Welcome back! I have two District V associate vice presidents (AVPs) to introduce this month. I would say “new,” but the truth is that one has been with us for a while and was inadvertently overlooked in the previous articles featuring the AVP team from District V.
Covering northeast Georgia and southern South Carolina is Alex W. Barbee. Bill, as he is known, is a resident of historic Savannah, Georgia, and has been active in the hobby for more than 40 years. Bill is an AMA Leader Member, instructor pilot, and contest director (CD). In addition, Bill serves as the club president of the Tri-County RC Flyers in Savannah, where he can often be found doing flight instruction with both the young and young at heart. He’s been serving as a District V AVP since 2015 when Savannah-area AVP Paul Frankum moved away. Bill came highly recommended by Paul.
Our newest District V AVP is Scott Anderson. Scott comes from an aviation family with ties all the way back to the J-3 Cub at Piper Aircraft. He holds a private pilot’s license, and has been involved in model aviation for more than 25 years.
Scott has competed on the national and local levels, winning many awards. Although RC Aerobatics is his main focus, he does enjoy time with his electric glider working the thermals. He holds CD and Leader Member status within AMA and hosts several events per year. He has been a member of several clubs in New York, Pennsylvania, and currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. He looks forward to visiting and working with clubs within AMA District V.
Welcome, Scott, and thanks, Bill, for your continued service!
Don’t Be That Club!
Much has been written about this particular subject in many sections of this and other magazines, yet I still get calls and Facebook messages featuring some variation of the same theme.
The stories range from a new person showing up at a club and either being ignored or downright shunned, to being treated absolutely rudely. Most clubs put their best foot forward when hosting an event, but I’m referring to the average flying day.
I have been treated both ways and it happened to be at the same club! Once I was in the area and stopped by the local club roughly two hours from my house, I was welcomed by the group, told as long as I had AMA membership I would be able to fly as a guest of anyone present, and if I had any questions or needed help, just let them know. A few months later I was in the area picking up a helicopter and stopped by the same club, a different group was there and I walked around for 30 minutes and nobody said a word to me and I was generally treated as though I had no business being there watching.
I realize that not everyone has the personality to be a professional greeter, but c’mon, if you see someone new at your club, take five seconds to introduce yourself and see if they have any questions or need any assistance. If you’re the person showing up to a new club, don’t be afraid to say hello and ask some questions to break the ice. You never know who you may be talking to when a stranger walks up.
I took the time to make a stranger feel welcome and it turned out to be a candidate for Jacksonville City Council. He ended up winning the election and we now have a good friend on the city council who understands what an AMA club is all about and how it’s an asset to his district and the city in general.
In fairness, many people only call or write when they have a negative experience, and I’m sure if everyone who was welcomed warmly at a club took the time to tell me so, the positive experiences would outnumber the negative ones by a wide margin. Please, strive to be the club that welcomes new members and visitors; you never know who it may be. Also, don’t forget, if you sign up three new AMA members in a year and they use your AMA number as a reference on their application, your membership is free when you renew the following year!
That’s it for this month