This
is my last column and I'll miss writing them. Not really! It
is difficult to come up with something to base a column on
each month. Among the gems of wisdom I remember is from the
late Jeremiah Courtney, AMA's general counsel many years
ago. He said that conventional wisdom has it that to show
someone how short a month is, commit him to making a large
monthly payment on something. Jeremiah also said that
conventional wisdom was wrong, and that if one is to really
show someone how short a month is, commit him to writing a
monthly column.
I can tell you how true that statement is.
Jerry was but one of hundreds of people who were a part of
the AMA during my time on the Executive Council (EC). There
are many who deserve mention in my last column as people
without whom AMA would not be what it is today.
There are
those who started the organization back in 1936. (Contrary
to popular theory, I don't remember that occasion!) There
were many heroes of the organization who were an important
part of AMA long before my time, but I can only attest to
those with whom I have worked.
I must mention John Worth.
Without John, there would be no AMA. He took over as
executive director during a difficult period, and pulled the
AMA through those times by the bootstraps.
I have to mention
Johnny Clemens. If there was ever a single person who
epitomized AMA, it was Johnny. His upbeat attitude and
jovial style led AMA through those same years. Some of his
jokes became old before their time, but Johnny served AMA
extremely well.
Don Lowe, my predecessor as District III
vice president and later as AMA president, was my mentor in
many ways. His cool head and calm demeanor made him an
effective leader during the years of incredible growth in
the late 1980s and early 1990s. AMA owes him a great deal.
You could not mention anyone in AMA who has done more for
modelers and served in whatever capacity he was asked than
Bob Underwood. His willingness to step in and take over any
job he is requested to do continues to be well above and
beyond the call of duty.
I can't mention anyone who has been
more meaningful to AMA during my tenure as president than
Joyce Hager. Joyce served as our executive director during
most of my time as president and has been a godsend to the
organization.
There are many others—some close friends and
some with whom I never did become friends—who have had a
huge impact on the organization. Frankly, I learned much
more from those with whom I disagreed than from those with
whom I agreed. There were few with whom I dealt who didn't
fall into both categories at one time or another.
The one
person without whom I could not have served as president is
my wife Sally. She has supported me—literally and
figuratively—the entire 28 years I spent on the council.
Without her support it would have never been possible.
During the last 28 years I have seen an enormous number of
EC members come and go. To a man or woman, they have all had
an impact on the direction your organization has taken. AMA
is a democratic organization: you vote for your
representatives on the council and those representatives
dictate the policies that AMA will follow.
If you do not
like the direction in which the Academy is going, then you
can elect someone else or even run yourself. That is how I
got started in AMA's leadership; I didn't like what was
going on and decided to do something about it. The only way
I could have my say was to run for office so I threw my name
into the hat.
Now, 28 years later, I am leaving the EC after
having held all of the elected offices: district vice
president, executive vice president, and president. I leave
much wiser than when I arrived. I'm leaving with a slightly
different perspective and only history will tell whether I
leave the organization stronger than it was when I arrived.
What am I going to do once I am no longer on the AMA EC? I
expect to remain involved with some AMA committees and hope
to remain involved with the FAI representation. But mainly I
hope to get back to doing some flying. That's a novel idea!
It has been nearly impossible because of time constraints
during a large part of my time as an AMA officer.
I have
flown more in the last 10 months than I did during the
previous 10 years, and I intend to fly even more once I no
longer have as many AMA responsibilities.
In short, I'm not
going anywhere. I will still be involved in the sport I have
loved for almost all of my life.
Whoever is elected as the
next AMA president I will support completely. As an AMA
member, it's my organization and that president can
accomplish much more with my support than if I try to
undermine his efforts.
See ya at the flying
field!
MA
Dave Brown, AMA president
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