District XI—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Chuck Bower
Vice President
cbower@whidbey.com
6075 S. Coles Rd., Langley WA 98260
Tel.: (360) 632-9211; www.amadistrict-xi.org
As I look forward to the coming year with new events for which to plan, I also take some time to look at the past. I found myself looking at the Model Aviation magazine library on www.ModelAviation.com. Archived issues from June 2015 back to July 1975 are waiting for you.
I started with the earliest issue and like any other Model Aviation issue, I checked out the front cover and then I turned to the District XI column. Homer Smith was the district vice president (VP) and wrote monthly columns until February of 1982. I recently discovered that the secretary/treasurer of the Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) 8 is this same Homer Smith.
I attend these club meetings when possible. This club has lunchtime meetings on the second Thursday of the month. Collectively, this group has an impressive number of years of modeling!
In one of his last District XI columns, Homer announced the inaugural North West Model Exposition February 6-7, 1982, at the Puyallup Fair Grounds in Puyallup, Washington. Homer is still giving himself to modeling by holding an important club office. I’m looking forward to more interaction with him.
The first district column that Ed McCullough wrote was in the March 1982 issue. Ed served as the District XI VP for 18 years, and I have heard stories about how he could speak loudly for our district interests! He ran some informative district meetings at the Expo gatherings in Puyallup.
In the 18 years Ed was District XI VP, some changes occurred. In the early 1990s, it became easier to submit pictures for the columns. Ed, as did nearly all of the VPs, figured out pictures took the place of many words! The other notable change was Ed’s picture—he even appeared briefly without his iconic hat.
Ed moved to Texas a few years ago to be close to family. We wish you the best, Ed.
Bruce Nelson became the VP in 2000, and started writing the district column in March of that year. He held the position on the Executive Council for 12 years.
Bruce’s passing inspired me to look at the history of our district through the monthly columns. As I looked through the years of Model Aviation District XI columns, I recognized events that I attended or wanted to attend, and remember some of the names written about in the columns with fond memories.
Homer, Ed, and Bruce represent 42 years of our district history. I hope you will take the time to enjoy some of their columns written since 1975 on the library page on www.ModelAviation.com. Check out their pictures!
In February 2012, Bruce introduced Mike Mosbrooker as the new District XI VP in his final column. Mike quickly became well liked as a council member. Unfortunately for the district, Mike required heart surgery that forced him to resign after only two years. Mike is doing well, flying, and is active in several clubs. He is still willing to act as an associate vice president for the district.
History class dismissed, but don’t forget the history of your club. Does your club have a newsletter archive?
As a preview of upcoming columns, we’ll look at the building space and projects of some local modelers. This month, I’ll share a quick look at Jake Palmer’s building space. Jake is an F1D Indoor Free Flight (FF) competitor, a contest director, and is on the contest board for Indoor FF.
Who’s shops will be next? Tune in next month and see.
I plan to see you at the North West Model Hobby Expo, January 27-29, 2017. Stop by the AMA booth.
Associate Vice Presidents: Darrell Anderson, Great Falls MT; (406) 899-6438; d.l.anderson@bresnan.net; Bryan Batch, Spokane WA; (509) 487-7870; bbhobbies@qwestoffice.net; Del Herring, Wenatchee WA; (509) 679-8402; del.herring301@gmail.com; Tom Kopriva, Eugene OR; (541) 484-6048; freeflyer123@comcast.net; Mike Mosbrooker, (360) 679-9139; mosbrookerdxi@comcast.net. Chris Rankin, Bend OR; (541) 593-3294; MissleMist@rocketmail.com; Jay Schoening, Lynden WA; (360) 220-0407; jjschoening@msn.com; Robert Stephens, Anchorage AK; (907) 440-0478; rfstephens@hotmail.com; Al Watson, Bellevue WA; (452) 746-9519; alenawatson@msn.com; Bryan Wood, Meridian ID; (208) 412-3254; bw5493@yahoo.com. FF/CL Coordinator: Mike Hazel, P.O. Box 505, Lyons OR 97358; zzclspeed@aol.com. RC Coordinator: Michael Ingram, Wenatchee WA 98802; (208) 573-5542 firerc@cs.com. Webmaster: Chris Rankin.
