November 2011 President's Perspective

AMA Executive Vide President Mark Smith

HI FOLKS! When I attended a National Aeronautic Association (NAA) board of director’s meeting, I was struck by the common concern from other board members throughout the aviation industry—attracting youth to aviation is a significant problem. Even the people from the full-scale industries expressed levels of frustration in attracting kids to tour their plants!
There are so many activities vying for our kids’ attention. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to do whatever we can to give back to this great hobby of ours by helping out a kid. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. Your AMA Executive Council (EC) has made significant strides in this endeavor by offering free memberships to youth. Another highlight in our activities has been our recent partnerships with various industries and trade organizations. In the past few months, we have entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Civil Air Patrol and the EAA for free membership in AMA. Similar MOUs are in progress with the FAA and the Commemorative Air Force. I recently met Jack Fiscus, the president of the Marymoor R/C club in Redmond, Washington. Jack told me his club was furthering these efforts to attract youth to our hobby by offering free club memberships to youngsters. I asked Jack to send me an email with the details. Here is Jack’s response: “Regarding our discussion of the youth program here at the Marymoor R/C Club (AMA #1610) in Redmond WA: In an effort to increase the number of younger persons in the club, we decided last year to offer a free club membership to those persons meeting the AMA Youth Membership criteria. When coupled with the recent AMA initiative to waive Youth Membership fees, young persons can now enjoy flying as AMA members/club members at our club-maintained field for no membership expense at all. “Our youth members have full access to all club services including initial/upgrade training, technical advice, fly-ins, and other club events. Our program has seen us grow from less than 10 youth members to over 50 in the past year. “Our overall club membership (now 350-plus) is also growing, mostly as a result of our youth initiative and the closure of some other local flying sites. The impact on the club’s finances and other resources from free youth memberships program has been trivial, and we definitely intend to retain the program.” AMA’s EC recognized years ago that it is strategically critical to embrace the modeling industry in advocating FAA regulations which are amenable to our membership. This has been, and continues to be, working and the following is a shining example. The executive editor of Fly RC magazine, Thayer Syme, wrote in his Preflight the following which I am sharing with his permission. “Fortunately, our own AMA is in the heat of this battle, advocating on our behalf and keeping us up to date with their latest advances. Their recent call to action for a Congressional Awareness campaign resulted in our writing more than 85,000 letters. Without a doubt our message has been heard in Washington. Congress is now considering measures to exempt model aviation from onerous and unnecessary restrictions, but we must remain vigilant. I recommend that you regularly check www.modelaircraft.org/gov for updates and have your pen ready in case another call to action if needed.” Thank you, Thayer and the staff at Fly RC for your continued support. One final note, please be sure to read Rich Hanson’s AMA Advocacy page. It is incumbent upon all of us to work together to make our voices heard in Washington, D.C. That’s it for this month. Enjoy the hobby, help out a kid, and most importantly, have fun! Keep in touch. MA
Mark Smith AMA Executive Vice President [email protected] Back To This Month's Issue of Model Aviation