RC Club Overview
04-28-2009, 03:41 AM
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RC Club Overview
Hi there,
Seems this would be the right place for this thread.
Could you share your experience in how RC Clubs are set up. I have absolutely no idea myself. The club would be land based off/road with the possible inclusion of on/road as well. I'm interested in knowing how it works from behind the scenes. I.e. how many governors, secretaries, treasurers, the structure, etc. How does it make money and stay in the black for the good of the club (no profit will go to any personal benefit). If the club is associated with a 3rd party track, do any of the funds go to assist in the maintanence of the track or the water/electricity bills, etc?
Also, how would the club/track go about getting IFMAR or ROAR qualifications? What are the costs involved with that if any?
As always, thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts.
Seems this would be the right place for this thread.
Could you share your experience in how RC Clubs are set up. I have absolutely no idea myself. The club would be land based off/road with the possible inclusion of on/road as well. I'm interested in knowing how it works from behind the scenes. I.e. how many governors, secretaries, treasurers, the structure, etc. How does it make money and stay in the black for the good of the club (no profit will go to any personal benefit). If the club is associated with a 3rd party track, do any of the funds go to assist in the maintanence of the track or the water/electricity bills, etc?
Also, how would the club/track go about getting IFMAR or ROAR qualifications? What are the costs involved with that if any?
As always, thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts.
04-28-2009, 04:43 PM
#2
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RE: RC Club Overview
I'm sure it would be the same between car and airplane clubs. For officers we have one of each - president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, membership, web master, thats what comes to mind at the moment. Probably some other officers I dont remember right off the top of my head. We charge a yearly dues and we hold events to make money which helps keep the dues down. Take a look at our web site and read the constitution and by-laws. It explains the jobs of each office. www.austinrc.org . This ought to give you a starting point.
Edwin
Edwin
04-29-2009, 02:10 PM
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RE: RC Club Overview
I don't know much about car clubs, but I can't imagine it would be overly different from airplane clubs. I'm president of my club. Mostly, I just try to keep things running and keep people from killing each other (either with their planes, or their bare hands).
Anyway, the club setup is going to vary a LOT depending on your local situation. Most airplane clubs center around "their" field. Some clubs own land, most rent it from someone, or have an agreement of some sort allowing them use of it. To do most of that, you generally need to be incorporated so the "club" can sign contracts, rent land and equipment to maintain it, open a bank account, and do all that other stuff. It also helps sheild the officers in case something goes wrong and you get sued. Of course, I'm in the USA and the rules are going to vary wildly depending on where you are. Even within the US, incorporation laws vary a lot state to state. I haven't a clue what you'd deal with outside of the US.
On the other hand, if there is a public track/field available for anyone to use, then the club might be a lot more informal. You don't need to protect the officers or the club assets as much, and you can do most things in the names of the officers and work with whomever owns/operates the site. In that case, the structure of the club is going to be whatever is necessary to get along with whomever owns the land. They might prefer an incorporated club, or they might want to deal with one person.
Officers are also going to be dictated the same way. If you're using someone's land, and they want one consistant point of contact, or if use of the land is due to a personal relationship, it might mean that the contact is always an "officer". Around here, many clubs have "elected" officers, but it's certainly not required to be that way, and often times makes more sense not to be that way.
Anyway, to the point, the club here is set up with a President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, and Membership Secretary as elected officer positions. Elections are held yearly at the December club meeting. (for the last 3 years or so the elections have been entirely uncontested, and a couple of times the VP job has either been open or I've had to recruit someone to do it). We have a handful of other officer positions that are appointed: Newsletter Editor, Field Manager, Flight Training Coordinator for example. Others as needed.
We have a set of bylaws, but my general feeling is that if you're having to consult your bylaws much then you're probably doing something wrong somewhere since most of running a group is common sense and being willing to do the work.
Anyway, the club setup is going to vary a LOT depending on your local situation. Most airplane clubs center around "their" field. Some clubs own land, most rent it from someone, or have an agreement of some sort allowing them use of it. To do most of that, you generally need to be incorporated so the "club" can sign contracts, rent land and equipment to maintain it, open a bank account, and do all that other stuff. It also helps sheild the officers in case something goes wrong and you get sued. Of course, I'm in the USA and the rules are going to vary wildly depending on where you are. Even within the US, incorporation laws vary a lot state to state. I haven't a clue what you'd deal with outside of the US.
On the other hand, if there is a public track/field available for anyone to use, then the club might be a lot more informal. You don't need to protect the officers or the club assets as much, and you can do most things in the names of the officers and work with whomever owns/operates the site. In that case, the structure of the club is going to be whatever is necessary to get along with whomever owns the land. They might prefer an incorporated club, or they might want to deal with one person.
Officers are also going to be dictated the same way. If you're using someone's land, and they want one consistant point of contact, or if use of the land is due to a personal relationship, it might mean that the contact is always an "officer". Around here, many clubs have "elected" officers, but it's certainly not required to be that way, and often times makes more sense not to be that way.
Anyway, to the point, the club here is set up with a President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, and Membership Secretary as elected officer positions. Elections are held yearly at the December club meeting. (for the last 3 years or so the elections have been entirely uncontested, and a couple of times the VP job has either been open or I've had to recruit someone to do it). We have a handful of other officer positions that are appointed: Newsletter Editor, Field Manager, Flight Training Coordinator for example. Others as needed.
We have a set of bylaws, but my general feeling is that if you're having to consult your bylaws much then you're probably doing something wrong somewhere since most of running a group is common sense and being willing to do the work.
