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Clubs can gain much
by working with others
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The
ability to communicate with its members is key to the
success of any membership organization and AMA is no
different. During the past 18 months, we have been working
on enhancing our communications network.
Electronic communications have improved dramatically in
the last several years. The Internet has created the means
by which we can now exchange information in a nearly
instantaneous and extremely cost-effective manner.
In early June, AMA launched its new
Members Only online forum. It is not intended to compete
with the other popular, more traditional
model-aviation-related forums. These play an important role
in the modeling community and are a good resource for
aeromodeling-related information.
Our AMA forum will be dedicated to an exchange of
AMA-related information. It will be another conduit that we
can use to share information with our members as well as a
place where questions relevant to AMA can be asked and
answered. Although posting privileges are intended for our
members, the posts will be available for all to read.
In addition to our new forum, we have implemented an
RSS feed in the AMA News section of our Web site. When you
subscribe to this feed, you will automatically be notified
or, depending on your choice, updates will automatically be
downloaded to your browser or e-mail program whenever
content on our page changes.
We expect that both of these new features will help
keep our members more informed about important AMA issues as
well as update you about things that are happening within
your organization.
Please take a moment to visit our Web site where you
will be able to subscribe to our RSS feed from the
AMA
Community page and register to participate in the new
forum.
Sometimes things work out as intended. I recently
received an e-mail from a relatively new modeler. This
individual wrote about what prompted him to become involved
in aeromodeling.
While he was sitting in the waiting room at his
doctor's office, he noticed a copy of Model Aviation
magazine on the table. With some time to spare before his
appointment, he picked up the magazine and glanced through
some of the articles.
Although this person had always had a casual interest
in aviation, he never really gave much thought to modeling.
Before he placed the magazine back on the table, he took the
time to note the address for AMA's Web site. During the next
several days, he visited our Web site as well as a number of
other modeling-related sites he found using an Internet
search engine.
Intrigued by what he had read, he sought out a local
AMA chartered club, which he identified using the search
feature on our Web site, and paid the club a visit. The warm
reception he received from the club members and the ability
to participate in the club's training program sealed the
deal.
By the following weekend this person had visited his
local hobby shop, bought a trainer model recommended by the
club members, joined the club, and became a member of AMA.
All of this happened because one of our members took the
time to bring his or her copy of MA to the doctor's
office and leave it for someone else to read.
It makes you wonder how many other times this scenario
has played out for others. Next time you visit your doctor,
car-repair facility, or any other place that has a waiting
room, why not take a copy or two of past issues of MA
with you to leave?
A number of years ago, the local model aircraft club
that I belong to was part of an association of clubs. At one
time roughly 18 clubs were part of this association.
There were a number of advantages to all of us banding
together. Strength in numbers, of course, was near the top
of the list, and I can remember several times when we came
together as a group to stand in support of one of our
association clubs.
The camaraderie built within this group benefited all
of the clubs since it became the norm for each to support
the others' events. As a result, our fly-ins, rallies, and
contests grew. The communications network that developed
helped all of us in our yearly planning and helped ensure
that clubs didn't inadvertently schedule events that would
be in conflict with another.
Club meetings grew, especially when this communications
network was used by a club playing host to a unique program
or presentation to invite members from other clubs in the
association to attend.
I mention all of this because during the last year or
so I have seen a resurgence in the association concept. AMA
refers to these associations as chapters and has chartered a
number of them throughout the country. Clubs can gain much
by working with others that share a common interest.
Your AMA district vice president or associate vice
president can provide you with more information about the
AMA chapter concept. It might be worth taking a look at to
see how forming a chapter can benefit your club and your
neighboring clubs. MA
See you next time ...
Dave Mathewson, AMA president
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