I maintain that it's not advocacy, not a magazine, not "Taj-Muncie," not a museum, not a foundation, not a fancy HQ building, not affinity programs, and not a glitzy website that attract and keep members, but the quality of the local flying site as compared to the distance someone has to travel to get there and the cost to join. It's about creating REAL value as perceived by the person you want to join. They see value, they'll joing. Don't see value, they won't. And based on AMA's membership revenue numbers, fewer and fewer people are seeing value.

So I guess, it's about creating value. I don't think AMA is capable of doing it, as they're unwilling to even contemplate that some of the sacred cows listed above (all of them actually) are not perceived as "benefits" by the general population. The EC sees them that way, because they eat live and breathe model planes. But for the vast majority of other folks in the world, it's just one of many hobbies / demands on our free time. And they can take it or leave it.

Simple personal example. I had a big chunk of money burning a hole in my pocket. Briefly contemplated getting into turbines. Doing so would have guaranteed my continued AMA and club membership well into the future. But then I looked at suitable fields and their proximity. I'm sorry, I'm not spending an hour or two on the road each direction to find a paved runway. I've got other interest and demands on my free time. So I bought something else that actually cost more ... but I can use it somewhere very close. And somewhere I go quite often for other reasons.