Jim,
Perhaps then you need to elighten me on exactly WHAT you feel the AMA SHOULD be doing? In one breath you say that they aren't doing enough and should spend some of the membership money promoting the hobby by sponsoring more events on the local level yet when I talk about our club (the small scale AMA if you will) spending some of the membership money to promote the hobby in our state you can't seem to stomach it?

You say: "A great many people have absolutely no interest in funding the fun of others, especially when it means giving up their rights to having fun. "
If this is the case how do you expect the AMA to come in and run some big event if it cannot exepct to have a venue in which to hold it???

To continue: "The solution seems to be a local issues of motivation, reward, recognition, and cooperation. At least my club seems to have taken that approach and made it work."
The fact is, the event I described above is open to ANYONE who wishes to compete. And they frequently do. I listed a handfull of names out of the 40 or so a year that compete. Average modelers, young and old with a wide range of skills. But they keep coming and they have fun and they go back to their local clubs and talk excitedly about the experience. And the folks from the local club who host the event are there Friday to help set up. They are there Monday morning to help clean up. Is THIS what you are talking about? If this isn't the type of positive exposure you think this hobby should be getting, both to the average modeler and the public, then I have no idea what you are getting at.