I have been involved with three RC
clubs throughout the years. I served
as president of the Miracle Strip RC
Modelers in Panama City, Florida; was
on the board of directors of the
Texarkana Radio Control Flying Club,
Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas; and a
current member of the North West
Florida Modelers of Pensacola, Florida.
As such, I thought I knew about AMA.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
As a part of this monthly
communication with you, the
membership of AMA, I plan to embark
on an awareness program of what AMA
does and can do for you. Because of an
unusual turn of events, it is only
appropriate that we begin with the
Custom Services Department.
I learned of an occurrence through
Connections, the AMA employee
newsletter, that has AMA (or should I say
POLICE?) written all over it. Steve
Weaver of the AMA Custom Products
division wrote:
“One of the co-producers of the
television reality show Armed & Famous
that is being filmed in Muncie, Indiana,
contacted the AMA Custom Services
Department on December 15. Darren
Howelton was in a bind. He needed some
last-minute screen-printed items for a
segment of the series that was to be
filmed that very day. He said he went on
the Internet to find a local screen-printing
company to accomplish this task, and
AMA Custom Products popped up.
“Darren called AMA at 8:15 that
I morning and asked if we could
accommodate his request for 14 T-shirts
and hooded sweatshirts screen-printed
with “POLICE” by 11 that morning. After
consulting with department members
Marcy Bizzell and Keith Abercrombie, we
accepted the challenge.
“Darren supplied the apparel needed so
we didn’t need to special-order anything.
He dropped off the shirts and sweatshirts
and I created the necessary artwork to
make the screens for printing. Keith and
another employee, Dante Roque, set up
and printed the apparel and everything was
ready on time.
“When Darren picked up his order, we
invited him to come back if he needed
anything else from AMA Custom
Products. He was most appreciative and
satisfied with our quality and quick
service, but that’s not the end of the story.
“A week later Marcy received a call
from Darren needing 25 more items
printed similarly for the following day to
be given as gifts to the entire television
crew for the holidays. He remembered our
fast turnaround and brought AMA Custom
Products more business.
“For anyone who might see the show,
look for our black T-shirts and hooded
sweatshirts with “POLICE” printed on
them in white.”
Your Academy of Model Aeronautics
offers high-quality screen-printing services
through the Custom Products Department.
The screen-printing area features two
state-of-the-art, multihead screen presses
(manual and automatic) as well as an inline,
high-temperature garment dryer.
We also offer high-quality custom
engraving services through the department.
That area features two high-end rotary
engravers that are configured to work on
metal or plastic materials.
The next time your club plans a big
event or fly-in, check out AMA Custom
Products at www.modelaircraft.org/products.
I cannot guarantee we will print “POLICE”
on your shirts or provide a two-hour
turnaround time, but Custom Products is a
great resource for your club’s events. MA
In the spirit of flight.
Jim Cherry
Executive Director
[email protected]
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/03
Page Numbers: 176