View From HQ-2011/11

organization if they believe that the value
they receive from membership is equal to or
greater than the cost of dues. They are
typically younger, have busy lives, and their
available recreation time is limited. They see
association membership as an investment and
want to see a return on that investment.
And then there is a contingent of model
aviation enthusiasts who choose to enjoy
model aviation outside the umbrella of AMA.
How do we solve what, for some, might
be a perception issue? One solution might be
to help members determine the real value of
their AMA membership.
AMA offers dozens of membership
benefits. Not every member wants or needs
each benefit, but all want or need some of
them.
Make a list of all AMA membership
benefits. Some of the most recognizable
include:
• AMA’s work to allow model aviation to
remain free of overly onerous government
regulation.
• Its work as a liaison to other government
agencies including the Environmental
Protection Agency, the FCC, and the
Department of Homeland Security.
• The Disaster Relief Program that has
helped dozens of clubs faced with loss or
damage to their flying sites as the result of
natural disasters.
• The Flying Site Assistance Grant
Program that has helped clubs improve their
current facilities or purchase a permanent
flying site.
• The Take off And Grow (TAG) Program
that provides financial assistance to help clubs
introduce model aviation to others in their
communities, building the club’s credibility
with its neighbors.
• The Legal Defense Fund that provides
matching-dollar financial assistance to help
clubs overcome the threat of losing flying
sites.
• Subscriptions to either AMA’s flagship
publication Model Aviation or Park Pilot
magazines.
• The Charles H. Grant Scholarship
Program that has awarded nearly $800,000 to
young members beginning their college
careers.
View From HQ
e’ve all heard the question:
“When a tree falls in the forest
and nobody is around to hear it;
did it make a sound?” The logical answer
would be “yes.”
I recently spoke with another association
leader who put a spin on that question. He
asked, “If an association offers value to its
members and the members do not take
advantage; did the association deliver value?”
He felt most would answer that question “no.”
His reasoning centered on value
proposition. Today it is critically important
that associations such as AMA provide a high
level of value to their membership.
Often when AMA members are asked
about what they receive from their
membership, they are at a loss for a good
answer. This is typical of most membership
organizations. In AMA’s case, insurance is
usually given as a reason for belonging.
Members sometime have a hard time
articulating other reasons, although most
know there are many.
When former members are asked why
they chose not to renew their membership,
they provide a number of answers. They’ve
left model aviation; they don’t fly enough to
maintain their membership; what AMA offers
is no longer relevant to them; or dues are too
high. Except for possibly leaving model
aviation, all of these reasons can be narrowed
down to “not enough perceived value.”
The majority of AMA’s members can be
broken down into two categories. Those in the
first category will continue to belong to AMA
no matter what. Many have been modelers for
decades and AMA members for nearly as
long. They know the organization and believe
in it because they’ve lived it. They know
firsthand how their AMA membership has
enhanced their ability to enjoy model
aviation.
The second group is more challenging.
These people are generally willing to join an
Executive Director Dave Mathewson
“If an association offers value to its
members and the members do not
take advantage; did the association
deliver value?”
W
• AMA’s Education Outreach efforts
which provide support to clubs in their effort
to introduce model aviation to the younger
members of their communities.
• A structured system of competition rules
and a sanctioning process that helps manage
more than 2,500 individual club events each
year.
AMA is the only organization in the
United States that represents model aviation
on an international level through our
affiliation with the National Aeronautic
Association and FAI. Then add a significant
benefit, the one most members think about
first when asked about AMA, the liability
insurance protection AMA provides to each
member. This excess coverage for members is
well above what most of us individually carry
and provides peace of mind for many.
Possibly more important is the primary
protection each of our chartered clubs can
offer site owners as a result of their AMA
affiliation. This benefit has allowed hundreds
of clubs access to good flying sites that they
might not otherwise have.
Added to these benefits are dozens of
others—too many to mention—that are also
included with an AMA membership.
Now that you’ve compiled your list of
AMA benefits, place a dollar value next to
each item that would equal the value of this
benefit to you. Values will be different for
every member. Some feel certain benefits
have no value to them, while others may place
a high value on that same benefit.
After you’ve assigned values, go back
and add the numbers. If the number is greater
than the cost of your dues, membership in
AMA is a good value for you. I truly believe
most will find that AMA membership is a
great value. MA
See you next time …
Dave Mathewson
AMA Executive Director
[email protected]