I don't think any of it has to do with age. I think it has to do with complacency. When was the last time Dave Brown was seriously challenged for his office? Oberdieck has been the District VII VP for considerable time, and in my dealings with him he's not been someone I am impressed with. The other faces in MA tend not to change, either. Why? Because AMA members don't vote. I haven't voted in a long time, because I don't believe my vote matters. That seems to be the mindset of the rank and file. By the time the ballots come out in November or so, my flying season is over. I'm not talking about the AMA with the guys at the field. I don't think it's worth two minutes of my time to cast a vote.

Have the elections happen in July or August, and perhaps more of us would be talking about them and actually voting.

There are only two ways in which genuine, meaningful change will happen with the elected AMA leadership. The first is for something catastrophic to happen to the hobby, which in today's media-driven world of public opinion is a closer disaster than many of us believe. The second is for the elected AMA leadership to voluntarily step down, but they all appear to believe that they are individually critical to the organization--which they are not.