend visitors to the mall were treated to about 75 models on display in an empty commercial space, which we were able to lock up overnight. Visitors first saw a half-size Cub at the entrance. The large Cub weighs about 100 pounds and was built by John Board. Tom Lambert is the airplane’s current owner.
“There was a great turnout. The club gave away 200 balsa gliders to the kids courtesy of the local HobbyTown USA store. Sears loaned us a 72-inch television and we played some of our flying videos all weekend.”
