View from HQ
In the association management profession, as I’m sure one will find in all aspects of work and life, there are defining moments—an event or happening that becomes a benchmark in one’s mind. In that same vein, I have often used the phrase “cashing that psychological paycheck,” meaning an event that gives great personal reward for something one has done or had a large influence on bringing to fruition.
The Toledo Weak Signals R/C Expo, in its 53rd year, is one of the largest modeling shows in the nation. Your AMA has always had a booth at the event and was again present.
On Friday, the first day of the show, I was standing in the booth meeting fellow modelers when a man came around the end of the aisle and glanced my way. A look of “I recognize you from the picture” registered on his face as he started my way.
“Are you Jim Cherry?” he asked. I replied appropriately.
“I knew there was a reason I had been keeping this in my basement for a long time,” he said.
Dennis Miendersma of Westmont, Illinois, handed me a square box, wrapped in brown paper, that he had purchased from an estate sale many years ago. As I tore open the paper, it revealed the original box and its contents: a Thimble Drome PT-19 flight trainer (with the original $10 price tag still attached), just like the one mentioned in my first column in February.
Dennis cashed a huge “psychological paycheck” for me in that moment. He asked me to keep the airplane for as long as I am the AMA executive director, and when my tenure ends I am to make sure the PT-19 is donated to the National Model Aviation Museum.
Actions such as this—and countless others—make this profession and sport so rewarding. Dennis, thank you again. You exemplify sharing the love of modeling. The PT-19 is sitting in my office next to the .049 engine—one of the first items I brought in when I set up my office.
In April the Executive Council (EC) revised the requirements for clubs applying for Leader Club status. The EC noticed that many active clubs were prevented from achieving Leader Club status because of one requirement or another. Many clubs that qualified in a number of ways could not meet the requirements as they were outlined in the program. In reviewing the five basic requirements, the EC agreed to revise them to six and allow the district vice president (VP) to waive one, provided it is not safety related.
One of the requirements is that club membership be open to all AMA members. The Westchester Radio AeroModelers (WRAM) in New York has a membership cap that was originally mandated by the municipality that first gave the club permission to use the land for its site. The club members have since purchased the land, but the restriction remains in place, although anyone may fly at the field as a guest of a member. This membership limit would have disqualified WRAM from Leader Club status in the past. Under the revisions the district VP can waive this requirement and the club, which is extremely active in the community, could apply for Leader Club status.
I know of a group that has not been an AMA-chartered club for a full five years. It is seeking to become a Leader Club. That five-year requirement could be put aside at the discretion of the district VP.
With the VP’s power to waive one of the six basic requirements, many more clubs are now eligible for Leader Club status. If your club has not looked into the Leader Club Program or has looked but has not qualified in the past, this is the time to review the requirements for the three levels of Leader Club status. Leader Club designation has rewards on many levels, including pride within the club membership and good public relations within the community. It has an influence on awarding AMA grants and programs. Check out the revised program at www.modelaircraft.org/PDF-files/708.pdf.
As you celebrate Independence Day in whatever manner you choose, don’t forget those individuals and organizations—past and present—that make our freedom to celebrate possible.
In the spirit of flight.
Jim Cherry Executive Director [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
