The Toolman

Does everybody get these things?




Ron

Jim Thomerson

If you mean club newsletters. I belong to two clubs and both have monthly newsletters which I greatly enjoy.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Like Jim I am in two clubs. One of them has a newsletter every month the other has gotten pretty slim lately more like one every six months.

Hossfly

If you are speaking of Club Newsletters, as stated by Jim T. above, then yes I get them. I belong to 3 clubs although only one for all practical purposes. One is cheap and I belong to it as a matter of support. I get no NLs from that club.
Another is fairly expensive, however in my home town and therefore I attend most of their events yet I don't do much else there. They have just started sending a NL which is rather short, but keeps members in touch with the club.

My main Club, publishes 6 newsletters per year plus emails to most members when something big is happening.

IMO, any club without at least 6 NLs per year is just a gathering of fliers every so often. My main club use to do 12 per year. Again my opinion, but any club that publishes less than 9 NLs per year is, and will remain, ineffectual as any type of sport-promoting, member-supported entity within the area which it serves. Unfortunately, my main club has been ruled by a clique for the past 3 years that strongly evidenced little concern for the CLUB as a whole, and the NL editor is, IMO, somewhat lazy.
Fortunately, a new President this year is slowly turning things around, and people are beginning to talk with each other again. That makes me a bit more happy about the future. [8D]

Edited: Winking smiley still does not work in post although OK in preview!

The Toolman

Hoss, thats not what I mean. Its from the ama to list club members on, and it says monthly club report files or something like that. I'm the new Prez, and it is something I haven't seen before.

Thanx,
Ronnie

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

Sounds like maybe your club charter paperwork. All clubs that are chartered by the AMA get this paperwork to renew the charter each year. Good Luck, Dave

Hossfly

Oh Toolmann, I do need the behinder kicked. A Thousands pardons please? Guess I need more instructions than most!

Yes, Ronnie that is to keep your club records at AMA up to date. You might need to go to the AMA Web site, Documents section, and check out the Club Charter Kit, if you don't have the one / recharter kit / sent to your club. There I think you will find the instructions for that form.
If you are the "Club Contact" then you will get the honors. Generally that chore gets handed to the Club Secretary. He and the Treasurer have better access to the "who's in, who's out" info, while the club pres. is more concerned with all those big decisions.

Sorry for misreading you. Stands to reason that a "club report" in the AMA Forum would be AMA reports. As I said, I do need more instructions.

rcmiket

"IMO, any club without at least 6 NLs per year is just a gathering of fliers every so often. My main club use to do 12 per year. Again my opinion, but any club that publishes less than 9 NLs per year is, and will remain, ineffectual as any type of sport-promoting, member-supported entity within the area which it serves. Unfortunately, my main club has been ruled by a clique for the past 3 years that strongly evidenced little concern for the CLUB as a whole, and the NL editor is, IMO, somewhat lazy. "

Hey Hoss I have news for you most of the AMA members are just that " a gathering of fliers every so often" and do it without your "quota" of newsletters. We have jobs, families and so on, I have served as President, now serving as Secretary, I CD events and so on. I take offense at the term "lazy" because we don't turn out "unless newsletters" that often contain no content. These thing take time away from our everyday lives. Flying RC is a very enjoyable part of my life but it is not by any means my sole purpose on the planet. Mike

PLANE JIM

My Feedback: (109)

delete

PLANE JIM

My Feedback: (109)

delete

kid chuckles

As a club member we get the minutes of every meeting sent to us monthly as the meetings are monthly. My last was not so well recieved as I had been flying at the Soccer fields about 2 min. from my home. Did not know it was upsetting the club members as a few of them would stop by and BS. We lease or sublease our flying field from the School District. And in doing so we give them a copy of the AMA field ins, or whatever it is. Anyway no problems has occured during about 3 months of flying there with about 15 others just a couple of us were AMA members. Then when the club went to the School to give them the ins, the did not even know about they asked if the guys using the Soccer fields were ins also. They told them no they weren't when asked if any were members of there club I was singled out as a In the minutes of a meeting as the GUILTY PARTICIPANT from the club. Not that i wasn't flying there but when asked they should have told them if any AMA member is flying there they are insured. And also most are older guys from 40 up and all of us just about had spoken of our Home Owners being the ins. we would have to use anyway and most of us have, this stuff was never mentioned, and it is known by our club Pres. But we were asked not to fly there anymore because of this and I went back to the flying field to fly. Then got the minutes of the meeting and in it labeled a GUILTY Participant as if i had been doing something illegal, and was not a member of AMA or had ins, both by the way. I E-Mailed the Seceratary and voiced my opinion of being labeled and told him his wording could have been alot better as to not make it look as though I was a criminal (you would have to read it) then recieved a EM back telling me if I did not like the way it was written they would give my dues money back to the club as they had paid my dues for me. I had done some work on the roads leading into the field with heavy equip. and laborers on a Sunday and that was there way of saying thanks and I am in deed thankful to them I did it cause i wanted to not for anything free as the road was unpassalbe after a rain and even on sunny days you might get road rash on a plane entering it. This has made me feel as if they think I was doing something wrong when I was just flying my planes where instead of driving across town to fly I was going around the corner. Just venting a little will be at next meeting and this will be discussed as my displeasure with the Sec. about wanting to refund the money just because I did not appreciate the way it was written. Some of the guys had called me and wanted to know what the heck I had done. The School to this day has not put up a sign or tried telling anyone up front not to fly there all i know for sure is the club i belong to was supposed to have been told there would be no more flying there. STRANGE. But still not letting them not let me fly as I do more for the club than just about anyone. They did have a work day there but I was not informed of it and they did some amasing work to make the field look 10 flold better. I also brought every one I could back to the club field to join as I could get, and that was only one but he did join.

The Toolman

Thanx Hoss, I just put "no change" on it an sent it back in.


Ronnie

KidEpoxy

Kid,
Good thing you got the newsletter to let you know you were doing something "wrong".
Question is, how are all those other flyers, the ones without a particular brand of insurance, going to find out they are doing something wrong as well? Seems the only folks that are going to stop flying there are the AMA members that got newsletters... Promote the hobby, or Prevent the hobby?

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

kid chuckles

I am truly saddened to hear your club is being led by such sublime ignorance especially in light of your apparent willingness to go the extra mile for them. Unfortunately it is not at all uncommon. Even though I worked hard to help grow a club I once cherished and belonged too, I actually had the police called on me due to similar ignorance by a so-called loyal club member acting in the best interest of the club and the AMA...what an idiot [:'(]but what is more sickening is how the club stood and still stands behind him. [:'(] I too was treated like a criminal. I have never been treated as atrocious by anyone ever, before or since as I was/am by that club. I will probably never get over that/this incident. It has had a tremendous effect on my life. Up until then I truly thought everyone in this hobby were the best of the best. Now as I try to understand the mechanisms that cause this phenomenon as I find more incidences…almost common and possibly would be an everyday occurrence except most members are happy just to knell and kiss the ring of their little Caesars. I attribute a good portion of this phenomenon to AMA’s lack of real hobby promotion education to the clubs and members…other than MA there really isn’t a real newsletter from AMA and if there were it would probably be filed only with accolades of those that perpetuate the dominion of AMA and their chartered clubs. Unfortunately I find very little from the AMA that isn’t self serving…little to nothing about promoting the hobby outside AMA’s sphere of control. It is unfortunate but that IMO is the reason for many of the problems we experience with the growth of the hobby as well as the AMA.

A real shame so few of us have any knowledge of how to promote the hobby. An academy of sorts to promote the hobby might be a good idea…

It is the self righteousness, the good ole boy system, lack of education and sheer animosity within the little governments we create that keeps this hobby in the weeds. A regular club newsletter could go a long way to correct the problems but as easily could be used to perpetuate common ignorance. Just wondering how many club newsletters highlight other non-club flying sites that could be used at times by members or general public…no, not going to happen…but should… Self-preservation?? Why be afraid?

k3 valley flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Toolman, I don't think anyone has really answered your original question yet, believe you are speaking of the AMA "Club Roster Form" which comes with the charter renewal package and states on it "Please File Monthly Updates". This form is used by AMA to track who is a paid member of what clubs, club officier is to complete form with adds and deletes for current members in his club The form is two pages, an orginal and a carbon. Also, with the renewal package is a geen bar report from AMA listing members reported in previous years as members of the club and those who have renewed their AMA dues for the current year. I return one each year with the charter renewal listing new members and deletes, a few weeks later I get the carbon back from AMA showing they have made the changes to their records along with 2 or 3 more blank forms. Monthly updates, I have not done monthly but if several new mmebers join later in the year I have submitted the form again in the summer or fall. Did that help?

The Toolman

Yep that is what it is k3. I done filed the changes an everything when I renewed the clubs charter for this year in Feb. I didn't know that they wanted a monthly update sheet every month also.
I've just been prez since Jan, so it is all new to me. I might have been better off just being a regular flyer instead of the prez. I bought an paid for a new $1500 lawn mower out of my own pocket an do all the mowing an repair work at our field as it is. I didn't know I would have all of this paperwork to do also. LOL


Thanx,
Ronnie

k3 valley flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I have been club president for several years and yes it takes some time. Just made up a list of things club officiers need to do, came to 22 things, some annual some monthly. Broke it down into AMA tasks (charter renewal, insurance certs, rosters, intro-pilots, etc) , legal tasks (state incorporation and IRS), local government requirements (park district/library/school district), club tasks (meeting prep, club records ie rosters, dues, treasurer's reports etc), and field duties ( mowing, spraying, rolling, etc.) Spend at least 2 to 4 hours a week on it, but I like most of it.

BillyGoat

I’m surprised this monthly report process can’t be done online. Even if just a fraction of club secretaries did this online it would save the AMA a lot of money in postage and paper. Not to mention cutting down on staff doing data entry and stuffing envelopes.

The Toolman

Somebody would lose their cushy job if that happened


Ronnie