Originally Posted by
Tony G.
The question is "Do we need..." not "Do we like..." The answere is in my opinion, an unequivocal yes. They do and have done much more than provide insurance. Not going to list that out as it would take volumes, but the organization (which is us by the way), continues to be advocates for the hobby. With any organization they are not going to get it 100% right to 100% of the member's satisfaction. That never happens with any club, organization, or group. Look here, we don't agree already and again we as I said are the AMA.
I'll give one example - would we have gotten our exclusive use 72mhz band if we the AMA hadn't as an organization been there to work with the government bodies to set it aside for us? 72mhz is not critical like it once was, but without it the hobby would not have grown like it did. We as modelers would not have all the options/opportunities we have today. No way that happens unless we as a collective group with a representative leadership body work and were there to do it.
if you are a hunter/gun sportsman, would you be better off without the NRA? If you are a private pilot would you be better off without the AOPA?
Lars
I totally agree with you LARS
Yes to AMA
TONY GAGO
Well folks the above is very much generally correct. OTOH I think there needs to be a bit of history brought to the attention of the many RC folks that have no idea of some of the things that certain big names in AMA have not always been interested in growing the Academy Of Model Aeronautics, (AMA).
Above is mentioned the 72 MHZ frequencies. The "Frequency Committee" was not very progressive and the AMA folks running AMA were less. The Freq. Chairman was and
AFAIK still a great person, yet I do not hear much of him anymore. Look on page 8 of the Dec. 2014 "MA" and check the name by
Technical Editor. Now you know.
In late 1981 the frequencies had been approved for AMA use but somewhere in the lower echelons they were being held up. The Freq. Chairman was getting ZERO - Zilch, help from the Executive persons running AMA. At an EC meeting in late '81, an EC DVP, Dist VI, which had the year prior been
reelected by WRITE-In vote of the members of that district, stood up and addressed the Ex. Council. This DVP stated that the Freq. Chairman needed help and the EC
would provide the chairman with Ten Thousand Dollars cash to assist in his job. No questions to be asked, No receipts required. Any DVP voting against that would have his name well stated in the Dist. VI VP's MA column. Guess what? The vote was 100% FOR! Even the salaried Executive Director, much against such, also voted YES.
TWO WEEKS later we had the frequencies! Understand that getting those freqs. was held up by bureaucratic AMA salaried individuals. Had a certain individual NOT got down and dirty, RC may well have died at that time. The new radio mfgers. were already stopping
model aircraft radio production.
Right now you have the AMA salaried staff running the show, and that will continue as long as the modelers themselves quit pissing and moaning about things and clear the EC of those paid execs. that are running the show. Just look at the current MA magazine. Just another magazine advertising manual. Just another play-thing for computer people to get fat on. I can dig up a lot of skeletons, but why? I see so many postings here where the posters think that AMA is the so-much great Community Based Organization. It ain't so! What does it take?
About 12,000 voters in this last EC election, YUCK! You bring back the S-Old-St. The worst is that several new bodies were coming on board, while the voting members had the opportunity to make some real new inroads, but you did not rise to the CHORE ! Sad !
So Long "Mama - Suns" !