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
It’s that time of year when I start to look for events to attend during the flying season. Darrell Anderson, a District XI associate vice president (AVP) from Montana, sent me a list of events from the Big Sky RC Modelers’ website. There are many events sponsored by several clubs on that list that I can use to plan a trip around in the Big Sky Country.
I like to recognize club officers for the volunteer work they do to keep our clubs running and provide the services to members. The webmasters and the newsletter editors play important roles in how the clubs publicize themselves to their own members and other clubs. I have several newsletters that I look forward to reading every month. When a club hosts an event that I attend, I like to follow its website and newsletters to make sure I know about additional club events.
The new thing is for clubs to have Facebook pages with their latest news and pictures. You don’t have to have a Facebook page yourself; you can just search your web browser. Have you seen the District XI Facebook page? Pay it a visit.
Along with all of the officers who keep clubs running, Leader Members take on the responsibility to help the AVPs in their area keep the district informed about what is going on in the sport/hobby. These are all volunteer jobs that get done month after month, and we need to show our appreciation!
Among the many people from AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana, who contribute to our district, this month I’d like to highlight AMA Public Relations and Government Affairs Director Chad Budreau. During AMA Expo West in Ontario, California, Chad informed me about a piece of legislation being written in the state of Washington that could be a problem. This piece of legislation ended up on the agenda of one of the meetings Chad had with the FAA. As HB 1049 progressed, Chad called for a write-in campaign from the Washington members, which received a good response. As of now, the bill is dead. That was the simple version, but my point is that the system AMA has in place is working because of people such as Chad.
Along with Phil Shellabarger, the president of the South Coast RC Squadron, club members spent three days at the Pony Mall, showing off their aircraft. It was a cold, wet weekend in the Coos Bay area that made for a great time for me to meet some of the club members and talk the language of model airplanes. I was told that the club’s secretary/treasurer, Al Schmidt, gets most of the credit for organizing this event. He even arranged for the local TV station to cover the mall show, and I saw myself on the local TV news!
It takes club members such as Bill Ellis, Shaun Farrell, Fergus Galbraith, Don Harris, John Horn, Sharron Schmidt, Pat Sherwood, Mike Vaughan, and Steve Wright to make this show the success that it is.
More than ever before, it’s good to show the public what we do and talk about where our clubs fly!
See you at the field.
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; Michael Ingram, Wenatchee WA 98802; (208) 573-5542 firercer@cs.com; Tom Kopriva, Eugene OR; (541) 484-6048; freeflyer123@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 Event Sanction Coordinator: Mike Hazel, P.O. Box 505, Lyons OR 97358; zzclspeed@aol.com. RC Event Sanction Coordinator: Michael Ingram, Wenatchee WA 98802; (208) 573-5542 firercer@cs.com. Webmaster: Chris Rankin.
