District X - 2011/04

THE NUMBER ONE concern for AMA
members is a flying site. This makes sense
because our sport begins and ends with a
place to fly.
As modelers, we do a great job of honing
our building and flying skills, but we
sometimes fall short in our efforts to market
ourselves to our communities, which I believe
is key in finding and keeping our flying fields.
We’re going to take steps to change that
starting this month. I’ll share some of my
ideas and I would love to hear your ideas, too.
We will assemble a list of best practices
for flying field acquisition and retention.
Being active with the site owner, according
to the AMA’s Flying Site Assistance
Coordinator Tony Stillman, is one of the most
important things a club can do to protect a
flying site. Let’s begin with the techniques we
can use for fields on public land.
Public entities typically have monthly
meetings such as city councils, county board
of supervisors, and parks and recreation
meetings. You should appoint a club member
to attend every one of these gatherings.
It’s important to pick the right person
because he or she will be the face of your club
to these decision makers. It should be
someone who has a pleasant manner and the
ability to charm.
Sit in the front row so you can make eye
contact and the official can see your
approving nods when he or she makes
comments. Don’t make the mistake of only
attending when there is an issue affecting your
field, but rather be at each meeting and start
building a dossier on each of the decision
makers in the meeting.
Know their backgrounds, what issues they
are tackling, which ones seem the closest to
their hearts, when they next stand for election,
as well as what charities they support. Do they
work outside of their council duties, if so
doing what?
This is also a good opportunity to watch
the council dynamic to see if there is one
person in particular who seems to be the most
influential. If there is, focus your efforts
toward that person, because if he or she is sold
on the idea of your field, the person will likely
help you sell it to the others.
The goal is to get to know what is
important to these decision makers because
you and your club want to become an asset to
them. If there is a subject being discussed that
they favor and you have an opportunity to
speak in support during a public comment
period, do so.
The converse is also important. Don’t
oppose issues they support because your
attendance is to build support from the council
for your club. Personal issues you may have
must come second.
When you know a bit about each council
member, introduce yourself and let them
know about your club. Have something you
can hand them that gives a brief history of the
club, include community service projects that
your club has performed; along with
directions to your field. Keep it simple and
clean so they can focus on the most important
facts.
Invite them out for a visit and assure them
that you aren’t looking for something in
return. You want them to come out and get to
know your members. Give them a telephone
number, preferably a cell number, so they can
reach you easily with questions. It may take
several invitations before they commit to a
field visit, but be patient and put in time at
these meetings so they get to know who you
are.
If you’re lucky enough to have them visit
the field, stress the charitable work your club
has done, the programs that you have in place
to teach beginners how to fly, and how your
club is a good custodian of the public land
with which you have been entrusted.
Introduce them to members and ask them
if they would like to make any remarks. At the
end of the visit, ask this decision maker how
your club can help them. Whatever the issue
they have, do your best to muster club
support—manpower or money—to help. You
are making an investment in goodwill that
will be remembered when your time of need
arises.
Most of these decision makers must stand
for election; this is a golden opportunity to
build closer ties to these VIPs. Elections are
run on volunteer manpower, and clubs should
provide this labor. There are many things a
club can do to help a candidate get elected.
Signs supporting the candidate need to be
distributed and installed. As the election nears,
people are needed to call voters and
encourage them to vote for the candidate.
The weekend before election day
volunteers are needed to walk precincts,
distributing campaign material. The day of the
election volunteers can shuttle voters to the
polling place if they are unable to drive
themselves. If your club can muster 10-20
people to do this, you will be noticed and
remembered by these decision makers.
Most clubs conduct fundraisers for
charities. Our commitment to help is what
makes AMA members special. Why not
double the effectiveness by choosing a charity
that is the decision maker’s favorite? Involve
the person in the activities. Any photograph
showing a donation being made should
include him or her.
Include the photograph and a write-up of
the event in a press release that is sent to local
media. Having the official at the event serves
two purposes: it makes him or her part of the
event and offers exposure to the public which
is what they need to continue to serve in their
position, and it will add some weight to your
press release and increase the chances of
media coverage of your event.
When your club has a barbecue or holiday
dinner, invite the VIPs along with their
significant others. Treat them to a meal and
give them the opportunity to address your
members. Whether they attend or not they
will know they were welcome to join you and
hopefully appreciate it. You should also
remember their birthdays with a card and
include them on the club’s Christmas card list.
Try to establish a regular lunch or dinner
meeting with these officials. Take the
opportunity to brief them on the things you’re
doing to maintain the facility and again ask if
there is anything you can do to help them.
Most of your meetings should be framed in
that manner.
You are letting the decision makers who
control your field know you want to be an
asset to them. If you have 10 interactions with
them, nine of them should be you asking how
you can help them; when a moment of crisis
occurs and you need their help to protect your
flying site, you will have a much better chance
of success than if you are meeting them for
the first time. It takes a lot of effort to build
these relationships but they are worth their
weight in gold.
This is the first in a series of columns that I
want to share with you about how to protect
our flying sites. Please send me your
comments and ideas. We will have a special
section on our District X Web site to collect
all of the best practices for flying-field
acquisition and retention. Together we can
improve our access to flying fields and enjoy
the sport we love.
Did you know that the AMA has a booklet
entitled Getting and Keeping Flying Sites?
Every club should have a copy. To obtain one,
call Erin Dobbs at AMA Headquarters and
she will send your club a copy free of charge.
The district Web site continues to grow.
We’d love to get your contributions, please
send event coverage and articles to me for the
site. We’ll help publicize your club and build
attendance for your next event.
That’s it for now. Until next month, may you
have nothing but happy landings.
District X
Lawrence Tougas, District X Vice President; [email protected]
Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Lawrence Tougas
Vice President
1827 Santa Monica
St., Fairfield CA
94533
Tel. (707) 480-2053
[email protected]
www.ama10.org
For a complete listing of district
officers and volunteers, please visit
the District X Web site.
District X
April 2011 155