President’s Perspective
Member Value and Intangible Benefits
Consumers today are conscious of value proposition when making purchases. Buyers want to know they’re getting their money’s worth when they purchase a product. That’s pretty easy to do when the product is tangible. It’s not quite as easy to do if the product is intangible—something you can’t put your hands on.
Membership organizations such as AMA offer a compilation of services and benefits to their members. Most of these benefits fall into the intangible category—you know they are there, but they’re not something you can hold in your hand. Of course, not every member sees the value of services or benefits the same way as others do.
If AMA’s Flying Site Assistance program helps save a local flying field, that particular benefit becomes a huge value to the members of that club whose field was saved, but it might not be quite as valuable to those members who have never had a flying site concern or to those who do most of their flying on their own property.
While not every member places the same value on a particular service or benefit, it’s the total package that makes up the product. The value proposition for our members means that the total value of what they need or want most from the organization has to meet or exceed the cost of membership.
Advocacy and Government Relations
During the last several years, AMA has placed a strong emphasis on advocating for our members because we felt this was a direction in which the association needed to move — and some of it was out of pure necessity.
Since 2008, when the prospect of government regulation of model aviation first became a serious concern, AMA has invested heavily in government relations in an effort to be strong advocates for our members and aeromodeling. As the FAA’s Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) regulatory effort began to evolve, we saw the need for a government affairs representative to help us through the process. We filled that position with a highly qualified individual whose work to date has been well worth the investment.
As the regulatory picture became clearer, we felt it was important to further invest in our members’ aeromodeling future by contracting a Washington, D.C., strategic consulting firm to help us should there be a need for involvement from a legislative perspective. This was a wise decision and we have received a tremendous amount of advice and guidance as we’ve worked our way through the process.
These are real, valuable benefits of membership for nearly all AMA members, yet they are intangible benefits that are difficult to place a value on. But if I had to try, I think the one thing that comes to mind is the famous bankcard commercial: priceless.
Webinars and Communication
AMA has been hosting a series of webinars to keep our members engaged and aware of happenings taking place as part of the FAA’s sUAS regulatory effort. During these webinars, AMA Government and Regulatory Affairs Representative Rich Hanson provides an overview of where the process currently stands and then we open the floor to a question-and-answer period. There are typically excellent questions asked at these well-attended webinars. Many members have e-mailed me after listening, stating that they have a much better understanding of what’s been taking place.
We intend to continue these webinars up through and probably past the release of the sUAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). We have been informed that the release of the NPRM, originally planned for June, won’t occur until at least late July or early August. Webinar notices will be placed on the AMA website along with instructions about how to listen in.
Partnership with the Civil Air Patrol
I’ve had to devote much of my column space during the last several months to the FAA’s sUAS regulatory effort. This has come at the expense of other exciting things happening at AMA that I would much rather write about.
At the AMA Expo, held in January in Ontario, California, we were pleased to host Major General Amy Courter, national commander of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Major General Courter and I signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to work together to “mutually promote aviation and aerospace and collaborate on programs that nurture and support the growth of aviation and aerospace participation.”
After the signing during a brief noontime ceremony, several members who attended the Expo told me how pleased they were that we were taking this step. Many AMA members have been or are now involved in CAP either as cadets or adult volunteers. To them and to us, it seems logical that we work together with CAP in ways that will further our respective missions.
AMA’s foundation is that model aviation is a perfect stepping stone to careers in aviation and aerospace. We’re convinced that this new partnership with CAP will help further that belief.
Conclusion
Whether it’s helping young people learn from and enjoy model aviation or providing advocacy for all aeromodelers in our nation’s capital, it’s all part of what AMA does as the world’s premier model aviation organization. AMA membership has never been more exciting or more valuable.
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson AMA president [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
