Mack Field: Public Relations Pays
What may work in one community to obtain a flying site may not be the full answer in another, because conditions vary. A common denominator frequently seen is regular communication with local organizations, high public visibility (possibly with an accent on youth), and perseverance. In short, this is public relations. — Larry Kruse
Cultivating an image
Cultivating the kind of image that creates public support is one of the most difficult and important tasks confronting any modeling organization. With site problems becoming more critical each season, many clubs face a Darwinian challenge of survival, needing public support and empathy to fend off unsympathetic city council members and land developers eager to subdivide and conquer.
MACK: a case study
One club not in such jeopardy is the Model Association of Central Kansas (MACK), a multi-interest organization guided by an active and involved membership. By hard work and constant communication with community organizations, MACK members have secured a place for themselves in community affairs and have permanently resolved their site problems.
From the club’s beginning nearly a decade ago, two ideas were predominant: the club would be active, and the club would introduce youth to modeling. Both ideas have remained central throughout the club’s growth. With these guiding principles, the club held many promotional events in the first few years to acquaint segments of the public with modeling, all of which brought significant success and media visibility. Over the years, these activities have become an integral part of the club and are now expected by the community.
Promotional activities included:
- Flight demonstrations
- Model clinics
- Delta Dart programs for Boy Scouts
- Static displays
- Other community projects and public events
Finding a permanent home
One of the biggest obstacles MACK had to overcome was finding a permanent home. Meetings migrated among basements, homes, garages, college classrooms, and rented commercial meeting rooms. The flying-site problem was harder to resolve. The club has flown at:
- An abandoned airport
- An abandoned Boy Scout camp
- A cemetery
- Other ad hoc locations that would accommodate model aircraft
Club members built a transmitter impound and undertook nearly every other improvement at these sites. Finally, perseverance paid off: MACK secured a 99-year lease on 40 acres of pasture land located just west of Pawnee Rock, Kansas — a location central to the membership. All work and improvements on the field have been done by club members. Through voluntary contributions, volunteer labor, and the faith and support of the landowner, the field has been brought to optimum condition (as shown in the photos accompanying the article).
Message and lessons
The message MACK offers to any club facing flying-site problems is obvious but often overlooked: part of a club’s function must be to inform and attract the non-modeling public to a potentially rewarding hobby, even if only as spectators. Through direct involvement of youth and parents, dissemination of information via media sources, and a club willing to take initiative and persevere, a club can ensure its own continuity and success — and help secure the future of modeling.
Thanks to their efforts, the modeling future for members of the Model Association of Central Kansas is indeed bright.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
