AMA News - District I Report
District
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Vice President
- Don Krafft
PO Box 1828 Duxbury, MA 02331-1828 Ph. (781) 934-6248
Associate Vice Presidents
- James M. Semonian, 166 Allen Road, Billerica, MA 01821-5240
- M. C. McGuffin, 116 Hillview Avenue, Houlton, ME 04730-2312
- Harry S. Newman, 36 Sherwood Drive, Hooksett, NH 03106-1077
- Richard Sherman, 30 High Street, Plymouth, NH 03264-1223
- Andrew Argenio, 3 Sheila Ave., Smithfield, RI 02917
- Bob Wallace, 91 Sylvan Street, Avon, CT 06001-2230
Frequency Coordinator
- Joel Chappell, 21 Billings Street, Milford, NH 03055-3906
Ph. (603) 673-6240
Reported in The Tale Spinner (R/C Gulls newsletter)
Howard Smith December 1924–May 2002
For those who have not yet heard, our past club newsletter editor, Howard Smith, has passed away. He was 77 years old and had spent most of those years in the model airplane hobby, or at least thinking about the hobby.
Howard was a devoted member of this club, and would help in any way he could. He also helped many club members build and fly, and provided model supplies to those who needed them. If you paid him back, good; but if not, that was okay, too.
And most can tell you, if you needed an explanation on any subject, you would get that information and plenty more. All past and present members know what I am talking about.
Howard will be missed by all who knew him. The club and members have lost a true friend.
Northern Connecticut Radio Control Club — Field Purchase
Submitted by Bob Wallace, Associate Vice President (AVP) for Connecticut. This is the first part; the rest will appear in next month’s column.
A Day to Remember: March 22, 2002 will be a date long remembered by the members of the Northern Connecticut Radio Control Club (NCRCC), for on that day they joined that select group of radio control (RC) clubs that actually own their flying field.
Now, when NCRCC members refer to their flying field, it has special meaning — it truly is theirs. Unique and setting the NCRCC apart from other clubs that own their flying sites is the fact that 75% of the 40-plus acres purchased is surrounded by property that will serve as a buffer zone against possible future commercial, industrial, or residential developmental encroachment.
The surrounding property is wooded or open agricultural areas. The agricultural areas will continue to be leased to the same area farmers, so the NCRCC is now both a property owner and a landlord.
The NCRCC's flying field purchase is an inspirational story. It wasn't the result of a gift or the work of a few financially well-endowed members shelling out huge amounts of cash to make it possible.
It was made possible by a widespread, enthusiastic membership response that resulted in financial donations and pledges being made by more than half the club's membership. Some donations and pledges even came from non-club members who have enjoyed participating in sanctioned competitions that are held annually at the NCRCC flying site.
The people who truly made it happen were the members of NCRCC's board of directors, led by president Bob LaFlamme. From the time in early 2001, when it became known that the tract of land on which the club's leased flying field is situated was to be sold, Bob and his fellow officers adopted a positive, "we-can-do-this" mindset that proved to be contagious.
Whether or not they could raise the necessary funding was never seriously questioned; the focus was always on how best to do it. A point was reached during late summer where pledges and donations had slowed to a trickle with the club's financial goal still many thousands of dollars short. Compounding the problem was the fact that time was running out, and a binding offer had to be made for the property within several weeks.
The board of directors meeting at that point was pivotal. Surprisingly, there was no "gloom-and-doom" and the discussion remained positive and focused on how best to attain the club's financial goal. This truly was a group not about to fail.
Additional solicitations, combined with a bit of gentle verbal arm-twisting, resulted in the club's financial goal being realized. As additional assurance, a small loan was obtained and an earlier mortgage became necessary due to a questioned property border, and the actual closing date had to be rescheduled several times.
Finally, at 10 a.m. on March 22 in Norwich, CT, the closing was held, thus making what is only a distant dream for most RC clubs a reality for the Northern Connecticut Radio Control Club. Membership pledges and donations made this possible, but it was the dedicated, enthusiastic efforts of the club's board of directors and Bob LaFlamme who made it happen.
March 22 is now a date that most NCRCC members will never forget. The NCRCC is a club rich in history and well known for its annual Auction & Swap Shop that is arguably the largest, best organized, well-managed, and most successful event of that type in the entire Eastern part of the country.
Now they are proud flying site owners and landlords.
NCRCC's latest and most significant accomplishment is one that serves as a showcase example of what is possible if a club has great leadership and a supportive membership.
— BW
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
