President's Perspective - 2010/02

Congratulations to the 2009 winners of
The Academy of Model Aeronautics
Carl Goldberg Vital People Award.
In 1983, Carl and Beth Goldberg asked AMA
to help create an award to recognize special
people who do so much for model aviation at
the local level. As Carl described them, they are
“vital people in the background of the modeling
movement whose efforts enhance the
enjoyment of the hobby and whose
accomplishments are seldom formally
acknowledged.”
After Carl passed away in 1985, the
recognition program continued until it was
sunset in the early 1990s. At our October 2008
Executive Council meeting, the council
discussed the value of the program and how
AMA would like to do more to thank our
members who make model aviation at the local
level more enjoyable for all of us.
We voted to resurrect The Academy of
Model Aeronautics Carl Goldberg Vital People
Award. We wanted to leave the Goldberg name
on the award because anyone who was
involved in model aviation during Carl
Goldberg’s lifetime knows that he was the
consummate modeler and really epitomized
and defined the intent of this award.
In late 2009 the award was presented to five
deserving members. The recipients were Herb
Ziegler (District II), Bill Jones (District III),
Frank Geisler (District IV), Robert Arata
(District VI), and Bob Shanks (District X).
Applications for The Academy of Model
Aeronautics Carl Goldberg Vital People Award
can be found on the AMA Web site. All it takes
is one member or club to nominate a deserving
individual. The recipients will be selected by a
committee of members—one from each AMA
district—and winners for 2010 will be
announced in late October.
This is an opportunity for you to do
something in return for that member who
works so hard to make model aviation better
for all of us.
A few months ago I told you about the chair
of our Education Committee, Dr. Gordon
Schimmel, being recognized as the 2009
recipient of the Dr. Mervin K. Strickler Jr.
Aerospace Education Leadership Award,
presented by the National Coalition for
Aviation Education (NCAE).
Recently the chairperson of AMA’s
Insurance Committee was also recognized for
his outstanding work in the insurance
profession. Keith Sievers was recently selected
as an Elite 8 honoree by Insurance &
Technology magazine.
Insurance & Technology’s Elite 8 is an
annual award recognizing senior insurance
carrier IT (information technology) executives
who have used technology strategically to
successfully support overall company business
objectives.
Recipients are a cross-section of
individuals from the property/casualty, life and
health, and reinsurance insurance sectors. The
award is given annually during Insurance &
Technology’s Executive Summit, which was
held in 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
AMA recognizes that we have a valuable
resource in our membership. The hard work
and effort that members and modelers such as
Gordon and Keith have contributed to AMA
has helped build a committee structure that
allows AMA to provide the level of support
that our members have come to expect.
AMA is proud to have members such as
Keith and Gordon as part of our leadership
team.
In mid-December my wife, Ginger, and I
were invited to the home of Pat and Richard
Barlow for a dinner reception in honor of
Percy and Rina Attfield. Richard is president
of the Model Aircraft Association of Canada
(MAAC) and Percy is president of the South
African Model Aircraft Association
(SAMAA).
Percy and Rina were visiting Canada as
part of a vacation that included visits to several
spots in North America as well as a stop at the
Arctic. Also in attendance that evening was
Claude Melbourne and his wife, Tina, and
Dave Asquini and his wife, Lisanne. Claude is
an MAAC Zone Director (the equivalent of an
AMA VP) for the Ottawa Valley Zone and
Dave is Claude’s deputy Zone Director.
The evening was filled with stories that
involved topics both in and out of model
aviation. The original rule was that we would
not talk about model aviation until after
dinner—a rule that went out the window in
record time. However, that turned out not to be
a problem for our wives. Rina, Pat, Tina, and
Lisanne are all strong supporters of their
husbands’ work with our respective
associations, as is Ginger.
As the night progressed it became obvious
to all of us that each of our organizations
shares similar concerns. Each has seen a
decrease in membership over the last several
years. We discussed what each of our
associations was doing to address this concern
and shared ideas that seemed to have some
positive impact, and others that may not have
worked out quite so well.
The issue that AMA is dealing with in
helping to develop guidelines for the operation
of model aircraft in our national airspace is not
unique to us. Both MAAC and SAMMA are
facing similar issues, although MAAC has
been addressing model aviation in Canadian
airspace for roughly a year longer than AMA
has. The lessons that Richard has learned so far
during the process, I’m sure, will help AMA as
we move through ours.
Richard and I have maintained a close
relationship since I became AMA president.
We talk often and I really believe that this
rapport has been a benefit to both
organizations.
As the evening ended, we all agreed that a
continuing dialog between the three of us
would be helpful in guiding our associations
toward the future. We could learn a lot from
each other by sharing experiences. MA
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson
AMA president
[email protected]