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Be helpful, answer
questions,
and inform AMA.
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Many
of our clubs have one. Some fortunate clubs might have more
than one. What are they?
They're members who go beyond the call of duty to
support model aviation, our clubs, and our members. They do
this quietly, sometimes in the background, and often asking
little in return other than maybe an occasional thank you.
They might be a club officer, a newsletter editor, or
even the member who raises his or her hand at club meetings
and volunteers to pull things together for the club picnic,
fly-in, or another club event.
In 1983 Carl and Beth Goldberg asked AMA to help create
an award to recognize these people. Called the Carl and Beth
Goldberg Vital People Award, it was presented annually to
"vital people in the background of the modeling movement
whose efforts enhance the enjoyment of the hobby and whose
accomplishments are seldom formally acknowledged."
The concept called for the award to be presented to six
people annually and would include a plaque and a small
monetary award funded by the Goldbergs. AMA would administer
the program.
The AMA Executive Council enthusiastically endorsed the
idea and the first of the awards was made that year. After
Carl passed away in 1985, the recognition program continued
until it was discontinued in the early 1990s.
At our October Executive Council meeting, we discussed
the value of the program and how AMA would like to do more
to thank our members who make model aviation at the local
level more enjoyable for all of us. We voted to resurrect
the award as the Academy of Model Aeronautics' Carl and Beth
Goldberg Vital People Award.
Beginning in 2009, the award will be presented annually
to five deserving members. We wanted to leave the Goldberg
name on the award because anyone who was involved in model
aviation during Carl Goldberg's lifetime knows that he was
the consummate modeler and epitomized and defined the intent
of this award.
Applications can be found on the AMA Web site. All it
takes is one person or club to nominate a deserving
individual. The recipients will be selected by a committee
comprising one member from each AMA district. The winners
will be announced in late October of each year.
Here's an opportunity for you to do something in return
for that person who works so hard to make model aviation
better for all of us.
I had an interesting conversation with a member who
was recently featured in his local newspaper with his
models. Shortly after this article appeared in the paper, he
came home one afternoon to find the FBI outside his house
waiting for him.
It appears they were there out of curiosity more than
anything else. They asked the obvious questions: How far
away can you fly these models? How high can they go? What do
they weigh? What kind of a payload can they carry?
They were also there to learn more about what we do as
model aviation enthusiasts. The agents who visited our
member's house were part of a counter-terrorism unit and
were doing their job to protect the United States and its
citizens from threats by those who are intent on causing us
harm. It's what these officers do every day and we should be
thankful that they are so good at their job.
How we handle these situations is important. This
member did exactly the right thing. He allowed them into his
house. He showed them his models, answered all their
questions, and even invited them to the field. When the
agents left, they were appreciative of the time and effort
our member took to be helpful.
While an experience like this might be unnerving, it
also presents an opportunity. Contacts such as this are
occurring more frequently, and the way we react to them is
important. A couple of years ago, the New York State Police
Counter Terrorism Unit sent a letter to AMA chartered clubs
in New York. This has also happened in some other states.
The letter contained a simple request. They were asking
for our help. They were asking us to be additional eyes and
ears for them and to report anything we might feel is
suspicious. Who better to do this than those who are already
modelers?
What should you do if contacted? Do exactly what this
member did. Be helpful, answer questions, and inform AMA.
Many of these initiatives are taking place at the local
level and it's understandable why one field office may not
be aware of everything taking place in other field offices
across the country.
We follow up on every one of these contacts, first to
reinforce what the agents have already been told, and also
to let them know that we are a national organization
representing 150,000 members throughout the United States
and want to help.
Being proactive puts us in a better position to be an
asset to law enforcement and an advocate for model aviation
and our members.
MASee you next time ...
Dave Mathewson, AMA president
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