President's Perspective
As with many organizations, AMA has developed by a process of evolution rather than revolution. It is an organization that has served aeromodeling well over the years, and it has become the premier organization of aeromodelers in the world. While the organization has changed slowly over the years through evolution, it has had its share of revolutionaries; it's just that most of those revolutionaries either faded away or became part of the "establishment." In fact, that last bit describes a couple of people you might just recognize.
President's Perspective
AMA and the modeling world lost one of its best on Christmas night, with the passing of AMA District VII Vice President Don Bentfield. While Don had served as a VP for a short two years, he had served for many years as an associate VP, and brought a fresh, yet experienced, perspective to the Executive Council. I remember a comment made by one of the other VPs after Don's first EC meeting: "Don is a breath of fresh air." Unfortunately, that breath of fresh air was called to a higher level, and will be terribly missed by those of us left behind. Dedicated to AMA right up to the end, Don and I talked just three days before Christmas when he expressed his strong desire that AVP Dave Gish serve out his term as VP.
President's Perspective
Since the dawn of time, advancing technology has driven us higher, faster, and farther. When man learned how to start, and "control" a fire, a new danger arrived on the scene-burned fingers. I don't think it took too awfully long after the wheel was invented for someone to run over someone else's toes. Sticks gave way to the bow and arrow, which then gave way to the gun. Sails replaced oars, only to be later replaced by steam, diesel, and then nuclear. Time and technology march on, each in its own inevitable way. With each advancement in technology comes different problems and new risks. Sometimes dealing with the risks is a much greater challenge than the development of the new technology.
President's Perspective
I don't know anyone who hasn't complained about bureaucracy at one time or another. If it isn't the license bureau, it's the school system, the building permit system, the zoning commission, the utilities board, or whatever agency one must deal with. It seems that the larger the organization is, the more bureaucratic it becomes. Some parts of the government have made bureaucracy into a virtual art form! If there is any governmental agency, at any level, which cannot be considered a bureaucracy, then I haven't dealt with it yet. However, the government doesn't have a corner on the market when it comes to bureaucracy. You may not realize it, but bureaucracy is an inherent part of organizing anything.
President's Perspective
There is no question in my mind that the insurance provided with AMA membership is the primary reason most members join, even though the AMA provides the aeromodeler with much more than insurance. A couple of months back, I wrote a column on technological advancement and its effect on aeromodeling. At the end of that column, I reflected on the idea of a tiered membership system as a method of coping with the widening gap between basic aeromodeling and the higher, faster, bigger, aeromodeling made possible by advancing technology. It has been suggested by members for a long time that this would be desirable but, as usual, it is not as simple to do as it is to suggest!
