Is AMA headed in the right direction?
Rich Hanson
richh@modelaircraft.org
As I read through the candidate statements for this year’s elections, I found it interesting, and somewhat disappointing, that one of the candidates believes that the “AMA has lost its way,” and that the “AMA has stopped listening to its members.” From my perspective, nothing could be further from the truth, and I can’t help but wonder how a member of the Executive Council (EC) could come to such a conclusion if he was truly engaged in the work of the AMA.
“... there has never been a time when the organization has been more engaged with its members than it is today.”
In the 25 years that I’ve been on the EC and have worked with the AMA, there has never been a time when the organization has been more engaged with its members than it is today. Throughout the past two decades, AMA’s member communication has increased exponentially. We have gone from one print publication—Model Aviation—to adding a quarterly publication, Park Pilot. We have supplemented those with a bimonthly newsletter, AMA Today, a monthly newsletter to our clubs called Ground Control, and a newsletter to the AMA Foundation donors called The Torch, among others.
We now have a bimonthly video series called AMA Air and weekly, if not daily, updates through various channels from our government relations team. We publish blogs on every hobby-related subject imaginable, and receive member feedback via surveys, blog posts, emails, and occasionally snail mail. AMA’s Media and Publications department conducts monthly surveys and the Membership department seeks ongoing member feedback.
All of this is done with these goals in mind: to keep the members informed as to affairs affecting the hobby, to keep the AMA and its members current, and to bolster our member enjoyment and involvement in this great hobby. I am proud of this organization. I am proud of what it has accomplished, and I am confident it is headed in the right direction. When I ran for AMA president last year, my pledge was to “... continue fighting to protect the core values of the traditional modeler as well as the rights and privileges of all model aircraft enthusiasts and aeromodeling disciplines.”
I believe the AMA is well on its way toward accomplishing this.
There is no doubt that AMA has spent, and continues to spend, a disproportionate amount of time and resources in dealing with the “drone” phenomena. The fact is that we really have no choice.
The general public sees no distinction between the radio control aircraft of the traditional modeler and the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) that are prevalent in the media and are the topic of discussion in legislative bodies across the country from local city councils to the U.S. Congress. This year alone, our government relations team tracked and engaged more than 250 separate pieces of legislation dealing with UAS in some form or fashion, most of which had implications for model aviation.
The aviation world and the airspace environment are rapidly changing. The advent of civilian unmanned aircraft and the emergence of new technologies have changed the landscape in which we live and fly. The developing unmanned aircraft industry presents both opportunities and challenges for the AMA and the traditional aeromodeling community.
AMA must continue to play a leading role in this emerging community and ensure that the interests of the traditional modeler, as well as the new community of recreational users, are sheltered from overreaching and burdensome regulations.
The EC needs to work in concert toward a clearly defined set of objectives that focus our resources on achieving our primary responsibilities of serving the membership and promoting model aviation as a viable and acclaimed recreational activity for adults, families, and our youth.
