District IV—Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
Jay Marsh
Vice President
jaymarsh@ama-d4.org
3227 Pine Needles Rd., High Point NC 27265
Tel.: (336) 687-0973; www.amadistrict-iv.org
www.facebook.com/amadistrictIV
The first thing that most people want to do when the government wants to regulate a perceived freedom is to take legal action. Having reached an agreement with the FAA to resume recreational flying inside the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules area, I have a different perspective.
Had we done what most AMA members wanted through legal action, we would be presenting our case for the next few years and there would be no flying today. Until you have to deal with executive politics, all of the people with whom we worked with at the FAA are like you and me, with families and a normal lifestyle.
I want to thank the wonderful people with whom we worked at the FAA as well as the AMA and your District IV Government Relations Committee in reaching this partnership to help us accomplish our goals. This atmosphere will continue as we work through the additional issues.
As more issues surface at the city, county, and state level, we want to add a few good modelers to our district committee. If you are an active or retired congressional leader or lawyer who understands the legislative processes, please contact me (jaymarsh@ama-d4.org) or Ray Stinchcomb (govrelations@ama-d4.org). Let us know of your willingness and how you might be able to help represent our hobby by educating our representatives about model aviation.
One of my goals when I took over as District IV vice president was to increase communications. We have added associate vice presidents (AVPs), a district website, Facebook page, and district newsletter. Now we want to start another method of communicating.
We are asking each club to appoint an AMA club liaison to present one topic each month at their club meetings. We will start with club contacts and Leader Members, but be sure your club is connected to receive these updates.
The following comes from Chris Weeks, vice president of the Hampton Roads RC Club.
The Hampton Roads RC club in Suffolk, Virginia, held another successful, Toys for Tots event, raising more than $3,000 and collecting six boxes of toys during the November 2015 event.
Rain threatened during the morning, but more than 40 pilots and dozens of families attended and contributed to the event’s success. In addition to the contributions from attending pilots, many thanks go to the event sponsors for their contributions. It was the club’s ninth Toys for Tots event, which is held annually and has collected more than $27,000 since its beginning.
Free Flight (FF) AVP Bob Sowder sent in the next report.
VA Brainbusters Help Students Learn and Win!
Many of us have a cause we believe in and support. The Virginia Brainbusters, championed by Abram VanDover, has such a cause. The Technology Student Association at Highland Springs High School in Richmond, Virginia, is a national nonprofit organization with nearly 230,000 middle and high school students who aspire to become future engineers, scientist, and technologists.
Throughout the years, members of the Brainbusters have devoted countless weekends and resources to help teachers and students learn how to build and fly competitive Indoor FF models. Students build their own models with the help of teachers and experienced Brainbusters members. On a recent practice day, student flight times were approaching 3 minutes in the limited-ceiling gym.
This is the grass roots of growth for AMA and a gratifying way to personally give back to developing minds that are hungry for knowledge.
(L-R) Abram VanDover, Thomas Schill, and Billy Balkins.
Chloe Hodges trimming her model.
Go fly, and have fun safely.
Associate Vice Presidents: Delaware: John Kirchstein, (302) 731-2831; john@kirchstein.net; Mark Weiss, (302) 547-4917; markw@ama-d4.org; North Carolina: Rick Cawley, (919) 630-1649; racbgc@embarqmail.com; Mark Smith, (704) 798-2776; mark@ama-d4.org; David Trogdon, (910) 654-1220; frogman28472@embarqmail.com; Maryland: Richard “Rick” Moreland, (301) 261-7366; rmoreland1@verizon.net; Virginia: Nic Burhans, (540) 219-9646; nic@ama-d4.org; Randy Elliott, (540) 239-0645; Randy.Elliott@nordsonxaloy.com; Rusty Kennedy, (757) 812-2812; rusty@ama-d4.org; Terry Terrenoire, (412) 760-4593; terry@ama-d4.org; FF AVP: Bob Sowder, (540) 525-7086; bsowder@rbnet.com. CL AVP and FF/CL Contest Coordinator: John Tate, 10 Hanbury Ave., Portsmouth VA 23702; (757) 399-5376; jtate22@cox.net. RC Contest Coordinator: Andy Kane, 305 Natick Ct., Silver Spring MD 20905; (301) 785-3022; andykane01@gmail.com. Webmaster: Jack Upchurch, webmaster@ama-d4.org. Government Relations Coordinator: Ray Stinchcomb, (443) 618-8998; govrelations@ama-d4.org.
