District V—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
Andrew Griffith
Vice President
barracudahockey@aol.com
11064 Stutz Ct., Jacksonville FL 32246
Tel: (904) 993-4956; www.amadistrict-v.org
Hello District VI:
You might notice a new picture at the top of the page. Our elected vice president, Kris Dixon, made the decision to resign his position to take care of some family issues. I’d like to wish him well and thank him for his service.
As the first alternate District V vice president, I’ve been asked by the AMA Executive Council to fill the vacant position until the election is complete at the end of this year. I’m both excited and a little bit nervous to serve as the interim vice president for, what is my opinion, the best district in the country.
I really don’t like to talk about myself, but was asked to write a quick introduction. I’ve been a member of the AMA since middle school (I just turned 50!), and have served as an AMA contest director for the last 11 years, an associate vice president for the last five years, and club officer for the last 10 years. I regularly write for Fly RC magazine and occasionally for Model Aviation, Park Pilot, and RC Heli Pilot.
As for flying, I pretty much do it all—jets, 3-D, gliders, Scale, and 3-D helis, and anything else I can get my hands on.
In addition to my model flying, I’m a former in-flight technician on a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion, where I worked on radar, communication, and weapons systems for 20 years. I grew up watching air shows at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station (a former AMA Nats location) and have been immersed in the hobby, and in aviation in general, most of my life.
I love getting out to events and encourage you to do the same. This year alone I’ve been to the AMA Expo, the Southeast Model Show (aka the Perry Swap Meet), Florida Jets, Top Gun, the Southeast Regional Aero Tow, Joe Nall Week, and another dozen or so events at various local clubs.
I’m writing this as the summer descends upon us in earnest, so my next scheduled event is National Model Aviation Day at the Shade Tree RC Club in Glen Saint Mary, Florida.
I’m honored and humbled to represent our district on the AMA Executive Council and look forward to hearing from our members and catching up with you at events.
I sat in on a Burt Rutan (an AMA member by the way) lecture at the University of North Florida. He made a great point. With manned space flight being a thing of the past, how are young people going to be inspired toward careers in technology fields just as he and I were by following the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs?
STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, is a buzzword around educational circles and for good reason. The future depends on our children and that’s as true in the AMA as it is in life. Getting young people involved in the hobby is a focus of the AMA. Youth memberships are free, and several programs are aimed at getting young boys and girls involved in both the hobby and STEM careers. Our local clubs are AMA’s boots on ground at school programs, Scout programs, and the like.
One such shining example of a club taking the lead is the Alabaster Radio Control Association in Alabaster, Alabama. It has formed a partnership with the Thompson Intermediate School Gifted Education program. Club members volunteer their time (the most precious gift we can give) assisting students by discussing the principles of flight, giving flying demonstrations, and helping them obtain RC flight simulators. This isn’t something new either, the club has been involved in this for 10 years!
I encourage you to reach out and see what you can do. There are the EAA Young Eagles, Boy and Girl Scout troops, magnet schools, Civil Air Patrol chapters, and others all around your community.
Reach out and find one and get involved. If you need assistance, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Bill Pritchett and Jessy Symmes at the AMA’s Education department. They have all the information and materials you will need to get started.
In the meantime, thanks to the Alabaster club for its great work!
Associate Vice Presidents: Alabama: Rick Grim, (256)502-5847; uavpilot@bellsouth.net; Florida: Andy Bowen, (386)736-1688; abowen27@cfl.rr.com; Keith Hall, (813)928-3861; wing-man@verizon.net; Jose Melendez, (321)412-3078; rcjets72@hotmail.com; Georgia: Bill Barbee, (912)660-2155; awbarbee@hotmail.com; Bob Dixon, (478)960-5200; rdixon39@cox.net; Nick Ray, (865)368-3820; lasrray@agmail.com; Dave Wenzel, (912)754-9619; davefrguy@hotmail.com; Mississippi: Paul Verger, (228)826-4892; pauleverger@yahoo.com; Puerto Rico: Juan L Ortiz, (787)674-9909; juan.cortes63@yahoo.com; South Carolina: Robert Blackward, (803)317-9431; reblackwell2@gmail.com; Don Wise, (803)534-8164; d7wise@cs.com; Tennessee: Dick Tonan, (615)955-6291; dtonan@nac.com; Charles Anderson, (423) 182-3998; canderson888@comcast.net. Safety Coordinator: Red Scholefield, Newberry FL, (352)331-8410; redscho@cox.net. RC Contest Coordinator: Dick Tonan.
