Happy 243rd birthday to this great nation of ours! I hope you have a safe and happy July Fourth celebration!
As I have stated before, I write this column three months before it appears in the magazine, so it is late April as I write this. All of the Flying Site Improvement/Development grants (www.modelaircraft.org/programs/clubs/flying-sitegrants) and Take off And Grow awards (https://amaflightschool.org/programs/take-off-andgrow) have been handed out. If your club is interested in applying for any of these, now would be a good time to get all of the information available for next year.
I have not had anyone submit any articles about their clubs or activities, so you will be punished by having to read my babble once again! District VI is sending two youth to Camp AMA 2019. District VI paid the camping fees for Lillieann Todich and Logan Conway, but the youth are responsible for their own transportation costs.
I am looking for two deserving youth to send to the camp in 2020. They must be between the ages of 13 and 19 and be interested in flying RC aircraft. Any skill level, from beginner to advanced hotdogger, is acceptable. If you know of a suitable candidate, please email me.
The Bolivar Sport Flyers, in Bolivar, Missouri, had a fundraiser event in April to send another youth, Samuel Maas, to Camp AMA 2019. I attended and the club had a large turnout with people traveling from throughout Missouri to come to the event. The club raised enough money to pay for Sammy’s tuition costs. Thanks to all who attended and contributed.
I also attended a local STEM event in April at Kellybrook Elementary School near Kansas City, Missouri. I had an AMA table and next to me was the Kansas City Northern Knights table. Henry Alexander, Todd Richards, Mike Coyne, and I staffed the tables. We put kids on the simulator, passed out gliders, and answered lots of questions.
If you would rather see something from your club’s event instead of seeing my reports, email me a short write-up with the word “magazine” in the subject line and attach a few high-quality digital pictures!
Please take the time to introduce someone else to model aviation, particularly a young person!
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI