President's Perspective
Dave Brown, AMA president
... pledge to be part of the solution.
Another whirlwind month is winding down—and we're gearing right back up here in the Brown household. The past month has been busy, and I have been able to talk to—and listen to—a lot of AMA members.
The month has been filled with highlights, the biggest of which was the completion of our new headquarters building in Muncie, IN. It is beautiful!
It's so nice, in fact, that a couple of us have expressed concern that some members might think we are being too extravagant. We built it for less than $110 per square foot, and anyone in the construction business will agree that that is actually quite inexpensive for a commercial office building.
The staff is moving in as this is being written, and I understand that the pride is showing everywhere.
There is even an office for me and another one for the Executive Council members to use when they are in town. I figure my office will be among the first to go if we need more space for the staff!
I'm sure the new headquarters building will be the subject of coverage in the magazine in the future.
The WRAM (Westchester Radio Aero Modelers) show in February was its typical mob scene, and it provided an opportunity to talk to many members from the Northeast, but the big gathering of AMA members has to be at the Southeastern Model Show in Perry, Georgia.
This swap meet is huge, and I'm convinced that it is the country's largest one-day gathering of AMA members.
We held the AMA Annual Membership Meeting there. Although the show was well attended, the meeting was somewhat disappointing; as is typical, only a small number of members were present. In fact, I think the number of AMA officials and staff outnumbered the members.
I wish I knew what it would take to get the attendance up at this annual meeting—maybe dancing girls?
I can't say that without remembering a District IX meeting a number of years ago, when Russ Miller advertised "dancing girls" and came through big-time. He had the local school tap-dancing class perform. It was a great moment.
Thanks to Norm Deputy and the GAMA (Georgia Aircraft Modelers Association) members for a great event. I'd particularly like to thank Dave Ziegler and George Perryman for their work with the kids. This was the highlight of the show for me.
Above this line things are pretty much positive, but the letter that follows will negate any idea that all is perfect. I received the following via e-mail; unfortunately, I get something similar to this more often than I would like—I suspect maybe six or eight times a year.
It reminds me of that great Pogo quote: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
I haven't talked to the club involved as yet, so I have only heard one side of the story, but the fact that someone took the time to write this is indicative of a serious problem.
If you want to ensure that this great sport of ours has a future, this is among the best ways I know of to do it.
"I am writing to you because I had a terrible experience today and am hoping that you can help. Twenty years ago as a boy I flew control-line airplanes and was involved in a local club of fliers. I really enjoyed the hobby.
"Recently I decided to get back into the hobby and built an RC (radio control) airplane thinking I would learn and my boy and I could go out to our local park hosted by the [local club] and fly. Well, today I went out there, and have never been so embarrassed in my life.
"There are a number of individuals who 'run' the field and make it very clear that they are from the [local club] and AMA members. Not only were they extremely unfriendly to newcomers, but used language that was extremely foul. Every mistake was met not with encouraging words, but foul‑language insults with the 'F' word being used a lot. This was extremely embarrassing in front of my five-year-old boy.
"I have been an aviator for a number of years and an aviation enthusiast since I was a little boy. I have never been in the midst of such foul-mouthed, inconsiderate, and intolerant pilots as I was today.
"When I asked my instructor about this, I was even told that not only was this kind of behavior accepted at the [local club], but that [one of the officers] of the club was one of the worst offenders. I was also told that today's events were not only normal but were actually tame.
"Considering that this hobby not only attracts aviators, but encourages their participation, this kind of behavior should never be tolerated of members of the AMA. Members and clubs that insist on this kind of behavior should be drummed out.
"As a taxpayer, I am even more enraged that this kind of behavior is tolerated at a county park. I also plan on contacting the parks department here in [my hometown]. If nothing is done by the AMA or the [local club] to correct this, I will lobby to have this field shut down.
"I apologize for this letter, but today has left a very bad taste in my mouth. If this is what RC flying has become, then I want no part of it and am sad that people tolerate this kind of behavior today. It truly hurts, considering the fun I had as a boy flying model aircraft."
Whew! I hope the people who act this way realize what they are doing, and how much damage their attitude does to the well-being of the activity. These are the same people who will wonder what happened when the parks shut down the flying site, and will turn to AMA expecting the organization to get it back.
When we have members acting in ways that cause other members to even think about going to the people who supply our flying sites to get them shut down, we are in deep trouble.
Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are part of the problem—or pledge to be part of the solution.
'Til next month.
Dave
Dave Brown AMA president [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
