District V - 2011/06

June 2011 145
District V
Jose Soto, District V Vice President; [email protected]
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
I HAD THE PLEASURE of attending the
17th annual Gathering of the Giants at the
Cape Corel R/Sea Hawks’ field in south
Florida. This is an absolute must-attend
event and this year’s edition was awesome.
The aircraft represented the cream of
aeromodeling and the organization was
superb. Cape Coral’s mayor, a past Nats
champion, was in attendance and so were
our own Dave Mathewson and Travis
McGinnis. The AMA was well represented
and Dave spoke at the banquet Saturday
evening.
Ed Gamils and his crew were superb
hosts; the field was in flawless shape and the
winds and weather were perfect. Pablo
Fernandez, a new District V associate vice
president (AVP), was coordinating the event
and it went smoothly all day long.
Better than 70 pilots attended and the
crowd numbered in the thousands. It was a
great show and it represented the AMA
organization well! I will definitely be back
next year!
Humberto Pomales, a Florida AVP,
traveled to the Hernando County Radio
Control Club in Hernando County, Florida.
Cliff Manspeaker received the coveted ACE
award and it was well deserved. Cliff
became an AMA Leader Member in 1966
and has been an AMA team player longer
than that!
The club is located in a pasture that is
leased from a private owner and the
relationship with the landlord is a strong
one. The men of this club represent the
hobby very well and there is a mix of ages
from 10 to 70. A very strong club indeed.
Humberto Pomales with Cliff Manspeaker.
Cliff Manspeaker and his wife along with
AVP Humberto Pomales, District V Vice
President Jose Soto, and Don Ogren.
I have received a large amount
ofcorrespondance regarding club politics. I
will tell you that the politics of running a
club are just that: club issues. I do not get
involved in how a club is run until it affects
the safety of the membership, and/or the
general public, or the image of the AMA—
again in regards to safety.
How you manage the issues in your
particular club is an area that I cannot
possibly adddress because I am not in that
club. Read the AMA guidelines for clubs,
this should give you a base from where to
proceed and guide your club.
The AMA guidelines have served us well
for many decades and remember, this is
what we do for fun. Don’t fuel issues that
can make it difficult for you or any other
person to enjoy this hobby.
I would like to guide you to AMA
documents 535-A and 535-B. Use these
guidelines to create an environment that is
safe and to make sure that all safety issues
are addressed and provide a way for your
club to meet the standards adopted.
Distrcit V, don’t forget to go onto your
AMA website to get the latest information
on the AMA and Government Relations.
The campaign is drawing to a close and our
voices have been heard, but we are not out
of the woods yet, so get the latest scoop
from the website.
Tailwinds.
Jose Soto
Vice President
1930 Deanna Drive,
Apopka FL 32703; (407)
409-4795; www.ama
district-v.org
Contest Coordinators
RC: Dick Tonan, 639
Knollwood Dr., La
Vergne TN 37086;
[email protected]
FF: Bob Thoren, 10002 Bluff Dr.,
Huntsville AL 35803; (256) 726-
1051; [email protected]
CL: Bob Whitney, 456 Garvey Rd.
SW, Palm Bay FL 32908;
[email protected]
Associate Vice Presidents
Alabama:
Rick Grim, Harvest AL; (256) 503-
5847; (rickgrim@ama
district-v.org)
Florida:
Humberto Pomales, Kissimmee
FL; (407) 344-9123; zen120140@
yahoo.com
Tony Stillman; Brunswick GA ;
(912) 264-8223;
[email protected]
Georgia:
Bob Dixon, Macon GA; rldixon3@
cox.net
Mississippi:
Paul Verger, Vancleave MS;
(228) 826-4892;
[email protected]
Puerto Rico:
South Carolina:
Jim Fender, Batesburg SC; (803)
532-0270; [email protected]
Roger Marshall, Camden SC;
(803) 432-2347;
[email protected]
Tennessee:
Owen Maupin, Chattanooga TN;
[email protected]
Frank Ponteri, Maryville TN;
[email protected]
For additional district officers and
volunteers, please see a previous
issue of MA or visit the District V
Web site.
D i s t r i c t V V o l u n t e e r s
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