President's Perspective - 2008/09
By the time this issue of MA reaches you, AMA will have participated in its first League of Cities (LoC) convention in Tampa, Florida. The Florida LoC is an organization comprising elected officials from various municipalities within the state. Roughly 99% of municipalities and counties in Florida are members. As does Florida, most states within the United States have their own LoC.
Outreach to League of Cities
Our purpose in attending this convention is to make these elected representatives aware of model aviation and its value as a viable recreational activity. We want to plant the idea that facilities such as local parks, schoolyards, sports fields, etc., are perfect venues for modeling activities. We will also be promoting the use of appropriate-sized vacant municipal land as model airplane flying sites.
By making these officials aware of model aviation and the value it can bring to a community as a recreational and educational activity, we can help open the door for local modelers who approach these leaders to gain access to municipal properties.
Our plan is to attend at least two LoC conventions in 2008 and, if successful, expand our involvement in 2009.
National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)
In October, AMA will be attending the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Congress and Exposition in Baltimore, Maryland. The NRPA represents more than 22,000 members, many of whom are park professionals and urban planners.
Our goal here is the same as our goal in attending the LoC conventions. If we are successful in laying the foundation that model aviation is a good use of municipally owned lands, then it should be easier for modelers to gain access to these lands. AMA Executive Director Jim Cherry will be providing updates on our participation at these events in one of his future columns.
Media and public relations
Last month I wrote briefly about our new association with JWALCHER Communications, a public and media relations company in San Diego, California. JWALCHER has successfully helped organizations similar to AMA introduce and promote their activities to the general public.
Our goal is to make as many people as possible aware of model aviation. We already have several projects on the board that, by the time you read this, will have resulted in magazine articles, a number of newspaper articles, television news clips, and hopefully a short segment highlighting model aviation on national television.
The collateral effect of many of these activities has already resulted in some significant public exposure for a number of our clubs.
Local press releases for Nats winners
On a smaller scale, another concept that we've re-created from several years ago is the drafting of a press release that will be sent to the local media in the communities of those who win events at this year's AMA Nats. Local news organizations are always looking for human-interest material and we think that by providing these releases, they will eventually end up in print, on the radio, or on television. This is a simple concept that takes very little effort to implement, yet has the potential to reach a large number of non-modelers.
All of these projects are intended to introduce and attract as many people as possible to model aviation. I truly believe that if we are successful in growing model aviation, our numbers will take care of themselves.
Events at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC)
In my July column I wrote about several events that will be taking place at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) this summer. Since April when I wrote that column, a number of additional events have appeared on the IAC calendar. A couple of these events will take place in late August and mid-September, so this issue of MA should reach you before they happen.
Upcoming events include:
- Indiana Warbird Campaign Giant Scale Warbird Fly-In — August 27–31. This event will feature some of the best RC warbird pilots in the United States and Canada. Models flown will range from the World War II era up through modern jets. For more information, visit www.indianawarbirdcampaign.com.
- World Soaring Masters (WSM) — September 18–21. Organized by the League of Silent Flight, an AMA Special Interest Group, the WSM is a competition soaring event that will include some of the best sailplane pilots from the United States as well as several other countries. To learn more, visit www.worldsoaringmasters.com.
This is a great opportunity to see competitive soaring at its best.
Upcoming elections
In the next few weeks, ballots for this year's AMA officer elections will begin arriving in your mailboxes. Up for election this year are:
- Vice president positions in Districts III, VII, and XI.
- National election for Executive Vice President.
- A special election in District II to fill the vacancy created when I was elected president.
Candidate statements will appear in a future issue of MA as well as being posted on the AMA website. Please take a moment to review the statements and exercise your right to vote for the candidate of your choice.
See you next time ...
Dave Mathewson AMA President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
