President s PERSPECTIVE Vacation over back work year officers AMA give up column enable magazine enhance its coverage Nats some welcome respite others well lets just say universally acclaimed policy actually did take vacation trip year went visit some aeromodeling friends Ireland attend wedding daughter trip proved once again its people make sport model aviation great Among challenges officers face develop budget organization Its interesting process takes lot time usually start establishing assumptions such factors interest rates inflation membership growth shrinkage Just establishing factors can very challenging lot guesswork involved example previously decided reduce cost membership youth categories $1 now foreed put down specific number youth members expect tojoin 1998 Any number put down guess its guess done consensus Once assumptions made income side budget pretty much matter mathematics Now start expense side First figure out what will cost continue same things next year did year add costs programs other expenses have passed Executive Council After anything left over consider capital budget requests various departments Thats way budget has done quite few years As can see process depends heavily continuing business same way has done past problem small drop-off membership have experiencing simply enough money continue fund traditional programs much less fund new programs deemed needed Executive Council staff bottom line need realign priorities budgeting recognizing some traditional programs will have allowed sunset order provide funding programs deemed productive todays times will undoubtedly effect some members members will vociferously defend program have part simply matter priority Can AMA ever get election right might seem strange question coming President figure WI dont ask someone else certainly will cant say blame track record late has somewhere between awful miserable latest way have figured out mess up election have PO Box closed returns start coming wasnt some sinister plot anything sort what happened Box belonging auditors used AMAs election returns soit isnt checked regularly during summer months Post Office decided simply put renewal notice Box rather mailing auditors office have done past years Two notices guess what assumed auditor didnt want continue Box reissued another customer first returns started coming return addresses returned sender return address destroyed first realized problem alert member gotten ballot back called ask what going have way recover ballots nor have absolute way detennine exactly lost know problem discovered after oaly four five days best estimate ballots involved around 200 auditor has accepted complete responsibility problem after much consideration decided reballot districts Hand VI simply accept result districts IV VIII X unless returns show some very heavy write-in vote districts decision based couple factors First districts Hand VI closest districts both point ballots sent out well returned combined fact lost ballots first ones returned makes probable vast majority lost ballots came districts Secondly candidates districts IV VIII X running unopposed extremely unlikely first ballots cast districts would cast write-in candidate absence known write-in campaign being conducted districts case some write-in candidate emerge significant number votes would certainly reballot district well feel confident action have taken situation will result election being completed mistake having no effect whatsoever results Again apologize give word will try better next year Looking bright side havent made same mistake twiceyet much sorrow must report tragedy ranks modelers over world During F3D RC Pylon Racing World Championships Czech Republic Jim Shinohara caller US team stricken heart attack field Immediate CPR kept Jim alive got him hospital coma Approximately six weeks later received word October 7 Jim passed away regaining consciousness Best known spirit leader Samurai Racing team will sorely missed everyone knew him behalf AMA members Id like express condolences family friends doubt knew him will ever again able hear firecracker go off thinking him next month Dave Brown AMA President January1998 7