District II—New Jersey, New York, Europe
Eric Williams
Vice President
rcpilot@nycap.rr.com
4242 Amanda Ln., Schenectady NY 12303
Tel.: (518) 356-2057
www.amadistrict-II.org
www.facebook.com/DistrictIIAMA
Members had great interest in my previous column about club community involvement. So much so, that I’ll expand here on some methods and techniques. The underlying principles are: be known as a participating and contributing community organization, and promote the heck out of the benefits to the community, provided by your club and model aviation.
As I’ve mentioned before, a club without signs is a sign of no club. To capitalize on the various promotional methods, it’s important to think of the methods as signs. Without these signs, the community will not “see” your club as often as it needs to.
Social media is a great free tool. Unfortunately, it’s underutilized by many clubs. Clubs can advertise and promote themselves and their events on social media and Internet sites such as Facebook, Craigslist, and similar sites and applications. Advertising your club’s open house, training night, fly-in, or swap meet on these sites will open your club to a new audience.
Facebook supports all kinds of special interest groups and community interest notifications that clubs can utilize. Remember to include relevant photos that help attract individuals to model aviation.
Use every opportunity to leverage your strengths and the tools at hand.
At one of its community open houses, the Edgewood Flyers of Long Island provided hamburgers and hot dogs for visitors and took numerous kids, families, and adults up on trainer aircraft. Everyone had a great time.
To truly capitalize on everyone’s enjoyment, the club asked visitors for their feedback and permission to use their written quotes. This technique provided invaluable testimonials that were printed in the club’s external newsletter that is sent to elected officials, the news media, and community organizations. It is one thing for a club to state that model aviation is a good thing, but when local citizens and families praise a club and our hobby, there can be no better endorsement!
Families at the Edgewood Flyers’ open house.
A sign at the Edgewood Flyers’ open house.
Today, information is the lifeblood of all organizations. Collecting email addresses of local residents attending your club’s open house or community day creates an invaluable asset in communicating to the public. Such email lists provide the backbone of sending out event reminders, invitations, and the all-important external newsletter.
An external newsletter is different from a club’s regular newsletter. An external newsletter is written specifically for the general public and community leaders, and it’s designed to be your club’s electronic calling card.
An external newsletter should include the good-news stories of what your club does, its community events, and how the community benefits. If a club is a little short on its own activities, AMA programs can be used to help tell the benefits of model aviation. Such programs include AMA’s scholarship program, Camp AMA, and a multitude of offerings provided for educators.
On Saturday, February 4, 2017, I attended the Atoms RCers Swap Meet in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The event was, again, another winner with tables sold out.
Like all swap meets, items ranged from the usual to the unusual. I never fail to see something different at a model aircraft swap meet, not to mention the camaraderie and friendship of talking with fellow modelers. Consider having a club swap meet or work with your neighboring clubs to have a combined event.
Adam Lilly with a Piper Cub rudder at the Atoms Swap Meet.
A crowded day at the Atoms Swap Meet.
Remember, it’s not about what you fly, it’s about the people and the friends you make.
Associate Vice Presidents: Dennis Andreas, Freeport NY; (516) 379-0135; danandreasdhqs@juno.com; Fred Backhaus, Medford NY; (631) 289-6964; motoderf@optonline.net; Reid Condon, Greenville NY; (518) 966-8329; rcairforce@live.com; Chuck Davis, Sayville NY; (631) 589-7690; arcdavis@verizon.com; Gene Gavin, Staten Island NY; (718) 967-0598; Gavin1957@aol.com; Jon Gerber, Staten Island NY; (718) 984-5013; taxman846@aol.com. Frank Granelli, Rockaway NJ; (973) 625-4995; granellif@aol.com; Bill Hauth, Hamburg NY; (716) 649-8582; toolmkr2000@msn.com; Thomas Murray, Basking Ridge NJ; (908) 766-5656; Anthony Rossi, Somerset NJ; (917) 320-2665; p510851@gmail.com; Joe Sarbello, Woolwich Township NJ; (856) 491-8481; donnajoe244@msn.com; Peter Seiffert, Baldwinsville NY; (315) 635-6370; pseiffe2@gmail.com; Leonard Max Smart, Morrisonville NY; (518) 563-6878; hotrodsbymax@charter.net; Alexander Szemere, Kendall Park NJ; (732) 821-5641; drszemere@aol.com. CL/FF Sanctioned Event Coordinator/AVP: David King, South Plainfield, NJ; (732) 672-1783; clmodelpilot@comcast.net. Safety Coordinator/RC Sanctioned Event Coordinator/AVP: Al Kanser, New Lisbon NY; (607) 293-7974; akanser@hughes.net. Webmaster: Chuck Levine, webmaster@amadistrictii.org.
