Flying Site Assistance - 2004/03

March 2004 163
A PREVIOUS COLUMN described the
Leader Club program which the Academy
has established to recognize clubs that
were doing a good job of “being a club.”
The details were presented in the January
2004 column and can be reviewed there or
on the AMA Web site at
www.modelaircraft.org.
This month I will share what other
clubs have been doing to strengthen their
position in their communities and
consequently enhance the security of their
flying sites. These are activities that can be
undertaken by any club of any size in any
area and are guaranteed to reap benefits if
approached with sincerity and enthusiasm.
It doesn’t matter whether or not the club is
participating in the Leader Club program.
When I write of how important it is for
clubs to become involved with their
communities, what I mean is that clubs
must become a vital part of their
neighborhoods in ways that are not
centered around model airplanes. The
general public does not hold model
aviation in the same high level of interest
and importance as we participants do.
In general, people don’t pay much
attention to us unless they happen to get
personally involved with a club about
concerns such as noise, overflights,
dangerous activity, etc. This often results
in bad impressions of modelers by the
general public and bad impressions of the
public by the modelers.
Ultimately this can culminate in the loss
of a flying site. This is not a good situation
and it is one which we all must work on
diligently to prevent.
During the course of my conversations
with club members, at some point I always
ask what they do to be involved with their
community. The most common answers I
receive are “we put on a free air show
every year,” or “we have an open house at
our field and give people a chance to fly.”
These are good activities to offer those
who have an existing level of interest in
model aviation, but they are not necessarily
good for the ordinary people. Many will
say that these are ways to introduce the
sport to potential new members. That may
be somewhat valid, but, realistically, those
who show up at such events already have
some interest in aviation.
The real key to public relations is how
your club connects with the people who
could not care less about model aviation
and are potential adversaries when it comes
to preserving a flying site. You connect
with them through activities they can relate
to and/or are personally involved with.
Every community has a handful of
favorite charities—the ones that always get
the media coverage, always get the
donations, and are somehow determined to
be the charities to be involved with. These
include the American Cancer Society, the
Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, Ronald
McDonald House, etc.
Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers and
Big Sisters, and the Police Athletic League
are examples of organizations that are
highly visible and have the reputation of
doing good work. These are examples, and
your community no doubt has similar
groups, but you know the ones that are the
favorites in your area.
Community projects such as Toys for
Tots, downtown clean-up projects, Adopt-
A-Highway, and historic site restorations
are also quite visible and full of “warm
fuzzies.” It is imperative that your model
airplane club becomes more involved with
the community in which you live and fly in
ways other than aviation.
If your club decides to support a charity
with financial contributions, always
remember that how much you give is not as
important as the fact that you gave. Your
willingness to contribute and support your
charity of choice adds value to your club.
Make sure that if you make a financial
contribution that someone from the club
photographs the presentation. Take the
photo with a caption to the local newspaper
for inclusion in its next edition. This holds
true for donations to organizations and
projects if that is what your club
determines can be its best contributions.
Remember to document your efforts and
make sure that members of the community
are aware of your involvement.
Okay, okay! So what does all of this
extra work the club is doing have to do
with getting or keeping a flying site? By
achieving this level of community
involvement the club has significantly
widened its circle of friends and
supporters. These people may be helpful
should the club ever find itself in a time of
need. They are friends who would step
forward to assist because the club is a
valuable part of the community.
Consider this: for whatever reason, a
neighbor of your flying site decides to
lodge a complaint about your existence in
an effort to order the club to cease and
desist. He (or she) is adamantly opposed to
the club being there and is convinced he
will be successful in his efforts.
Which type of club do you think he will
have the least amount of difficulty having
evicted? Will it be a) the club that is a
viable and valuable part of its community
and is recognized as a supporter and
benefactor to community charities and
projects or, b) the club that is seen as a
group of “grownups playing with toy
airplanes,” if they are seen at all?
Think about it and you will see the
importance and benefit of your club being
more involved with your community in a
nonaviation way.
—Jay Mealy
Programs Director
Flying Site Assistance
Joe Beshar
Coordinator,
Eastern Region,
Districts I - VI
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Wes De Cou, Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VII - XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Getting Involved in Community Affairs: Aeromodeler Bill Blake joined New
Jersey Governor James McGreevey at the State’s Commemoration of the Purple Heart
US Postal
stamp, which
honors our
military
veterans who
received this
medal. The
Purple Heart
medal dates
back to the
Revolutionary
War and is only
awarded to
military
veterans who
were wounded
in combat
action.
Thank you
Bill for sharing
this photo and
job well done!
Flying Site Acquisition volunteer Bill Blake is a dedicated
modeler who went right to the Governor of New Jersey. Bill
displayed his AT-6 Texan at the commemoration which was
held at the Ramada Inn in New Brunswick. This aircraft was a
trainer and was responsible for training many of our World
War II military pilots.