AMA Foundation progress is accelerating and expanding

AMA Foundation Board of Directors (L-R) Paul Frankum, Rich Hanson, Rusty Kennedy, Dan Bott Sr., and Dean Palermo. Not pictured is Terry Fleener.

Written by Dan Bott Sr. AMA Foundation Column As seen in the August 2018 issue of Model Aviation.

This column will be the first in a series of updates about what is occurring with the AMA Foundation. My hope is to keep the membership informed of our progress in a quarterly column. I will briefly recap the mission of the AMA Foundation: We exist to support the various programs and initiatives set out by the AMA beyond the services provided to its members. The member dues are carefully allocated to support the current member needs and the excess funds are used to help grow AMA for future generations. Many of the programs created by the Executive Council (EC) target areas to promote the current positive image of the AMA, and put a spotlight on how we are part of the entire aviation community and its future. These programs range from scholarships to youth-targeted education related to aviation and a litany of programs too long to list here. In order to maintain the high level of service to the current members, the foundation’s mission is to help offset the cost of paying for these programs. AMA created the foundation four years ago, and I am happy to report that we have made some notable progress. Considerable progress has occurred and is accelerating. In 2014, our annual donations totaled less than $40,000. Merely four years later, through hard work by the foundation staff, our donations have increase nearly tenfold. There is no stopping us now. We have many new programs and plans in play that should continue the progress. Going forward, we focus our efforts toward corporate and planned giving initiatives. These efforts will require additional resources and talent to pursue. This year, we made a significant move forward with recent additions to our board of directors. Assuring our continued progress increased with the four new members who were added to the AMA Foundation board this past January, we completed our first face-to-face meeting in conjunction with the EC meeting held in April in Muncie, Indiana.

AMA Foundation Board of Directors (L-R) Paul Frankum, Rich Hanson, Rusty Kennedy, Dan Bott Sr., and Dean Palermo. Not pictured is Terry Fleener.

I am excited to share their names and backgrounds: Paul Frankum, Terry Fleener, Rusty Kennedy, and Dean Palermo. Paul is a longtime modeler who holds a jet waiver and is a district associate vice president (AVP) from Georgia. He has an extensive business executive background with a national food company. Paul brings business knowledge, many hobby industry connections, and a dedication and love for our hobby to the board. Terry is a retired director of marketing for Ball Aerospace and lives in Colorado. He is a member of the AMA and likes flying drones. He brings more than five decades of competitive sporting experience from the world of rugby. Terry is a member of the US Rugby Foundation Board and brings excellent philanthropic board experience to our team. Rusty is an AVP from Virginia with great ties to the AMA EC and has served on numerous AMA committees. Rusty is an avid sport flier and retired as an investigator with the U.S. Air Force. Dean is from Florida and comes from a successful business background. Dean has the distinction of starting an RC club in Florida that boasts nearly 500 members with approximately a third of the members under the age of 19. You will no doubt be hearing more about these individuals, and will likely cross their paths at one or more events in the future. You will find them to be warm, friendly, dedicated modelers whom I believe will be making a positive difference in the future of our hobby. Dan Bott Sr. joined the AMA Foundation Board in 2014. He has been an AMA Life Member since 1988, is a Leader Member, contest director, holds a turbine waiver, and is a Heritage Member of the AMA Foundation.