District VIII Report - 2009/07
April was the busiest month of my tenure. Many events — the Toledo Expo, an AMA Safety Committee meeting, an Executive Council meeting, a kitchen remodel, and family life in general — kept me hopping.
Malakoff Fun-Fly
Jack Matlock, Shorty, and I attended the Malakoff Fun-Fly in Texas. Associate Vice President Jack Hogan was the contest director (CD). We stayed in Jack's workshop (read that as a two-bedroom house with kitchen and shower) and both wanted to throw rocks at our own workshops. The wind kicked up for the event, but there was still some great flying and camaraderie.
Giant Scale and 3-D Jamboree / 25th Annual Big Bird
Andy Clapp, Shorty, and I made an 800-mile whirlwind trip from San Antonio to Grand Prairie, Texas, for the Giant Scale and 3-D Jamboree on Friday, April 17, and then to New Waverly, Texas, for the 25th Annual Big Bird event and a planned memorial service. What we really did was watch it rain in two different parts of the state and had a really good time visiting with modelers, uninterrupted by that pesky flying thing.
- Ron Wedel was CD for the 3-D Jamboree and had plenty of activities and more prizes than one could imagine.
- The event gathered 43 pilots from seven states.
- Ron conducted the Tri-State Shootout, with Oklahoma winning over Texas and Arkansas.
- Friday was nearly a complete rainout; flying started at 4 p.m. (just as I left!), but good weather and good flying were reported over the weekend.
- I saw John Light fly his 60% Extra and gave him an AMA hat.
- I was once again impressed by Jonathan Jennings and his freestyle routine. He was in school, but I left a hat for him as I departed.
If you have the chance, plan to attend in the future. There are many big birds and some great flying.
Tri County Barnstormers Memorial Event
We arrived at the Tri County Barnstormers field as the rains came. It poured and not a flight was flown. The event was supposed to include a flyover by a full-scale Cub, and the ashes of 19-year-old Kyle Foote and his friend Doug Cockerham were to be scattered, but the weather had different plans.
We had a great day visiting, talking about Kyle and Doug, and making new friends. Again, the weather cleared on Sunday and the 35-or-so pilots had a great time (without me!). Adam Kaminskas was the CD, and it was evident he had done a lot of preparation work for the event. I presented Adam Kaminskas with the Making a Difference award as well.
Have fun and fly safely! See you on the flightline.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
