President's Perspective-2011/11

I FOLKS! When I attended a
National Aeronautic Association
(NAA) board of director’s
meeting, I was struck by the common
concern from other board members
throughout the aviation industry—attracting
youth to aviation is a significant problem.
Even the people from the full-scale
industries expressed levels of frustration in
attracting kids to tour their plants!
There are so many activities vying for
our kids’ attention. Therefore, it is
incumbent upon all of us to do whatever we
can to give back to this great hobby of ours
by helping out a kid. This can be
accomplished in a number of ways. Your
AMA Executive Council (EC) has made
significant strides in this endeavor by
offering free memberships to youth.
Another highlight in our activities has
been our recent partnerships with various
industries and trade organizations. In the
past few months, we have entered into
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs)
with the Civil Air Patrol and the EAA for
free membership in AMA. Similar MOUs
are in progress with the FAA and the
Commemorative Air Force.
I recently met Jack Fiscus, the president
of the Marymoor R/C Club in Redmond,
Washington. Jack told me his club was
furthering these efforts to attract youth to
President’s Perspective
AMA Executive Vice President Mark Smith
H
our hobby by offering free club
memberships to youngsters. I asked Jack to
send me an email with the details. Here is
Jack’s response:
“Regarding our discussion of the youth
program here at the Marymoor R/C Club
(AMA #1610) in Redmond WA: In an effort
to increase the number of younger persons
in the club, we decided last year to offer a
free club membership to those persons
meeting the AMA Youth Membership
criteria. When coupled with the recent
AMA initiative to waive Youth Membership
fees, young persons can now enjoy flying as
AMA members/club members at our clubmaintained
field for no membership expense
at all.
“Our youth members have full access to
all club services including initial/upgrade
training, technical advice, fly-ins, and other
club events. Our program has seen us grow
from less than 10 youth members to over 50
in the past year.
“Our overall club membership (now
350-plus) is also growing, mostly as a result
of our youth initiative and the closure of
some other local flying sites. The impact on
the club’s finances and other resources from
free youth memberships program has been
trivial, and we definitely intend to retain the
program.”
AMA’s EC recognized years ago that it is
strategically critical to embrace the
modeling industry in advocating FAA
regulations which are amenable to our
membership. This has been, and continues
to be, working and the following is a
shining example.
The executive editor of Fly RC
magazine, Thayer Syme, wrote in his
“Preflight” the following which I am
sharing with his permission.
“Fortunately, our own AMA is in the
heat of this battle, advocating on our behalf
and keeping us up to date with their latest
advances. Their recent call to action for a
Congressional Awareness campaign
resulted in our writing more than 85,000
letters. Without a doubt our message has
been heard in Washington. Congress is now
considering measures to exempt model
aviation from onerous and unnecessary
restrictions, but we must remain vigilant. I
recommend that you regularly check
www.modelaircraft.org/gov for updates and
have your pen ready in case another call to
action is needed.”
Thank you, Thayer and the staff at Fly
RC for your continued support.
One final note, please be sure to read Rich
Hanson’s AMA Advocacy page. It is
incumbent upon all of us to work together to
make our voices heard in Washington, D.C.
That’s it for this month. Enjoy the
hobby, help out a kid, and most importantly,
have fun!
Keep in touch. MA
Mark Smith
AMA Executive Vice President
[email protected]
problem.