ORIGINAL: tonyF3A
Very good post, guys! Don't think that your comments go unseen! I try to pop in and read them from time to time. I am one of the new VP's on the EC. I am still learning my way around, but I am trying to put new ideas forward, even when they are unpopular with some EC members. I won't win many battles, but I will try. I supported a term limit proposal that failed. I'm sure that will come up again, and maybe we will get more support the next time.
If you want change, you need to make sure your fellow AMA members vote during the EC elections. If you don't like the guy there, vote them out! I know how frustrating it can be. I worked hard 4 years ago to try to beat an incumbent, and lost by 85 votes out of 4000+! I did win this last time, but was it only because the incumbent died while in office? I don't know. I know it is hard to beat and incumbent!
Tony Stillman
AMA District 5 VP
Mr. Stillman:
Great to see an AMA EC member on this forum. You compliment
carwood 444 on his post about publicity. He said:
Maybe the AMA should consider spending some of that money they take in every year on promotion of R/C. I am sure a few TV spots could be purchased every now and then. They could spend a little of that investment money on promotion, and a little less on the AMA portfolio. All the money in investments the AMA has are not going to mean a thing when there are only a few thousand flyers left.
In his main point that AMA should have an informational publicity program, I fully agree. You seem to like it, however where was all this thinking last year? I ran for AMA EVP and proposed a plan to use available means to really educate all levels of government, and news media in the applicable areas from the State Department (FAI) right down to local city/townships, plus media, about what AMA and aeromodeling is all about. NONE OF MY PROGRAM WOULD HAVE COST AMA ANYTHING OTHER THAN just maybe A VERY FEW $$ POSTAGE AND MAILING AS I WOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THE PROGRAM MYSELF.
As EVP I would have been a working individual that does a _ell of a lot more than repeat the PAID AUDITING TEAM's reports for about 8-9 times a year.
I never saw or heard of any support for such a plan, yet now there is this thing about herding up the "park fliers" which as a group are really a long way from
ELECTRIC modelers.
So while you and Mathewson are probably the only two rather level-headed individuals currently on the EC, I still think you are barking up the wrong tree if you want to re-energize AMA. There are thousands of real modelers out there that don't bother with AMA for many reasons, and a big one is ignorance of AMA as an organization. If the local governmental recreational people, along with the news media knew just what AMA and modeling could really do, then I feel confident that AMA could see a turn-around in its membership numbers, however the first thing to turn around is the EC's direction,
and making a magazine staff even bigger and able to lose more money 'ain't' one of those directions to go.
So AMA twice had an opportunity to really obtain a true publicity program at little or no cost. You blew it big time because you circled the wagons around a non-productive member of your own. Loyalty is a great thing, but for what cost? [:@] So be it.