Executive Director View from HQ
"Read those candidate statements and vote."
It seems as though each column I write begins with the ending of an event—this time it's the Nationals. The full report will be in the December Model Aviation, but I will say that we had great weather and more contestants than last year. A lot of work goes into putting on this type of event; thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make this Nats a pleasant experience for contestants and visitors. I'd like to share a couple of letters from members who attended.
Letter from Bert McDonald
"My son and I went to the NATS for the first time and found it to be a very enjoyable time. My son and I are new in the sport and are trying to pick up information by watching the beginners and the old hands handle their aircraft and themselves. I was impressed. We went from site to site and saw how smooth the way it was all handled. I was impressed. My dues I feel was well spent just for that one day to stand there and to see art work fling in the air.
"Thank you AMA for giving me a place to take my son and enjoy life like a Dad should with his son."
—Bert McDonald AMA #588398
Reprint from the RVRC Propwash newsletter
"I want to share a wonderful experience with you. This summer was our family's turn to visit my wife's sister in Indiana. Being the sweetie she is, my bride let me pick the dates to visit. Sometimes I miss the boat but I was on my game with this trip. Our visit just happened to coincide with the AMA NATS being held all of 25 minutes from our stay.
"I consider myself a more than casual AMA reader but when I got to the site I was in complete awe. I had no idea how nice and how large the Muncie AMA facility was. You enter into a large paved driveway lined with AMA district flags flying on each side. These lead you to a nice, new, modern metal building housing the AMA museum and corporate offices. Passing the museum, you start driving out into the event areas ... and you drive and you drive and you drive. Holy cow! This place is huge! I finally got to the helicopter site which was at the back of the property. Looking back towards the museum, my guess the distance was close to a mile of beautiful Indiana farmland. Looking out over three RC events operating at the same time is quite a site to behold. While I was there, I got to watch RC Helicopters, RC Scale, RC Pylon (man you talk about something exciting), CL Scale, CL Combat, CL Stunt, CL Racing, and CL Speed. Wow, what a show and it is all free. If you are a model aviation bug you owe it to yourself to make a visit to the NATS. It is worth any effort and is something you'll never regret."
While thanks to Bert and to RVRC for writing such nice things; it makes us proud to be part of the AMA staff and to be able to maintain the site for the members, their guests, and the public. If you haven't had a chance to visit the Muncie site during the Nationals, include it in next year's vacation plans.
Elections
The office of President and District Vice Presidents for I, V, VII, and IX are up for election this year. Under Article X of the Bylaws:
"Section 3. The president shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the AMA. The President shall be a member, ex-officio, of all regular and special committees except the Nominating Committee. The President shall have the authority to establish or dissolve any committees other than those established by the Bylaws or the Executive Council and to appoint or remove committee chairmen, except as otherwise provided by the Bylaws; and to make final and binding decisions relative to unresolved disputes and protests."
Article XI — Executive Council:
"Section 1. The management of the affairs of the AMA shall be vested in a governing body, to be known as the Executive Council.
- The Executive Council shall be composed of the President, the eleven District Vice Presidents, Executive Vice President, an ex‑officio member who shall be an officer of the National Aeronautic Association designated by NAA. The ex‑officio member shall have the right to vote; but he shall not be counted in determining if a quorum is present at a meeting. The AMA President shall act as Chairperson of the Executive Council.
- The Executive Council shall have the authority to supervise the affairs of the AMA and to establish policies.
- Official decisions may be made by a 2/3 majority mail vote or by a quorum at a Council meeting. A quorum shall consist of at least 50% of current Executive Council members. There shall be no proxy voting; however, a Vice President may designate an Associate Vice President for his district to represent his district at Council meetings with all rights and privileges except the right to vote.
- Decisions of policy shall not be at variance with the stated purposes and objectives of the Bylaws or the Articles of Incorporation of the AMA.
- Any bona fide AMA member may initiate a formal request for Executive Council action by submitting a petition to the Vice President of the district in which the member resides. The petition should include a written description of the nature and extent of Executive Council action recommended. The District Vice President shall forward copies of the petition to the President and to the Executive Director, who shall forward copies to the members of the Executive Council. The President or any member of the Executive Council may have the matter placed on the working agenda."
Every adult member has the right to vote for President and Vice President in his or her respective district. Read those candidate statements and vote. You need not renew to do so.
Happy flying,
Joyce Hager Executive Director jhager@modelaircraft.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
