View From HQ-2011/12

compared with 2010. However, there are
some bright spots in the numbers. The
decline has slowed significantly compared
with previous years and for 2011 will be
less than a 1% drop. And, if we factor in our
increase in Youth members, as a result of
our new Youth initiatives with the EAA, the
Civil Air Patrol (CAP), and others, our 2011
membership is up slightly more than 2.5%.
Since its peak in 2003, AMA has
suffered a loss of nearly 52.5% of our
Youth members through 2010. With the
help of our youth initiatives, we have
stopped that trend. We continue to build on
our education outreach efforts and will
continue to promote model aviation as an
excellent educational and recreational
family activity. Aeromodeling can be a
perfect stepping stone for our younger
members to careers in aviation and
aerospace.
The number of new members—those
who have not been members in the past—is
up significantly over last year. This is a
good sign.
In late September, AMA signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with the education wing of the FAA to work
together to support AMA’s individual
mission and to support the education
outreach efforts of the FAA.
There is an understandable concern in
this country about where the next generation
of engineers will come from. Along with the
FAA, we believe that model aviation can be
the impetuous to get young people
interested in aviation as a career.
Using model airplanes to teach science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
is an exciting hands-on way for a fun
activity to educate young people in these
critically important areas. We look forward
to working closely with the FAA on this
initiative.
Also concerning our education outreach
efforts, I’m pleased to be able to tell you
that AMA has been selected by the National
Aeronautic Association for the recipient of
the 2011 Frank G. Brewer trophy for
Aviation Education. This prestigious award
is presented to individuals or organizations,
View From HQ
intended to write my column this month
on the value of nonprofit organization
volunteers such as those of AMA.
However, just as I was about to begin,
my telephone rang. The conversation began
with, “Hey Dave, it’s a blast from your
past!”
It was an old modeling buddy, someone I
hadn’t heard from in years and, frankly, may
have even lost track of for a while.
We first met as kids when our dads took
us to different club events throughout the
Northeast. He lived in Pennsylvania and I
lived in upstate New York. This was long
before the days of email and the Internet, so
the only time we really ever saw or talked to
each other was at modeling events. Yet, we
became pretty good friends.
As life circumstances occurred we began
to see each other less and less and before
long, months, then years, would pass before
we ran into each other; still usually at some
model aviation event.
It was great being able to spend some
time together catching up, talking about our
modeling activities, our kids, and even our
grandkids. As the call ended, it made me
think. Model aviation has been such a big
part of my life, as it has for so many others.
But model aviation isn’t just flying a model
aircraft. It’s so much more.
It’s the camaraderie and friendships that
are built along the way. It’s being with
others who share the same enthusiasm for
something that you do. It’s watching each
other’s kids grow up, and maybe even
grandkids. It’s friendships that last a
lifetime.
It’s something to think about when
someone says, “Tell me more about what
you do as an aeromodeler.”
AMA’s year-end membership numbers are
nearly finalized and it looks as though we
will again face a small decline in members
Executive Director Dave Mathewson
It’s the camaraderie and friendships
that are built along the way
I
honoring significant contributions of
enduring value to aerospace education in the
United States.
AMA was selected this year for
“exemplary accomplishment and
collaborative work with numerous
aerospace organizations across the nation to
assist students, teachers, and community
leaders in understanding the science, skill,
and beauty of flight.”
Jonathan Gaffney, president and chief
executive officer of the NAA and chairman
of the Selection Committee, said “I am
particularly proud that the Academy of
Model Aeronautics was named as the
recipient for 2011. For 75 years they have
maintained a focus on aviation education
which has impacted millions of young
people across the United States, and the
Brewer Trophy is a great acknowledgment
of their dedication and commitment to this
very important cause.”
Receiving this award speaks volumes
about the emphasis AMA has placed on
education outreach and is a reflection of the
hard work of our Education Department led
by Bill Pritchett, our Education Outreach
Specialist Dr. Gordon Schimmel, and our
Education Committee chaired by Travis
McGinnis. AMA Executive Vice President
Mark Smith will accept the trophy on behalf
of AMA at an awards banquet in Arlington,
Virginia, in early November.
For more about this prestigeous award,
see “in the Air” elsewhere in this issue.
You’ll receive this issue of MA near
Thanksgiving. I hope you all get to spend
some time doing what you enjoy most and
have a great holiday season. MA
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson
AMA Executive Director
[email protected]