Jim Cherry
Executive Director
[email protected]
176 MODEL AVIATION
and patience as we introduce these new
procedures through the AMA Web site.
Improving our support of and service to the
membership is always our goal.
One of the more enjoyable duties I have as
the executive director of the Academy is
being asked to present the Hall of Fame
(HOF) recognition to a fellow member. On
September 14, 2009, it was my honor to make
such a presentation to Warren Kurth while he
was participating in an FF event here at the
International Aeromodeling Center in
Muncie, Indiana.
The most touching point of the
presentation was when Warren took time to
make a few acceptance comments on his
induction into the HOF. His entire response
was dedicated to the support he had received
from his wife, Norma. He said that his
modeling success was due in large part to her
encouragement of him for more than 50
years. Well done, Warren!
Details of his accomplishments, as well as
the biographies of the other 2009 inductees,
will be in the January 2010 issue of MA. MA
In the spirit of flight.
Executive Director Jim Cherry
ovember is the month in which we
celebrate Thanksgiving and the
beginning of the holiday season.
It’s the time of year of family and friends
coming and going, the true realization of the
year coming fast to a close, and the
awareness that a new year is soon going to
be here.
I have just gotten in the habit of writing
2009 and now it will be soon time to write
2010. Wasn’t it only yesterday when we
were all worried about the Y2K bug and the
end of the world as the century changed?
Your Academy has been developing plans
for the coming year since July. The advance
preparation has been completed and now the
execution aspect begins.
The staff has begun laying the
groundwork for the implementation of the
AMA 2010 Program of Work (POW). This
is AMA’s business/membership services
roadmap outlining the goals and objectives
N
the organization wants to accomplish in the
coming year.
Supporting the POW is the budget for
2010. AMA has not implemented a dues
increase since 2003.
If you go to http://data.bls.gov/cgibin/
cpicalc.pl, you can use the US
Government Consumer Price Index program.
This inflation calculator uses the average
Consumer Price Index for a given calendar
year.
The data represents changes in prices of all
goods and services purchased for
consumption by urban households. Index
values have been calculated every year since
1913. For the current year, the latest monthly
index value is used.
If the Academy had raised dues just to stay
with the purchasing power of 2003, 2009’s
dues should have been $67.88. Because of
cost-containment programs, streamlining of
operations, and other factors, no dues increase
is proposed for 2010.
For many of the operations that serve the
membership, we are relying more on utilizing
the Internet and Web site. One AMA function
requires a certification form to be mailed as
many as five different times before the
process is complete. Placing this procedure in
a Web-based process will save thousands of
dollars each year in postage alone, not to
mention the cost of labor reductions.
For all of these changes to be successful,
the membership needs to be agreeable to
necessary changes in
decades-old
processes. I ask for
your understanding
Improving our support of and service
to the membership is always our goal.
View From HQ
Warren Kurth and his wife, Norma, relax and watch the event.
Above: Jim Cherry (R) awards
Warren Kurth the Model
Aviation Hall of Fame award.
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Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/11
Page Numbers: 176