District VI—Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri
Randy Cameron
Vice President
flyrcam@gmail.com
2134 S. Hillcrest Ave., Springfield MO 65807
Tel.: (417) 830-9211
www.amadistrict-vi.org
www.facebook.com/AMADistrictVI
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope Santa has been good to you.
By the time you read this, AMA will have elected a new president. Bob Brown opted to retire after many years of service to the AMA. Bob and his wife, JoAnne, will be missed at many functions. I hope and expect they will both stay involved in AMA in one capacity or another. If they don’t, losing their knowledge and leadership will be difficult.
I would also like to welcome our new president, Rich Hanson. I look forward to working with Rich on the Executive Council, on committees, and at future events.
2017 is gearing up to be a busy, fun, and exciting year. The first weekend in January is AMA Expo West, in Ontario, California. At the beginning of February, I look forward to the Kansas City Radio Control Association’s annual swap meet. The last weekend in February will be the new AMA Expo East in Secaucus, New Jersey. If you are at any of these events, be sure to stop by the AMA booth and say hello.
The following report is of another great District VI event, submitted by Orville Shields of the Erie RC Club.
On September 24, 2016, we held our inaugural Quad Cities Children’s Cancer Benefit Fly-In at a little grass airstrip in
Erie, Illinois. The Erie Ultralight Air Park is owned by Jim and Sue Robinson, who graciously shut down the field for the day so we could play. Nick Zieglar dreamed up the idea for this benefit in late 2015, so he enlisted his entire family to make it happen.
The day started out foggy. It stayed fairly cloudy, but it was comfortable all day, so it was a great day to fly. The flightline stayed busy all day with 67 registered pilots from across the Midwest, including a visitor from Winnipeg, Canada. We also had a great number of spectators who enjoyed watching the flying.
The food was catered by Rolling Smoke, with music provided by Shawn Praught. The huge raffle had so many prizes provided by various RC distributors, manufacturers, and local businesses that I cannot even guess how many. There were 89 raffle baskets with multiple prizes in each.
In the end, we collected $3,800 and will donate all of the proceeds to the Hope Lodge in Iowa City, Iowa. The organization provides lodging for families with children who have cancer while the youngsters are being treated at the University of Iowa Hospital.
I have included a few pictures to share. It was hard to get a picture of Nick but he did stop to watch a little flying.
My favorite moment of the day was when a 7-year-old cancer survivor named Shayan Sakkaria asked us if he could fly his helicopter for us. Shayan’s father, Kadar, told us that getting into RC actually helped him recover from his cancer treatments more quickly. Some of his doctors have noticed and are looking into the therapeutic benefits of this great hobby.
Shayan has only been flying helicopters for roughly six months, but he is clearly at contest level already. He is getting some good coaching from the people at OXY Helicopter and Gaui. This interest in RC is also beginning to branch out to building and flying fixed-wing aircraft. There is a probably an RC workshop in the Sakkaria family’s future. Many thanks to all who participated and donated to a worthy cause.
Nick Zieglar.
Sue and Jim Robinson.
Here is a picture of the pits. I can say Flying Giants was well represented. To see more pictures, look up the event on the Flying Giants website.
Shayan Sakkaria.
Dates reminders: AMA Scholarship applications and Take off And Grow (TAG) grant applications are both due no later than February 1, 2017. Flying Site Improvement Grants are due no later than March 1, 2017.
Associate Vice Presidents: Luther Akemon, Scottsburg IN; (812) 595-9114; akemon3@msn.com; Dale Arvin, Jefferson IN; (812) 284-0162; darvin8094@aol.com; Dennis Baack, Bowling Green KY; (270) 783-4004; dennisbaack42@gmail.com; Gary Bussell, Muncie IN; (765) 288-3541; Gary Himes, Kansas City MO; (816) 550-1205; rcflyr52@hotmail.com; Mike Mueller, Hoffman Estates IL; (847) 507-4373; mikemueller@f3aunlimited.com; Leo Rodriguez, South Bend IN; (724) 396-2700; Bob Underwood, St. Charles MO; (636) 939-3394; bobrae53@sbcglobal.net; Donald Way, Hobart IN; (219) 614-6218; bolar36@hotmail.com. Contest Coordinators: RC/CL Steve Ort, 2288 N Country Rd. 950 E., Seymour IN 47274; (812) 524-9703; steve.ortcc@gmail.com; FF Charles Markos, 655 Carlisle Ave., Deerfield IL 60015. Safety Coordinator: Walter Voyt, Joliet IL; (815) 725-4677. Frequency Coordinator: Mel Ziska, Naperville IL; (630) 357-7350. Webmaster: Donald Way, bolar36@hotmail.com.
