District 3 help
 

Don't count on the VP here for help. After having a terrible time trying to get information on a local club from the contact point for the club, I decided i would write our district VP and ask for his help in getting some simple information. Which was where is the field located, how many members, and another point of contact that would be responsive. My email to the VP was less than flattering of the individual at the club who would not answer my questions. Our illustrious VP after admitting he knew nothing about the club, forwarded my message to this individual I had been having trouble with. Needless to say I received a less than polite email from this individual. Is this VP brain dead? Why doesn't he know about the clubs in his district, he isn't new to this position? He could have passed this onto an assistant VP who BTW i also cc'd on the email. I think it's time for some leadership changes in the districts as well!

By the way, this all started because i just moved to the area and was looking for a nice group to fly with and make some friends who I had RC in common with.

RE: District 3 help
 

Hmmm...

However, before you dig your hole deeper consider that the VP took action on your letter rather than (as some have in the past) filed it in the trash bin. His VOLUNTEER "job" sort of suggests that he put you in contact with this club but does not hand him any power to force that club to be responsive to you. From here it looks like he was trying to push the club off the dime where you had ALREADY done all you felt was necessary. It worked and your less than flattering remarks seem to possibly have bitten you. Less than flattering remarks have a nasty habit of coming back. In God's country (Texas) we tell folks that what goes around comes around. Might serve you well to remember that in the future. Sorry you found out the hard way.

Now lets look at things YOU can do to fix the problems or find a good place to fly. This club surely has members that buy equipment. I would figure out where that is and approach the shop owner and ask about clubs in the area. It sure would be less than fun to try to join the worst club in the area if there are other choices. It also may be that the club contact is burnt out and not a good representative of the club to outsiders. Plan on a site visit or two before you mention your desire to join the club. If you have really made an enemy in the only club in the area, you have to do some work to repair the problem or find a way to go around it.

Good luck.

RE: District 3 help
 

Well since you decided to help, let me explain. I wrote this guy 4 times and got no response. I wrote to the AMA and asked if this was the correct contact for the club, and i had been trying to contact this guy and had received no response. They contacted him and he responded by telling me he was the point of contact. I then asked 4 simple questions. Where do you guys meet, When do you guys meet, how many members do you have and how much are the dues? The response i got was, we meet on Sundays at the field and the dues are $20. Ok so i emailed this guy again and asked where the field was and what time did they meet. I got this response, the field is off of ______ road and we meet at 2:00. Ok then i wrote again and asked, can you provide me directions to the field and when is the next meeting. I got this response, We meet infrequently during the winter. So after all this BS i decided that being i made every polite attempt for information I would ask the VP of District 3 for some help. I asked if he had information about the club and any other point of contact that might be co-operative and described what had been going on. He could of wrote this guy and asked for a list of officers and how to contact them as he has every right too. and then forwarded an alternate point of contact to me....simple. No he chose to escalate the problem. As a chartered AMA club in which i pay dues like everyone else, this information should be available to anyone who wants to know. I don't know what more i could have done as i exhausted all polite options. Just so you know why i persued this, I am disabled and suffer from a weak heart and diabetes so i was looking for a close place to home to fly. There field is approximately 4 miles from my house as this is an estimate as i still don't know where it is. The next closest place for me to fly is 30 miles away. I don't generally like to travel this far alone because my wife works in case i have a health problem and need some help. Oh and by the way I used to live in Fort Worth Tx and belonged to the Thunderbirds there......i guess i got spoiled as they were a very nice bunch of people, especially Chuck Cunningham and Woody Lake.

Thanks

RE: District 3 help
 

It’s hard for a lot of us to understand, but, not all clubs either want, or solicit, new members. Some go so far as to discourage contact. The AMA charters clubs. They do not tell the club how it must be run. There is no inherent right to fly at a club you do not belong to. There is on inherent right to join a club. Some clubs do not even want to be listed by the AMA. Until next year, there has been no requirement to supply the location of the club in terms that would allow anyone to find it. Next year GPS coordinates will be mandatory.

I am in D X, the most populace district in the AMA. I would not expect Rich Hansen to know every club in the district, where they are located, nor who to contact. That is beyond the scope of his duties. Having said that, the general opinion of those of us in the district is that he does a great job. Bob Brown, the D III VP, in my opinion, also does a great job. He spends an inordinate amount of his time working on committees trying to make things better for us. These volunteer leaders can only do so much. We expect them at our club meetings, at every event run in the district, and to attend to the business of setting and implementing AMA policy and to do it all without ever making a mistake.

Why not ask for a phone number from the contact? You might resolve any misunderstandings in a matter of minutes. Like you said, it’s easy to get spoiled when you are used to clubs that greet new folks with open arms.

RE: District 3 help
 

Those are nice guys. Getting spoiled by flying with good people who are nice is easy to do.

Folks in the frozen north tend to be less open and welcoming than you are used to. Hang in there and try to make smooth, even if it is frustrating.

RE: District 3 help
 

Hi JR I agree with 99 percent of what you said except for 3 things. The requirements for club charter require the filing of paperwork with the AMA disclosing who the officers are, this information should be readily available to a VP from AMA headquarters. Which then would have allowed me to have an alternate contact. Secondly The VP could have used some TACT in the matter and not forwarded my email to this guy and fuel the fire. Lastly, the VP made an effort to attend the control line fly-in at Brodaks in Carmichaels PA when the club he knows nothing about just happens to be less than a mile away. Don't you think you might kill 2 birds with one stone and visit both while your there. Oh, I forgot Brodak is rich and the other club is just average working people Hmmmmmmmm. Any way, i think i made my point clear now, hopefully.

Thanks

RE: District 3 help
 

Yep--We can see where you're coming from...