New Administration - Results of the 97 election of Officers can be found elsewhere in this issue. The time for voting was still open as this column is being readied for publication.

On January 1st the new group will show many changes of personnel. Five Directors chose not to run for re-election. Three Directors have an opponent also running for Director of their district. Both the Vice-President and myself also have a challenger on the ballot. New folks, re-elected persons, and also individuals who will be returning to office after a short break in service will result in a significant change as we start the new year.

Not to worry - the IMAA will adjust quickly and it will be business as usual at the coming Board Meeting on January 31st. On behalf of the current administration and all those who volunteered their time by placing their names on the ballot, I would like to thank all those members who took the time to vote.

Check out the results of the election and give your new administration your continued support. Communicate with your Directors and help them prepare to convey your needs and concerns to the coming meeting. The deadline for Directors to submit items to be placed on the agenda is December 16 (45 days prior to the meeting;).

Your Internet home page is at - WWW.FLY-IMAA.ORG

Manufacturer's support to become sponsors of the web site continues to grow. In the near future we should gain an additional 4 or 5 sponsors and then we will have achieved our first goal as the home page will be 100% self supporting.

Over 43,000 visits to the home page have been recorded since we came "on line" early last year. We are currently seeing an average of 3000 visits per month. We should all be proud of the fact that we, the IMAA, are providing this service and information to the aircraft modelers world wide - in addition to our own members who have access to computers.

Membership status report - 1997 has been another successful year for us. It appears that we will show a NET gain of over 500 members as we continue to grow. New memberships continue to come in at a steady rate and we continue to cover the normal fall out of members. As we now see the annual renewal ofchapters being returned, it is sad to see the members we have lost to deceased by natural causes. We should begin the year with just over 12,000 members in good standing with the usual 350 to 400 that are now being told it is time to renew their membership. With all the competition these days of other interests that will reduce the overall number of aircraft modelers, we continue to grow.

The building season has just begun for most of us. Decisions, decisions, what to build or re-build for the coming year. One ofthe fine kits that are now available? Maybe a little kit bashing to make it more to your liking? How about a scratch building job this time with all the plans that are now available. What ever you have decided to do, now is the time to get started if you haven't already. Maybe if you have been good, Santa will bring you some needed items to complete the project. He might even bring you one that is nearly ready to fly, if building is not your thing.
May you and yours have a great holiday season.