Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Hi all. It’s the middle of winter as I write this, and not much is going on in our district except for a lot of building. As I mentioned, I retired from my paying job at the end of the year, so I’ve slipped out of the district to find someplace where there’s good flying weather. I know these events that I’m going to share with you are not in our district, but I enjoyed them so much that I had to share.
First, I visited the Coachella Valley by Thermal, California. The Coachella Valley RC Club put on the 14th Annual Desert Warbirds event, and it was my pleasure to be able to participate. It was a great field, great weather, and fantastic company. The club was very welcoming and sharing. The following are a couple of pictures.
Next, I went to Phoenix, Arizona, to the Sun Valley Fliers’ Winter Warbirds event. It was a great field, with more great weather and another great group of guys. A couple of pictures from that event follow.
I want to give special thanks to the Sun Valley Fliers. They allowed me to stay after the event, and then even an extra day, when one of our dogs needed emergency vet care.
I’ll be back home by the time you read this. We’re going to start having our springtime events soon. The first one I’ll attend will be the NW Model Hobby Expo in Monroe, Washington, on April 10-12. I’ll be out in the swap area most of the time, so be sure to stop by and say hi.
That’s all for this month. I’m still out and about and planning on attending more events. I’ll let you know what I find. Keep building and flying!
Vice President
amadistrictxi@modelaircraft.org
28910 W. Hallett Rd., Medical Lake WA 99022; (509) 220-6513
Associate Vice Presidents
David Agar, Battle Ground WA; (360) 721-1963; kamanhusky@aol.com
Rick Crow, Garrison MT; (406) 559-6662; rwcrowjr@gmail.com
Bryan Diffendaffer, Meridian ID; (208) 917-0548; bdiffendaffer@gmail.com
Michael Ingram, Wenatchee WA ; (509) 699-3034; firercer@cs.com
Dennis Miller, Anchorage AK; (907) 947-3664; millertreehouse@gci.net
Joe Miller, Dallas OR; (503) 798-7241; dragonriders54@yahoo.com
Tommy Rainwater, Bend OR; (858) 527-8627; trainwater157@gmail.com
Chris Rankin, Bend OR; (541) 948-0211; crankin.aa@outlook.com
Jay Strickland, Central Point OR; (458) 226-0470; strickdog@q.com
Tom Strom, McCleary WA; (360) 791-7729; flyboy23e@aol.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; (509) 699-3034; firercer@cs.com
WEBMASTER
Jude Sturman; (714) 474-7706; jsturman@gmail.com
John Shirron; (971) 331-2236; jreshirron@centurylink.net
January 10, 2026; Virtual Meeting
The motions and acclimations are a part of the official meeting minutes. These minutes have been approved by the Executive Council. Questions or comments concerning the motions should be addressed to your district vice president.
Motion I: Motion by Randy Cameron (EVP), seconded by Phil Tallman (XI), to appoint Mark Radcliff as the District III vice president and JR Schiager as District X vice president.
Motion passed: 10 yes, 0 no, 3 absent.
Motion II: Motion by Randy Cameron (EVP), seconded by Gary Himes (VI), to approve the bid from Five Star for the roof replacement up to the amount of $100,000, pulling the funds from reserves. We will seek recovery of funds through legal action if required.
Motion passed: 12 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.
Motion III: Motion by Andrew Griffith (V), seconded by Randy Cameron (EVP), to approve pulling funds in the amount of $50,000 from reserves to award staff a one-time bonus.
Motion passed: 12 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.
Motion IV: Motion by Phil Tallman (XI), seconded by Randy Cameron (EVP), to approve the Executive Council’s decision to award the annual bonus of 15% for the Executive Director’s performance, as determined by the Executive Council.
Motion passed: 12 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.
Motion V: Motion by Phil Tallman (XI), seconded by Randy Cameron (EVP), to approve the Executive Council’s decision to award additional compensation in the amount of $5,000 for the Executive Director’s additional Government Affairs responsibilities in 2026.
Motion passed: 12 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.
Motion VI: Motion by Randy Cameron (EVP), seconded by Randy Gibson (VII), to confirm the AMA Foundation’s appointment of Rich Hanson to the AMA Foundation Board.
Motion passed: 12 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.
Motion VII: Motion by Randy Cameron (EVP), seconded by Mark Radcliff (III), to award the Distinguished Service Award to [redacted until awarded] DVIII and [redacted until awarded] DIV.
Motion passed: 12 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.
