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Old 01-15-2005, 01:54 PM
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bdavison
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Default RE: What can the AMA do to recruit the under 30/park flyer group?

OH OH....me first.

I would make drastic changes to that magazine. First off, it would start paying for itself. Second, I would do some PR to quit calling it a magazine, because its not. Its an oversized newsletter with advertisements spread throughout. Most of the magazines current content includes communication between different districts, and what the other clubs are doing, and what events are happening. A magazine on the other hand has information regarding products, and offers informational reviews and topics surrounding the hobby itself, and not its members.

I would change the membership fees.
Offer a "no newsletter" membership. This is a no brainer. Why would you charge more for a membership just so you could send them a newsletter they dont want to read. Phooey.

Offer discounted membership fees to those members which contribute to the AMA, such as Contest Directors, Program Directors, etc. This would serve as an incentive to get members to get more involved in the AMA.

I would launch a PR campaign.
The money we saved in sending those lousy newsletters to every member, would instead be used to start printing AMA brochures that would be placed in every possible spot that I could find to put them. When you buy a kit, alot of times there is a pile of paper in there inviting you to get a magazine, telling you about clubs, telling you about websites regarding your new hobby, etc. Why the %&$& doesnt the AMA start putting some brochures in these things. Estes model rockets has been putting pamphlets for NAR in their kits for decades.

I would have AMA members in every district get the Adopt-a-School program in high gear. This shouldnt be a problem because the person that does this will get a significant discount on their AMA membership as listed above. The AMA already has a program in which non-AMA members can be covered by the AMA insurance while learning how to fly, the only stipulation if I remember correctly is that they have to be instructed by an AMA Instructor.....which gets a discount for doing this.

I would put that money-pit museum and flying field in Muncie to work. They did a nationwide educational broadcast before, they can do it again. I would contact PBS, and the Discovery channel about doing televised educational programs related to aviation. Get that thing tied into the Adopt-a-School program where it could be most effective.

I would contact the folks out there that made that "Aviator" movie about Howard Hughes, to put one of our new brochures in with the DVD when they finally release it. And start lobbying the motion picture industry to make more aviation based movies.

I would put a AMA demonstration team, and booth at EVERY airshow where we would pass out those new brochures. After all, this shouldnt be too hard since the people that do this, get that discount on their membership.

I would find some way to give landowners an incentive to allow AMA members to fly on their property.

Instead of allowing politics and bickering to write useless rules and regulations, I would launch a huge safety campaign, to show AMA members safer ways to keep themselves intact while flying, and ways to minimize risk of potential accidents. This would probably also have the benefit of putting the insurance companies at ease, perhaps reducing the rates they charge the AMA to cover its members.

I would also make a hardcover AMA Yearbook, which would house all the major accomplishments of AMA members in the last year, including which members were inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame, and those that recieved awards, and made major contributions to the AMA or aviation in general. This yearbook would include nice full color pictures, which would make it a nice coffeetable book. There would be an additional fee for this book, but the fees should pay for its publication, as well as make a slight profit for the organization. To top it all off, I would offer a discount on the cost of the yearbook to those that were shown in it. This also provides incentive for AMA members to not only use the AMA to fly, but to give something back to the organization.

I would launch relations with major manufacturers and suppliers of model aviation materials to get discounts with them for AMA members. This is perhaps one of the best ways to get members, since most of us think with our pocketbooks instead of whats between our ears.


and of course all those things that Ive listed on the other posts in here.