Look for experiences
Money Matters by Keith Sessions, Chief Financial Officer
keithksessions@hotmail.com
In my last report, AMA was waiting for the completion of and results from an IRS audit. As I write this, we still are. The on-site review has been completed, but we have not seen the final report. Maybe we will know something by the time you read this article. The usual delay between writing my column and when you read it is roughly two months.
My day job has certainly kept me busy this year. Oil prices have dipped to the mid-20s and rebounded some. It is hard to predict where oil prices will be by the summer flying season, but I do not see them returning to the high levels we experienced a few years ago. Low oil and gas prices are a huge benefit for our members and clubs.
For our members, each dollar that does not go into their gas tanks is a dollar that they can save and eventually spend. It typically takes six to nine months between when consumers see a decrease in gas prices and when they start to utilize some of the excess funds. The six to nine months ended around the 2015 holidays.
It was interesting to compare the consumer of 2015 with previous years.
There was an increase in consumer discretionary spending, as expected. The difference this time was that consumers were not buying goods. Instead, they were buying experiences through travel and entertainment. In other words, it appears that making memories was more important than acquiring material possessions.
Clubs can use this information to their advantage. In 2008, gas prices increased and the economy sank. Popular fly-ins and events saw a rapid decrease in attendance. Since then, the economy had recovered, but gas prices remained high. Many events continued to see low attendance. In some cases, events were canceled because clubs lost money when these gatherings were expected to be fundraisers.
For those clubs and events, I would suggest trying again in 2016. The cost for modelers to attend your event is now half of what it was. Pilots have extra resources because they are not spending it on gas. The trend is for consumers to look for experiences instead of buying a product.
Great attendance will not happen by itself. A club will need to market its event. This means utilizing social media, Model Aviation, local advertising, and word of mouth. It is often helpful to tie in a local cause or group. Not only does that help increase attendance, but also adds to the club’s community involvement, which is something I have written about in the past.
Be sure to attend other local clubs’ events. This helps the clubs and makes it more likely that your event will be supported.
Speaking of events, this year’s Joe Nall Week should be only a few days away when you get this report. I predict another record crowd at one of the most beautiful venues in the world.
Pat Hartness and his crew have been busy. The new educational buildings have been built and the interiors are going in. The vendors have a new camping area with a separate entry road.
I also saw that MultiGP will have an FPV course set up next to the helicopter flightline this year. That should be exciting.
This year, I will miss Joey Griffin. Joey passed away a few days ago. He did so much for Triple Tree throughout the years, including assembly of the control tower, construction of several of the buildings, and maintaining the mower. One year, he had his hovercraft there and flew it from the 3-D pond to the main flightline and back.
What I will miss the most is Joey’s camaraderie. In the evenings, he would break out the karaoke machine and entertain us. Later, he was usually at the table with friends gathered around, telling stories, and having fun.
Joey, thank you for all of the great memories. Godspeed my friend.
