District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
The Jefco Aeromod’lers’ annual auction is a traditional event that many area modelers put on their calendar every year. Here are a few words from Bud Glass, the Jefco president.
On January 28, 2023, our club held its annual fundraising auction at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds in Aurora, Colorado. This event has a long history in our club going back more than 25 years.
Everything went like clockwork. Our Colorado weather, which sometimes can cause travel problems, blessed us with a cold but clear day. We moved to the Arapahoe site several years ago, and this spacious exhibition hall is perfect for our event. Huge thanks go to the efforts of the club’s 30-plus Jefco volunteers, who worked their tails off to make this happen. Registered buyers and sellers totaled 135, and we sold 357 items—mostly model airplanes, of course—but quite a few other hobby-related items as well.
The live auction was preceded by a silent auction, which has proven to be very successful. For those of you who hold similar events, we find this pre-sale is a great way to stimulate sales and reduce the number of items going over the block. We started the silent auction a few years ago and are happy with the outcome.
I received a note from Aimee Olson that the Fargo-Moorhead Skylarks club is going to host the 66th Annual Control Line (CL) Contest in Fargo, North Dakota, on July 22-23. As you might remember, when Tyler Brown and I attended this event last year, there was talk that it might not happen again. I am so glad the club decided to bring it back. This is one of the longest-running, continuous CL events in AMA’s 100-year history of competition. From my personal experience, you will not be disappointed. The Skylarks work hard to make this a premier competition and so does the city of Fargo.
In District IX, it is sometimes tough to find event coverage during the winter months. Because I am new to writing this column, with not much news to report, I am going to take a liberty.
Earlier this year, a video made the rounds on social media showing Gernot Bruckmann competing at the 2023 FAI F3P World Championships for Indoor Aerobatic Models in Lithuania. The competition is a freestyle flight choreographed to music. Here is a link to Gernot’s winning performance: https://fb.watch/jBm-Vslbcs/.
Because I am one of the younger members of the AMA Executive Council, I am asked what brought me to the decision to serve this hobby and the AMA. The answer is simple. When you see someone such as Gernot Bruckmann in a “drop the mic” moment like the one in the video, you know you’ve picked an avocation that has no limits.
There are many diverse opportunities available that you can spend a lifetime without covering the same ground twice. It never gets old. There is always more to do, learn, and accomplish. What better way to spend your free time?
Brandon Koch
Vice President
kochbrandon471@gmail.com
Mandan ND
(701) 471-9575
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS
Craig Bastian, Casper WY; (307)577-6463; craigb1961@msn.com
Tyler Brown, Lincoln NE; (402) 617-0444; tylerzx9@yahoo.com
Mark Dennis, Longmont CO; (951) 203-7776, MarkFlyer@gmail.com
Rick McCaskill, Frederick CO; (303) 682-0440; rickm1947@aol.com
Zachary Roller, Rapid City SC; (605) 519-0815; zroller28@gmail.com
Arend Schuurman, Elkton SD; (605) 695-2122; arend.schuurman@gmail.com
Jim Tiller, Custer SD, (605) 390-3878; jtillr@hotmail.com
Terry Wiles, Harrisburg SD; terryscustom@yahoo.com
EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR
Troy Hamm, Gardner KS; (913) 744-5745; funflyr@juno.com
