April 2011 5
onsumers 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.
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 the area of 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
President’s Perspective
AMA President Dave Mathewson
C
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.
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 Web site along with
instructions about how to listen in.
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, who is
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 will
help further that belief.
Whether it’s helping young people
learn from and enjoy model aviation or
advocating 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. MA
See you next time.
… one thing that comes to mind is the
famous bankcard commercial: priceless.
Dave Mathewson
AMA president
[email protected]
When the prospect
of government
regulations became a
serious concern, AMA
invested heavily in
government relations
to be strong advocates
for our members.
04sig1_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/23/11 9:49 AM Page 5
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/04
Page Numbers: 5
