View From HQ - 2009/12

We are all aware of the 80/20 rule:
80% of the work gets done by 20% of the
club membership. Imagine what could be
accomplished if we could just shift those
percentages to 100%, with everyone
pulling a share of the work? As you and
your club make plans for the New Year,
think outreach.
Reach out to touch those teetering on
the edge of your established modeling
community and invite them to join in the
fun. Reach out to that school system,
planting an awareness of aviation in a
youngster. Although it may not take root
for years, that awareness can start with
you.
Reach out with that staged flying event
which might entice a spectator to come
back and bring new blood and resources to
the club. Reach out for the survival of our
flying sites, our passion, and our love of
flight.
I started this column on a down note
about the weather. I also believe in that
famous show tune from the Broadway
musical Annie. You know the one …
The sun’ll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There’ll be sun!
Just thinkin’ about
Tomorrow … MA
In the spirit of flight.
168 MODEL AVIATION
Jim Cherry
Executive Director
[email protected]
Executive Director Jim Cherry
s I am writing this, the “view from
HQ” is not looking very nice right
now. It’s cold and rainy, and
tomorrow isn’t supposed to be any better.
I hope during the holiday season you have
an opportunity to be with friends and family.
The New Year will soon be upon us, and with
it the challenges it brings to everyone.
If you have had an opportunity to contact
AMA Headquarters in the past four months,
you may have participated in a new
membership-satisfaction survey. Immediately
after you interface with an AMA staff
member, an e-mail is generated asking you for
feedback on your request for service.
This survey began with the Membership
Department and is being expanded to all
AMA departments over a period of time. The
results of the survey will help us fine-tune
AMA’s membership service and support.
This New Year also brings challenges in the
form of membership concerns. If you’re a
frequent reader of my column, you have read
of the concerns about decreasing membership
in past years.
It would be easy to blame the current
economic times on this decrease, but in
reality, the decrease began before the current
downturn. Many theories have been postulated
for this loss in members. Much time and effort
A
and many resources have been put into
reversing this trend.
In the management letter from the Finance
Committee, accompanying the proposed 2010
budget, was a statement reflecting this effort.
It read: “Although we are forecasting a
continuing decline in membership that affects
the budget, we are hopeful for a membership
increase as a result of our expanded marketing
efforts. The committee encourages all VPs to
focus on membership development within
their districts.”
In 2009, the Academy launched its firstever
membership drive. The results were
promising for an inaugural effort, but more
importantly, it laid the foundation for us to
build upon in succeeding years.
The grand prize—an AMA Life
Membership—was awarded to Binyamin
Elkouby in District X for signing up 16
new AMA members. Recognition and
rewards were given to clubs, hobby shops,
and even on a district level for those who
participated.
The complete list of membership drive
winners can be found at www.modelair
craft.org/membershipdrive/leaders.aspx.
We are all ambassadors of the model aviation
community. We have a direct impact on
others who witness us at play, whether it’s at
the flying field, as a guest in our homes, or
during a casual meeting on the street.
There was a time in my life when, if I
heard the sound of a model engine, I would
jump on my bike and ride toward it, seeking
the source and hoping to find another who has
a love for anything that flies. Those days are
long gone. In today’s society I would most
likely end up talking to a man with a weed
eater, but you get the point.
We all have the chance to influence
another’s view of aeromodeling. Will it be a
positive influence or are we
“too busy” to take time to
concern ourselves with a
nonmodeler?
Reach out for the survival of our flying
sites, our passion, and our love of flight.
View From HQ
Right: The ninth annual
J.W. Rice Memorial Fly-In
was held October 3-4, 2009.
Left: Two of the participants
were Colin Poitrast and his
dad, Dan Poitrast, standing
with host and District VIII
Vice President Jim Rice.
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