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We
have a tremendous resource
in our more than
150,000 members ...
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Where
will the Academy of Model Aeronautics be in one year? In
three years? Five years? All organizations need a
well-thought-out strategic plan to help answer those
questions. All strategic plans are based on the
organization's mission, a vision, and a set of defined
goals. AMA is developing its strategic plan.
Several months ago we conducted a membership survey.
Some of the questions were devised to see what issues our
members felt were important. Other questions asked what our
members felt would present the largest hurdles for model
aviation in the years ahead. Still others revolved around
our members' thoughts on what part AMA would play in the
future of model aviation and what AMA would need to do to be
able to play that part.
The results of this survey are an important part of the
development of our overall strategic plan. Our members
indicated that there were four issues that concerned them
most: flying-site acquisition and development; our
relationships with government agencies including the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), and the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS); the lack of young people becoming involved in model
aviation; and a need to focus on promoting model aviation as
a recreational and educational activity. Our members want to
see us become more of an advocate for model-aviation
enthusiasts.
Even as our strategic plan is being drafted we've begun
to move in a direction to meet some of these objectives. At
the recent AMA Convention in Ontario, California, we met
with AMA's Flying Site Assistance (FSA) coordinators, Wes De
Cou and Joe Beshar, to talk about the future of AMA's FSA
Department.
Joe and Wes have done some good work during the past
few years developing relationships with two of the largest
landfill operators in the United States: Allied Waste and
Waste Management. As you might expect, closed landfills make
nearly ideal model flying sites because the allowed uses of
these facilities are limited and they are usually located
away from heavily populated areas.
Joe Beshar has worked closely with representatives of
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter into a
Memorandum of Understanding in which the EPA will endorse
the use of closed Superfund landfills as model-aviation
flying sites.
The Ocean County Modelers (OCM) in New Jersey was one
of the first clubs in the country to be allowed access to a
Superfund site for purposes of building a flying facility.
In October 2007, Joe, former AMA president Dave Brown, and
members of OCM were involved in filming a DVD that will
promote the use of similar facilities for modeling
activities. The film was professionally produced and
entirely funded by the EPA. This is the type of activity we
will become more involved with in the future.
AMA will continue to build relationships with
government agencies. It's apparent that the FAA will be
drafting new rules to regulate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
Our job will be to continue to keep that line between what
we do as model-aviation enthusiasts and the truly commercial
and military-type UASs that concern the FAA secure.
Spread spectrum technology is clearly the future for RC
modeling, yet a large number of our members own significant
amounts of radio equipment on 72 MHz and are happy with that
equipment. They have no intention (or do they want the added
expense) of moving to spread spectrum. AMA must continue to
work to keep the current frequencies on 72 MHz for the
foreseeable future.
It's unfortunate that we have to include the DHS in our
efforts to interface with government agencies, but by
working with the organization we will become an asset to its
efforts to control certain activities and be an entity it
can look to for help as opposed to being looked at with
suspicion. We have always worked closely with these
agencies; however, our plans are to step up those efforts as
a way to continue to support and protect the opportunity for
all of us to enjoy model aviation.
Next month I'll write more about AMA's plans to address
our members' concerns regarding introducing young people to
model aviation and doing more to promote it.
I want to mention AMA's committee structure. Much of
the work of the Executive Council (EC) is conducted through
a system of committees. In the past, most of our committees
were composed of council members and several longtime AMA
volunteers.
From 2005 to 2007 I chaired the AMA's Insurance
Committee. In selecting members to sit on that committee I
looked for experts within the general AMA membership who
would be willing to volunteer their time to serve on the
committee. We were fortunate to have this offer accepted by
two active modelers who have been longtime AMA members. As a
result, the committee functioned better because we had the
expertise needed to help guide us in the proper direction.
In some areas we streamlined our insurance program and
at the same time added coverage to help better support our
members, our clubs, and their officers, as well as AMA's
Special Interest Groups. As these improvements were made,
our annual premiums were being reduced.
When I appointed chairpersons to various AMA
committees, I extended the latitude to the chairs to select
individuals with whom they felt they could work well and do
the best job for the organization. I've asked each of the
chairs to consider looking to the general membership for
people with backgrounds appropriate to their committees who
are willing to become involved. We have a tremendous
resource in our more than 150,000 members, and I'd like to
see us tap into them more as we move forward.
See you next month. MA
Dave Mathewson, AMA president
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