President's Perspective
"What is obvious to some is not so ... to others."
In Memoriam: Don Bentfield
AMA and the modeling world lost one of its best on Christmas night with the passing of AMA District VII Vice President Don Bentfield. While Don had served as a VP for a short two years, he had served for many years as an associate VP and brought a fresh, yet experienced, perspective to the Executive Council. I remember a comment made by one of the other VPs after Don's first EC meeting: "Don is a breath of fresh air."
Unfortunately, that breath of fresh air was called to a higher level and will be terribly missed by those of us left behind. Dedicated to AMA right up to the end, Don and I talked just three days before Christmas when he expressed his strong desire that AVP Dave Gish serve out his term as VP. In accordance with the bylaws and Don's wishes, the EC established that the election for a permanent replacement will be held during the normal election period in the fall, and per Don's appointment, Dave Gish will serve as interim VP for District VII with all privileges of the office of District VP.
It's always tough to say goodbye, but I realize that our loss pales in comparison to the loss of his family. I am sure I can speak for all of his AMA "family" in expressing our condolences.
Mailbag and Membership Focus
The mailbag has been pretty active lately, with a lot of comments on various columns I have written in recent months. As is typical, comments run both pro and con, with the ones critical of what I had written receiving the most attention. The subject that got the most reaction was my support for AMA's renewed dedication to youth programs. Most of the letters supported this direction, but a substantial number pointed out that the greatest potential for getting new members was to concentrate on the rapidly growing population of senior citizens.
I was particularly impressed with a letter from Red Schoefield in which he proposed that we might be "fishing in the wrong part of the pond" in targeting youth. I like that line! I agree that the greatest potential for getting members is from the ranks of senior citizens, but most people see the support of youth programs as an unselfish act of passing on to future generations a sport/hobby from which we have derived so much enjoyment. In this way, most are very supportive, but, let's face it, they also wonder what might be in it for them.
A part of my support for youth programs fits this description, but another part of my support is entirely selfish. I have noticed something in the last couple of decades: we lose a large number of flying sites to soccer fields, which are used primarily for youth activities. At the same time, I can say (with a wisp of tongue in cheek) that I am not aware of any flying field being lost to a shuffleboard facility! The bottom line is fairly simple: if we have more youngsters involved, we will improve our chances of finding and keeping flying sites.
Examples and Rationale
In discussing this theory with some people during the IMS (International Modeler Show) in Pasadena, I was told of one case in which a club had a few young members who testified at a hearing that was attempting to close the flying site. Their testimony was credited with saving the site! Let's face it, the public is more inclined to provide recreational facilities for youth than for seniors. I know we do lose sites to golf courses occasionally, but soccer fields or other youth facilities are a more common problem.
Organizational Structure and Muncie RV Park
My old buddy Horace Cain has been shaking the tree on the Internet again. He took great exception to my column dealing with the "strong chairman" or "strong president" structure of many successful organizations.
Lighten up, ole buddy — I don't want that job. If—and that is a very big if—the AMA were to ever seriously consider such a structure, it would take a number of years to implement and would be a professional position for an association with a model aviation interest, not a retirement job for an old model airplane driver.
Horace is also stumping strongly for an RV park at our Muncie facility. His feeling is that it is a "no-brainer." Hey, don't jump on me, Horace! I agree with you, as did my predecessor. However, we have asked members using the site and they don't agree. I went so far as to ask all of the Special Interest Group representatives at the recent Nats Planning Meeting, and they didn't want it either.
Like I said in an earlier column, sometimes what is obvious to some is not so obvious or even is objected to by others. I do listen — honest, I do.
Till next month,
Dave Brown AMA President dbrown@dbproducts.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
