View From HQ - 2008/02

200 MODEL AVIATION
Executive Director Jim Cherry
ast month I mentioned that I was
compiling the first-ever AMA annual
report for the membership. When this
project was announced to the staff, a
collective yawn nearly sucked all the
available air out of the room.
“This is a model aviation magazine; the
members will not want to read that stuff,”
was the concern from the staff. I replied that
in my first year here, I learned of many
aspects of the AMA as an organization that I
was not aware of although I have been a
member for many years. I was sure other
AMA members would also find it interesting.
As a compromise, I promised that it
would not be titled “AMA Annual Report”
but the more enticing title: “What We Did
With Your Dues in 2007.” That is a revision
of “What We Did With Your $58 Last Year”
because not all members paid $58—Youth,
Family, and Senior Citizen dues are
different—and because we wanted the year
included.
So here goes ...
Accounting is tasked with protecting the
assets of the organization. Diana Garza, our
new comptroller—AKA “bean counter”—
coordinated the annual audit with
independent certified public accountants to
assure members of our commitment to sound
accounting practices and safeguarding the
organization’s financial assets.
Diana and her staff have continuously
streamlined accounting procedures and
processes to cut costs and improve financial
operations. They have processed,
categorized, and accounted for all dues and
non-dues revenue—roughly $9.3 million!
In addition, Diana’s accounting expertise
is available to clubs for questions regarding
not-for-profit status and other tax-related club
issues.
Administration/Operations director, Mary
Lou Vojslavek (you get extra credit for
pronouncing her name correctly), is
responsible for ensuring that things flow
smoothly at headquarters. From paper clips to
permits, travel arrangements to
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
L
training, safety to switchboard coverage, it all
flows through this department.
Officer support between and during the
quarterly Executive Council meetings—
supplies, travel arrangements, hotel rooms,
agenda items, new-officer orientation, and
election information—is crucial. Meeting
arrangements, staff travel policies, and
purchasing are critical to the success of any
well-run organization.
Tasked with a number of other projects as
well, Operations ensures that safety measures
and practices are in place. This includes
updating the Automated External Defibrillator
(AED) equipment, organizing CPR/AED
classes for staff members in the event of an
emergency, and monitoring the office for safety
issues. (Jim, get your model boxes out of the
hallway and don’t leave the arm up on the
paper cutter!)
The staff is committed to acquiring nondues
revenue. Mary Lou pulled together a
sponsorship program for 2008 called “Flight
Team Advantage,” in which local companies or
other entities purchase a level of sponsorship
and advertise AMA and various events at their
establishments. AMA offers reciprocal
advertising depending on the level of
sponsorship. Mary Lou also updated and
distributed a new conference-room rental
brochure to advertise use of our facilities.
This department saved roughly $5,000 in
2007 by taking advantage of discount prices
and shipping specials from various suppliers.
Custom Products falls under the supervision
of Jack Frost. This department provides
trophies and plaques for on-site events and club
needs. T-shirts, hats, and jackets can be ordered
for your club contests or fly-ins as well as
AMA-sponsored events. Last year the
department screen-printed 13,500 T-shirts and
1,385 event trophies.
Would you like vinyl decals of your club
logo for your car window? Do you need a club
logo designed? Want a customized windsock
for your field? Name badges? Engraved
frequency pins? Ribbons or medals for your
next contest? Yard signs? Club hats or golf
shirts? This department can do it all!
Another source of non-dues revenue, the
Custom Products Department offers
competitive pricing—with AMA member
discounts!—and will work with you to
determine what we can do to serve your club
needs. Visit the AMA Web site at www.model
aircraft.org/products.aspx for more details or
call (800) 435-9262.
The Education Department is also managed
by Jack Frost. Under the direction of AMA’s
Education Committee, this department
oversees the AMA Scholarship Program,
which awarded $46,000 this year through the
Charles Hampson Grant awards, the Sig
award, the Toledo Weak Signals award, and
the Telford Scholarship.
The department manages the Youth
Education Stipend, or YES Grant, that is
awarded to clubs or organizations to help fund
aeromodeling-oriented youth education
programs. This year $3,000 was awarded to
four applicants. Information about YES and
the scholarship program is in the Education
section of the AMA Web site.
Using Alcoa grant funds, the Education
Department purchased a new booth to set up at
trade shows and education conventions. The
booth was used to present workshops at the
National Science Teachers Association
(NSTA) National Convention in Saint Louis,
Missouri, and NSTA Area Conventions in
Detroit, Michigan, and Birmingham,
Alabama.
Thanks to the generous support of the
Alcoa Foundation, the Education Committee
produced AeroLab: a DVD/CD featuring
activities developed by science teachers for
teachers. To date, roughly 1,025 copies have
been distributed generating more than $6,000
from sales.
The Education Committee sponsored the
Wright Stuff and the Balloon-Launched Glider
events at the Science Olympiad in the 2006-
2007 season and committed to sponsor both
events for the 2007-2008 season.
The Education Department supplied 98
trainer aircraft, simulators, and resource
materials to clubs selected for the Take-off
And Grow (TAG) program. TAG is designed
to help clubs with a hands-on flight activity
designed to introduce newcomers to the sport.
The department staff has committed many
evenings and weekends to local and state
events, seminars, and workshops, sharing with
attendees the educational programs AMA has
to offer.
Facilities/Maintenance is run by John
Hawley. What site—especially one that hosted
approximately 50 events in 2007—could
function properly without someone overseeing
everything from mowing the lawn to
maintaining site and facility security? This
department’s responsibilities include two
office buildings, Nats Headquarters, five rental
houses, three maintenance barns, and a 1,000-
plus-acre site.
John and his staff worked tirelessly,
weekends included, all summer to ensure that
site preparation and equipment needs were
What We Did With Your Dues in 2007
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met for all events on-site. Whether it was
painting CL circles, grooming the grass
flightlines, or ensuring that there was
adequate water and power available for
contestants and spectators, the maintenance
staff was on the job.
Landscaping, signage, running electrical
lines to the camping areas, maintaining
restroom and shower facilities, and
graveling and raking the parking areas
helped make a visit to the flying site a
pleasant experience for competitors and
visitors alike.
The work doesn’t stop when the
summer is over. Equipment requires
maintenance, tents need cleaned and stored
for the following season, rental properties
need managed, and something always
needs repaired.
A wayward vehicle detoured off the
road and through a storage garage last
spring. Stored files and garage walls were
spread across the lawn, and the
maintenance crew had to salvage what it
could and rebuild the garage.
Winter brings its own chores when the
snow flies and parking lots and roads need
plowed, sanded, or salted. The maintenance
crew generally clears much of the county
road in front of the building to help ensure
that staff members get to work safely.
Human Resources is run by Mary Hurn,
whose desk overflows with exciting
reading material that includes Payroll Law,
OSHA General Industry Course, Human
Resources and the Law, and
Communicating with Tact and Finesse. She
keeps us in compliance with current
employment laws.
Mary conducts interviews and
corresponds with potential employees,
updates the policy manual, monitors
vacation time, administers all employee
benefits and annuity/retirement programs,
and posts legally required information. She
creates and updates job descriptions,
coordinates evaluations, and manages
employee insurance and COBRA plans.
One of her more enjoyable tasks is to
coordinate the monthly employee
newsletter, making sure employees’
significant accomplishments, birthdays,
and employment anniversaries are
recognized.
We are fortunate in that of those
directly employed at AMA Headquarters,
nearly half have been here more than 10
years. I consider that pretty good for a
company that has only been located in
Muncie, Indiana, since 1992.
What do you say about Information
Systems (IS)? Is there an abbreviation that
hasn’t been used by department head Greg
Minch? SSL, CSS, CMS, FTP, TCP/IP,
etc. I felt I have been learning a new
language!
IS is responsible for AMA’s in-house
and remote communication systems. This
includes computers, software, and
telephone systems; POS (that’s point-ofsale)
systems for the museum store, Supply
and Service, and remote sales venues; and
the company’s Web site.
One of IS’s most important functions is
to safeguard member information and
financial transactions. An updated SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer) certificate and
frequent systems testing and analysis
ensure that your transactions—renewing
your membership or purchasing a hat from
the online store—are secure.
Primarily the work of the IS
Department, AMA launched a new Web
site in 2007 utilizing Web 2.0 and CSS
(Cascading Style Sheet) technology and a
CMS (Content Management System) that
allows staff members to update their own
areas of the site without relying on other
departments.
Through the AMA Web site, 2,792
three-month trial memberships, 32,017
renewals, 11,559 new full memberships,
and 7,300 address changes were processed.
An enhanced club locator system added
by the department includes GPS (Global
Positioning System) coordinates,
restrictions, multiple flying sites, and
Google mapping functions (satellite,
directions, etc.). Also added were video,
picture gallery, and streaming video
capability.
Marketing’s Tom Schwyn and his staff
were deeply involved in the Park Pilot
Program launch, including two DVDs, four
ads, the licensing station, brochure, rebate
program, and promotional material for the
AMA Convention.
The ongoing Introductory Membership
Program has generated more than 2,700
members. The department was responsible
for the buddy-box program that generated
3,000 new members in 2007.
Another program Tom is responsible
for, the AMA/DVD series, has generated
between $100,000 and $120,000 in nondues
revenue, and the Affinity Visa
program has produced $150,000 in nondues
revenue.
Marketing designed, produced, and
launched the 2007 “Got Wings” advertising
series, which is AMA’s focus on members
and how aeromodeling has affected their
lives and careers. The staff designed and
assembled the AMA booth and graphics for
several events including the JR Indoor
Electric Festival.
The 2007 Extreme Flight
Championships (XFC) was held at the
International Aeromodeling Center and the
department created the television, radio,
newspaper, and billboard advertising.
AMA’s Membership Department
maintains club and individual records.
You’ve no doubt contacted this department
if you’ve ever had the opportunity to call
the Academy to renew your membership,
change your address, ask “When should I
receive my card?” or “Where is my
magazine?” or say “Last weekend when I
was at the field I left my card ... ”
Supervised by Colleen Pierce, the
Membership Department maintains the
records for roughly 150,000 members and
nearly 2,500 chartered clubs and 14
chapters.
In the past year, customer service staff
in the department fielded approximately
39,000 telephone calls, 11,000 of which
were membership renewals. That comes
out to roughly 155 calls a day, or 20 calls
per hour—and that does not include
handling mail or E-mail requests for
information, applications, or online
renewal processing!
Museum Director Michael Smith
supervises the National Model Aviation
Museum, which houses the largest
collection of model aircraft in the United
States. There are roughly 8,000 artifacts in
the collection, including model airplanes,
radio systems, engines, building tools and
equipment, and memorabilia such as
patches, stickers, and clothing.
In the past year the museum staff has
created four new exhibits including the
Ingenuity Corner, one dedicated to park
flyers, another to Peanut models, and the
fourth to RC skydivers. Five current
exhibits—helicopters, the Pan American
Airlines Payload event, the RC Pylon
Racing area, the RC Pattern aircraft
exhibit, and the area dedicated to Scale
aircraft—were updated.
A huge bonus to the museum and the
staff was the construction of the new
archival storage area that roughly doubled
storage space. The staff moved 645 boxes
of material into the new space. Forty-nine
new collections were donated to the
museum in the past year and the staff
cataloged 738 artifacts.
Planning a Scale project and need
documentation? A huge asset to anyone
researching full-scale or model aircraft is
the Lee Renaud Memorial Library. In this
past year, 771 books, DVDs, and journals
were added to the collection. Roughly
4,500 books were cataloged with a new
numbering system, and the magazinearticle
database was increased to more than
3,000 listings.
If you plan a vacation to the AMA
facilities this coming summer, please be
sure to check out this tremendous tribute to
model aviation.
Longtime employee Sheila Tweedy
oversees the retail aspects of the
organization. The Cloud 9 Museum Store
and the Supply and Service Department
cater to members and visitors, offering
AMA-logo clothing and accessories and
aviation-related souvenirs, gifts,
collectibles, and memorabilia through the
store, catalog sales, and the online store.
The museum store serves as AMA’s
welcome center for members and visitors.
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Often a visitor’s first stop, those staffing
the store greet people, supply information
about events on-site, register campers, and
even accept memberships on weekends
and holidays.
Through the catalog or online store,
you can find the same things that are
available in the on-site store. Did you
realize that we offer everything from
windsocks to airplane Christmas
ornaments? You can find club-related
items including pins, patches, caps, and
jackets, as well as DVDs and books!
The store sets up a tent on-site or
operates at Event Headquarters during the
Nats and other special events, supplying
visitors and competitors with souvenirs
and often much-needed items such as rain
gear, sweatshirts, sunscreen, portable
chairs, and hats.
An addition to the retail sales is the
AMA Plans Service. After purchasing the
John Pond Plans Service and combining it
with the published plans from MA, the
Academy can offer you roughly 15,000
plans to browse and purchase. The listing
is available online, and catalogs can be
obtained through the Plans Service.
New this year, foam wing and stabilizer
cores are available through the Plans
Service. Please call (800) 435-9262, ext.
507, for information and pricing.
The Programs Department administers
various programs that AMA sponsors,
including Flying Site Assistance, the
Flying Site Grant program, providing
assorted handout materials for hobby
shops, mall shows, AMA awards and
certificates, the Hobby Shop Incentive
Program, Kit Stuffer Programs, and Leader
Clubs.
Director Jay Mealy and his staff are
responsible for the annual AMA
Convention, which draws roughly 200
exhibitors and approximately 8,000
attendees. The staff coordinates attendance
at various trade shows, responds to
insurance and legal matters, processes
medical and insurance claims, serves as
liaison to the Federal Aviation
Administration, and includes the Technical
Department. They address aeromodeling
safety issues, process experimental aircraft
permits and turbine waivers, answer Safety
Code questions, and handle event
sanctions.
AMA’s Flying Site Assistance
coordinators are proactive in helping clubs
find, acquire, and retain flying sites.
Highlighting economic benefits of
partnerships between clubs and
communities and developing a partnership
with the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) have been instrumental in this
endeavor. In conjunction with the EPA,
there is even a promotional video in the
works!
The Programs Department ensures that
your event makes it onto the Contest
Calendar online and in MA. CD reports are
logged and the Contest Director’s guide
and rule book are kept up to date. Specialwording
insurance certificates are another
service handled by the department.
One of AMA’s “Did you know?”
programs administered by this department
is the Flying Site Development
Improvement Program. In 2007 AMA gave
away more than $32,000 to clubs that
participated. Does your club qualify? Visit
www.modelaircraft.org/PDF-files/712.pdf
to find out!
The Publications Department is headed
up by Rob Kurek. The staff is responsible
for the Academy’s flagship publication:
Model Aviation. In addition to the monthly
magazine, the department produces a
bimonthly electronic newsletter for clubs
and newsletter editors called The Insider.
The department is responsible for the Ezine
Sport Aviator (www.masportaviator.com),
which is updated weekly with new articles.
Last summer’s NatsNews, coverage of the
AMA Nats that is posted online daily, ran
nearly 300 pages and included roughly
1,200 photos of the event.
Various staff members update the
AMA Web site as needed and maintain the
MA portion of the site. A number of
publications and forms, including the
Membership Manual and the annual club
kit are produced and posted online.
The annual Product Guide is produced
by this department, including the
photography. Even this year’s models were
provided (read coerced into helping out)
by the staff!
The department is responsible for
additional new publications including the
Guide to Membership Services, the
Newcomers Guide, and items supporting
the new Park Pilot Program such as Top
Tips to Keep Your Park Flyer Flying.
From concept to production, Publications
launched Park Pilot, a quarterly magazine
with the premier/winter issue published in
early 2008.
Staff members are also tasked with
providing editorial, photography, and
design support to the rest of the
headquarters staff. More than $1.3 million
in gross advertising revenue (non-dues
revenue) for MA and Sport Aviator was
attained in 2007.
Staff Director is a new position at AMA.
Joyce Hager, an AMA employee for more
than 37 years and formerly AMA’s
executive director, fills this role. Besides
assisting me in my job, she fills in for me
when I need to be out of the office. She
has eased the transition between her
leadership and mine, as well as effectively
stepping in and carrying out many other
important functions.
Joyce scheduled and coordinated more
than 50 events held on-site and played an
integral role in the 2007 Nats management.
She filtered and responded to E-mail and
correspondence for various employees
who were on leave or had departed, and
she assisted the Human Resources
Department in its responsibilities.
FAI programs are recognized
internationally. Members participate in the
programs to become members of teams
that compete in World Championships
held in various countries. A Team
Selection Committee (members elected
from each district), chooses participants
for world teams.
Joyce helps manage the distribution of
information, vote tabulations, etc., and she
monitors guidelines and procedures for
each, supporting the various teams
monetarily and administratively.
Joyce helped develop the AMA Host
and Hostess Program, ensuring that
visitors to the facility would have an onsite
resource for help 24 hours a day. She
worked at Event HQ during XFC/Summer
Heat and the International Radio
Controlled Helicopter Association
(IRCHA) Jamboree.
A familiar face at numerous
conventions and trade shows, Joyce has
represented AMA several times in the past
year. She also helped with the preparation
of the 2008 budget and the strategic
planning meeting. Joyce’s wealth of
organizational experience and knowledge
will continue to be a valuable resource as
we move into the new year.
So there you have it: the first “what we
did with your dues last year” report. This
is not to be confused with a boring “annual
report.” Have you learned anything new? I
hope you have a better understanding of
what your organization does to support the
membership and hobby.
We are fortunate to have a dedicated
staff working across the nation to serve the
membership. Many work behind the
scenes and never get the recognition they
ought to have.
One staff person who needs a welldeserved
“atta-girl” is Liz Helms. She took
the input from all the departments and
compiled this report.
This and every other month Liz is
tasked with getting 11 vice presidents, one
executive vice president, one president,
and one executive director to submit their
columns on time and in a usable format.
She has taken many poorly written articles
and made them intelligible, informational,
and readable.
Thanks, Liz, for your dedication and
service to the AMA.
In the spirit of flight. MA
Jim Cherry
Executive Director
[email protected]
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