Summer is Here!....It’s Time to Have Fun! It’s the start of another season. Toledo was awesome! There was a lot of great R/C. I have finished my Restoration project of my Robin Hood 99. If any of you were at Toledo you would have seen it hanging in the Ohio Superstar booth. It was great seeing all of you who stopped at the IMAA booth I hope everyone liked the look of our booth this year. We had one of the best shows we have had in a few years. Everyone was up beat about the organization. We gained 30 new members and signed up 2 new chapters. That makes 12 new chapters since I have been President.

Last quarter’s High Flight dealt a lot with the issue of competition. It was important to get your input on this issue. Some members have felt that the lack of some type of competition has resulted in a decline in membership. I am very please at the amount of response I received from the membership. Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually reads High Flight! I had an out pouring of letters and e-mails on this subject. I am happy to say there is a large majority of members that do not want to see any type of competition in the IMAA. I just thought I would let those who wrote me that your efforts were not in vane. Please keep up the communication.

In May the IMAA gave a special award to Pat Hartness and the Confederate Air Farce club for their outstanding dedication to the hobby and their support of the IMAA. It was awarded at the banquet at the Joe Nall. If you have not yet been to the Joe Nall it is a once in a lifetime event just like Oshkosh.

Membership is still an issue that we must continue to address. While in Toledo I was able to address this issue with the AMA, and other hobby leaders. The hobby as a whole is on the decline. Memberships in the AMA are declining, as is attendance at the Toledo show. Manufacturers are leaving the shows, and are starting to sell their merchandise through toy stores.

We should take this trend as a wake up call. At times we make our hobby too political. I think it is time that we take a step back and remind ourselves that this is a hobby to be enjoyed. The purpose of the IMAA is to support an atmosphere where people of all interests can come together and HAVE FUN! When we loose sight of the fact that the main purpose of a hobby is nothing but pure enjoyment, to escape our everyday problems, we’ve got real problems!

Do me a favor. When you take your plane out to the field, take a moment to realize why you are there. Put down your transmitter, and look around you. Feel the sun upon your face, and breathe in the fresh air. Take a moment to look at your friends, and realize how much they’ve added to your life over the several years you’ve been involved in the hobby.

The IMAA is much more than Giant Scale planes. It’s the chance to get out in the fresh air, with friends who you can count on to have fun, and escape the stresses of everyday life doing something we all can enjoy! We have a clean hobby, which does not rely on competition, but on friendship and helping those around us do something they enjoy too!

LET’S SPREAD THE WORD!

SAFE LANDINGS THIS FLYING SEASON TO YOU ALL!