New Year’s resolutions for clubs
Money Matters by Keith Sessions, Chief Financial Officer
keithksessions@hotmail.com
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were joyous.
It is the time of year when people turn to making New Year’s resolutions. You know, the ones we make every year—eat better, exercise more, stop rolling out of snaps because the judges really do see that … Although we all make personal goals or resolutions of some sort, what about your club? What can your club do to improve in 2016?
One of the things that I hate to hear as a modeler is that a field is closing. It happens. Sometimes, there is nothing that can be done. Urban sprawl can place a neighborhood or school directly beneath the flight path.
In some cases, the best solution is active prevention. Just like eating healthy and getting exercise will give you a healthier life, taking an active role in the community will help your club grow and become more relevant.
How many events does your club host that attract the general public? Are you involved with Scouts in the area? Have you reached out to high schools to help with AMA’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs? Do you participate in National Model Aviation Day and leverage it with the media? There are a lot of other ideas, but let’s focus on a couple of these.
I belong to several clubs, one of which is in Louisville, Kentucky. The River City Radio Controllers (RCRC) does a great job of being relevant in the community. The club’s annual signature event is an air show supporting the local Kosair Children’s Hospital. The club invites well-known pilots to attend.
For two days, spectators are entertained with a well-orchestrated air show. There are specific flight times and the action never stops. The event is conducted by an emcee. The crowd is not only exposed to model aviation, but also to the benefits of Kosair Children’s Hospital, including an explanation by Horizon Team pilot John Boyko about how Kosair impacted him as a child. Throughout the past 13 years, the club has collected donations for the hospital’s foundation.
What started out small has grown to a significant event with television and media coverage. To date, the club has raised more than $200,000. That is relevant community involvement.
Clubs across the country host similar events. I spotlighted RCRC because I was familiar with the gathering and the group. I would love to tell everyone about your event, too. Please email me the details including what it supports, how it is organized, what donations were raised, etc., and I will discuss it in this column. I think my readership is up to approximately 28 now, so I am hoping for a lot of emails!
I mentioned the AMA’s STEM program earlier, and this is another great way to be involved in your community. Remember 20 or 30 years ago, when we used to build the Delta Dart airplanes? Well, we have come a long way from those days. Recently introduced was the UAS4STEM program. You can learn about it by visiting http://uas4stem.org and the AMA Flight School website. It is a search-and-rescue challenge utilizing multirotors, which will excite and educate students.
There are many ways to increase your goodwill in a community. Let me know what your club is doing, and I will share it.
