AMA and the Way Forward?
02-13-2005, 10:57 PM
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AMA and the Way Forward?
A Semi-Long Thought (OK maybe a small rant)
I have followed the forums here and elsewhere for over a year now. I find it mind boggling that a group of supposedly grown men, women and young adults can’t play nice. It just stymies the imagination that we all have essentially the same hobby or interest in flying and always find the stupidest thing to argue about. We the slimer’s (whatever that means), the parkies, the whirligigs, the plastics, the free flight’s, the very dizzy CL’ers and those wacky wacky micro indoor crowd just need to all get along as it respects to the hobby. We should all be willing to stand quietly and watch how someone else goes about doing something and as long as it is essentially safe, keep our mouth shut if we don’t like it. There is more than one way to go about our hobby and still enjoy it. I have learned many things from watching others and not *****ing because I don’t like them or the way they do things.
One thing that I keep seeing a hint of through all to the threads is that the AMA is not really doing what it should in respect to the hobby. The AMA should be THE gathering place for us all, a place where we congregate with a mutual interest in the flying of model aircraft of all types and sizes. It should be a place where all levels of experience are looked upon with respect. Do the experimental flyers or the ultra-lite’s get the cold shoulder from the airline jocks? I don’t think so. They all meet in Oshkosh every year and celebrate the thing we call flying, and I bet they share all kinds of knowledge across they different types of flying. This is where the AMA has truly fallen flat on its face. The AMA should be hell bent on keeping the peace across all of the different aspects of hobby flying. Instead it seems that the one place that should draw us all together is more and more drawing defined lines between us. Instead of making more foolish regulations or new “safety” guidance that makes little or no sense, they (WE) should be forcing the AMA to do what it’s original intent was. The AMA should be the premier promoter of this hobby. I am one of what appears to be a fairly large group who really only believes that the AMA is a necessary evil in our current lawsuit crazy society. I don’t think that the PF group needs to be part of the AMA if they don’t want to, or any other organization for that matter. But as municipalities around our country put more and more PUBLIC (as in owned by the public) areas off limits, the AMA should be out in front of all of us saying NO to these cities infringement on public properties and the use of them by the public for whatever the public (the owners) want to do. Promote the hobby not tear it down or restrict further from within. The AMA should stand for all model fliers whether members or not, I don’t mean to cover the non-members with the insurance but to stand by the rights of all freedom loving Americans to freely pursue this hobby and insure that it continues (for ALL) into the future. The AMA has lost it’s way and needs to be put back on the track the it was put on many years ago.
Just a small rant on my part…..Go forth and fly as you see fit.
I have followed the forums here and elsewhere for over a year now. I find it mind boggling that a group of supposedly grown men, women and young adults can’t play nice. It just stymies the imagination that we all have essentially the same hobby or interest in flying and always find the stupidest thing to argue about. We the slimer’s (whatever that means), the parkies, the whirligigs, the plastics, the free flight’s, the very dizzy CL’ers and those wacky wacky micro indoor crowd just need to all get along as it respects to the hobby. We should all be willing to stand quietly and watch how someone else goes about doing something and as long as it is essentially safe, keep our mouth shut if we don’t like it. There is more than one way to go about our hobby and still enjoy it. I have learned many things from watching others and not *****ing because I don’t like them or the way they do things.
One thing that I keep seeing a hint of through all to the threads is that the AMA is not really doing what it should in respect to the hobby. The AMA should be THE gathering place for us all, a place where we congregate with a mutual interest in the flying of model aircraft of all types and sizes. It should be a place where all levels of experience are looked upon with respect. Do the experimental flyers or the ultra-lite’s get the cold shoulder from the airline jocks? I don’t think so. They all meet in Oshkosh every year and celebrate the thing we call flying, and I bet they share all kinds of knowledge across they different types of flying. This is where the AMA has truly fallen flat on its face. The AMA should be hell bent on keeping the peace across all of the different aspects of hobby flying. Instead it seems that the one place that should draw us all together is more and more drawing defined lines between us. Instead of making more foolish regulations or new “safety” guidance that makes little or no sense, they (WE) should be forcing the AMA to do what it’s original intent was. The AMA should be the premier promoter of this hobby. I am one of what appears to be a fairly large group who really only believes that the AMA is a necessary evil in our current lawsuit crazy society. I don’t think that the PF group needs to be part of the AMA if they don’t want to, or any other organization for that matter. But as municipalities around our country put more and more PUBLIC (as in owned by the public) areas off limits, the AMA should be out in front of all of us saying NO to these cities infringement on public properties and the use of them by the public for whatever the public (the owners) want to do. Promote the hobby not tear it down or restrict further from within. The AMA should stand for all model fliers whether members or not, I don’t mean to cover the non-members with the insurance but to stand by the rights of all freedom loving Americans to freely pursue this hobby and insure that it continues (for ALL) into the future. The AMA has lost it’s way and needs to be put back on the track the it was put on many years ago.
Just a small rant on my part…..Go forth and fly as you see fit.
02-14-2005, 01:56 AM
#6
RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
I have followed the forums here and elsewhere for over a year now. I find it mind boggling that a group of supposedly grown men, women and young adults can’t play nice.
//SNIP//
The AMA has lost it’s way and needs to be put back on the track the it was put on many years ago.
//SNIP//
The AMA has lost it’s way and needs to be put back on the track the it was put on many years ago.
Sounds so very good, but about as realistic as expecting the whole world to be peaceful.
There is only ONE way that AMA can be put back on its track, so to speak, and that is when the membership decides to replace the Board of Directors commonly referred to as the Executive Council (EC). Until a minimum of 75% of that EC is determined to redirect the current bureaucracy into an organization that has model aviation promotion as its primary goal rather than self
indulgence, no redirect can happen.
While a few AMA members do see the need for a redirect, even fewer are broad-minded enough to see the commonality of all model aviation as one large unit. Unfortunately the vast majority of model fliers have no clue as to what model aviation is, or why AMA needs to exist, much less become a part of a common front to use their vote to make better.
To educate the masses is a much bigger job than hopefully getting enough local votes to try to oust a DVP, the EVP, and/or the President. Therefore even the few that see the need for a major shake-up, they cannot even began to agree on how to perform that shake-up. They also find it easier to bicker, and try to one-up others much more so than trying to provide a willing replacement for an incumbent. The easy way seems to be the selected safety zone.
So while your thesis is all well and good, I don't really forecast that any changes will be made. Idealism is great, however being a realist saves many disappointments. [>:] The AMA bureaucracy has performed well in building a wall between themselves and the modeling community, while splitting the ranks which will remain the salvation of the bureaucracy and maintain their total control. IMO the "I just want to fly", "I don't want any politics", and I don't want to be involved" crowd are all getting their just rewards from AMA. The tragic point is that a few of us are also having to bend over the same amount. Maybe that's why we fuss!! [:@]
02-14-2005, 08:18 AM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
Well gentlemen he greased that landing...unfortunately he is not wrong at all in his thinking, but I too have come to a realization in thinking long and hard about the AMA and it's members. I looked back at the number of votes and the number of members, I looked at the number of members in clubs vs. the number of attendees at club meetings. We, the few, take the AMA and its maneuvers seriously, like politics as a whole. We the few, want to make everything about the hobby great, we the few are willing to go the extra mile to be part of something great (start humming glory glory hallelujah) we the few, the proud, the interested, we alone have decided to stand up as a minority group and represent the majority because we do not want the AMA to fail, we the few want to see the AMA succeed, and with that success reap the fruits of our labor.
We, the few, do not want to sit idley by and just fly our planes, we want more than that, much more. I can see how getting mired down in some pettieness happens, but we, the few, want to work for the greater good. We all have our particular issue that we spout off about, we all experience low attendance at club meetings, we all think that how the safety coordinator was crammed down our throat was wrong, we all do not like the fact that the AMA is insurance run, and that's why we the few from all across the country must rise up and stand together with a collective clentched fist and say no more!!! We must pound the table with our collective fist to the EC and say wake up!!! We the few must stand together,share ideas, foster growth in our region and help each other regardless of personel differences,because if we do not there could be no more.....
We, the few, do not want to sit idley by and just fly our planes, we want more than that, much more. I can see how getting mired down in some pettieness happens, but we, the few, want to work for the greater good. We all have our particular issue that we spout off about, we all experience low attendance at club meetings, we all think that how the safety coordinator was crammed down our throat was wrong, we all do not like the fact that the AMA is insurance run, and that's why we the few from all across the country must rise up and stand together with a collective clentched fist and say no more!!! We must pound the table with our collective fist to the EC and say wake up!!! We the few must stand together,share ideas, foster growth in our region and help each other regardless of personel differences,because if we do not there could be no more.....
02-14-2005, 03:48 PM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
ORIGINAL: SSRCCPREZ
We must pound the table with our collective fist to the EC and say wake up!!! We the few must stand together,share ideas, foster growth in our region and help each other regardless of personel differences,because if we do not there could be no more.....
We must pound the table with our collective fist to the EC and say wake up!!! We the few must stand together,share ideas, foster growth in our region and help each other regardless of personel differences,because if we do not there could be no more.....
[8D]
02-14-2005, 07:22 PM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
Gentlemen,
I would love nothing more than to be independently wealthy, purchase my own property, and fly till the birds come home to roost. Alas the first part has managed to elude me for quite some time..... ergo, I am obligated to be part of a larger organization for a measure of protection.
I have every intention of taking an active part in the running of the club where I am currently a member (as in president) due to some aspects that just make no sense and need to be changed. I would gladly become a DVP or an EC member for the AMA but yet again having to make a living keeps interfering in leisure time activities. I would love for the AMA to become a forward thinking organization looking to the future of the model aviation hobby as a whole and the model aviation industry and not an insurance provider or a for profit organization.
Yes the 90-10 rule is rampant here in this hobby and we can argue all day long as to why. I have some notions as to why but that is for another time. But... 10% can make a difference if we care enough. If we the 10% take a stand and fight the good fight we may just get what we want out of the AMA and its current board. The more people we can enlist to our side the more pull we can muster to force a change in the way OUR organization operates. No ever said that that change is easy or even fast, but perseverance and dedication to the cause can in fact move us in the right direction.
Even if some choose to not believe that change is possible right here in a lowly forum, think about some of the changes that may have been brought about by forum postings (even if just a little).
Now I need to let my brain casing group cool a bit. BTAR (Break/Out for the uninitiated).
I would love nothing more than to be independently wealthy, purchase my own property, and fly till the birds come home to roost. Alas the first part has managed to elude me for quite some time..... ergo, I am obligated to be part of a larger organization for a measure of protection.
I have every intention of taking an active part in the running of the club where I am currently a member (as in president) due to some aspects that just make no sense and need to be changed. I would gladly become a DVP or an EC member for the AMA but yet again having to make a living keeps interfering in leisure time activities. I would love for the AMA to become a forward thinking organization looking to the future of the model aviation hobby as a whole and the model aviation industry and not an insurance provider or a for profit organization.
Yes the 90-10 rule is rampant here in this hobby and we can argue all day long as to why. I have some notions as to why but that is for another time. But... 10% can make a difference if we care enough. If we the 10% take a stand and fight the good fight we may just get what we want out of the AMA and its current board. The more people we can enlist to our side the more pull we can muster to force a change in the way OUR organization operates. No ever said that that change is easy or even fast, but perseverance and dedication to the cause can in fact move us in the right direction.
Even if some choose to not believe that change is possible right here in a lowly forum, think about some of the changes that may have been brought about by forum postings (even if just a little).
Now I need to let my brain casing group cool a bit. BTAR (Break/Out for the uninitiated).
02-14-2005, 09:16 PM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
The model aircraft flyer's behavior and outlook is not much different than the cross section of society as a whole.
About the only thing that Individual modelers will agree on is that they are better than average pilots.
About the only thing that Individual modelers will agree on is that they are better than average pilots.
02-14-2005, 10:22 PM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
From what I have heard, the experiences we see in the AMA (the 90-10 rule) are common among almost ALL organizations of this type. In fact, we probably have a better ratio than most. The problem seems to be that the 90 get taken care of but the 10 are steering the ship and making it go.
I suspect that if we can get our illustrious DVP's to recognize this and act as if the 10% were crucial assets to the organization and share information, we could all help the AMA move forward rather than backward. Backward has been our direction of late as can be seen by the membership decline. That is a serious problem that SOMEBODY needs to address.
I think most of us here have been talking about this and its related issues. I hope there are enough reasonable DVP's watching, learning, listening, and thinking to come up with an effective plan.
I suspect that if we can get our illustrious DVP's to recognize this and act as if the 10% were crucial assets to the organization and share information, we could all help the AMA move forward rather than backward. Backward has been our direction of late as can be seen by the membership decline. That is a serious problem that SOMEBODY needs to address.
I think most of us here have been talking about this and its related issues. I hope there are enough reasonable DVP's watching, learning, listening, and thinking to come up with an effective plan.
02-14-2005, 11:54 PM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
I hope there are enough reasonable DVP's watching, learning, listening, and thinking to come up with an effective plan.
I hope there are enough reasonable DVP's watching, learning, listening, and thinking to come up with an effective plan.
None of 'em could get anything done under previous administrations, but those days are well and truly GONE !
Methinks that more than 10% of District V will be pushing, tugging, and scrapping to make things better hereabouts, and in general.
Along with Andy Argenio and his new staff, Tony and his pack of lunatics sure seem to be setting out to make waves and change some of the ways things have been done in the past.
For one thing, I fervently hope that the "Muncie Knee-Jerk" ( . . whistling the tune of "Mashed Potatoes" . . .) becomes a fad of the past.
02-15-2005, 05:35 PM
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RE: AMA and the Way Forward?
And I'm looking FORWARD to meeting Andy myself...fo the very first time!
Dear The-Plumber:
The PIPE here once more...and after 148 MORE New England aeromodelers [including myself] last autumn, stated they wanted a SERIOUS change from the way "the incumbent" HAD been doing things up here in New England...148 more than those who wanted "nothing to change" up here...I'm seriously looking forward to MEETING Andy Argenio...for the very first time in person...at the upcoming 2005 WRAMS Show event less than two weeks away!
My chats with Andy on the phone recently have me feeling VERY good...he's a truly friendly, apparently outgoing, and UNDERSTANDING person-something that I've always felt, is just what IS needed for a position as important and visible as an AMA District Vice President.
I actually felt like I was doing something REALLY GOOD when I distributed Andy's campaign pamphlets at the 2004 Rhinebeck RC Jamboree...even Mr. Gee Bee himself, Henry Haffke, wanted one of Andy's pamphlets at Rhinebeck last fall!
With people like Andy Argenio AND Tony Stillman coming into the AMA hierarchy, SOMETHING hopeful will start to happen in Muncie in the coming years...now if MORE people like them can get on the Executive Council, we SHOULD start to see things change to where the AMA is what it's supposed to be...there for the aeromodelers, and "not otherwise"...!
Yours Sincerely,
The PIPE!
Dear The-Plumber:
The PIPE here once more...and after 148 MORE New England aeromodelers [including myself] last autumn, stated they wanted a SERIOUS change from the way "the incumbent" HAD been doing things up here in New England...148 more than those who wanted "nothing to change" up here...I'm seriously looking forward to MEETING Andy Argenio...for the very first time in person...at the upcoming 2005 WRAMS Show event less than two weeks away!
My chats with Andy on the phone recently have me feeling VERY good...he's a truly friendly, apparently outgoing, and UNDERSTANDING person-something that I've always felt, is just what IS needed for a position as important and visible as an AMA District Vice President.
I actually felt like I was doing something REALLY GOOD when I distributed Andy's campaign pamphlets at the 2004 Rhinebeck RC Jamboree...even Mr. Gee Bee himself, Henry Haffke, wanted one of Andy's pamphlets at Rhinebeck last fall!
With people like Andy Argenio AND Tony Stillman coming into the AMA hierarchy, SOMETHING hopeful will start to happen in Muncie in the coming years...now if MORE people like them can get on the Executive Council, we SHOULD start to see things change to where the AMA is what it's supposed to be...there for the aeromodelers, and "not otherwise"...!
Yours Sincerely,
The PIPE!
