View from HQ
Keep up the good work and score one for the entire team!
December is an interesting time of year. The cold has taken hold and the flying opportunities are few and far between, if not gone! Of course, that applies less to our flying buddies in the south, but even they can feel the cold through their windbreakers, and the less dedicated—or should I say the smarter ones—will retreat to the warmth of their shops to work on building projects.
With Christmas on the horizon, it's also a time of anticipation, gift giving, good cheer, family, and friends. And it is a time of reflection—reflection about the blessings we have received over the course of the year, all the fun we had at the club flying field, the models lost and more importantly the ones we saved, and our accomplishments both on and off the flying field.
In the association world we like to quantify and measure everything. We track the number of new members and renewals. We can tell you how many information packets we sent out or how many telephone calls we took. We track cost centers and income and expenses—all in an effort to measure our accomplishments.
But most people in the real world take a much broader view of accomplishment and look to identify things that help advance the cause, whatever that might be. That is the spirit in which I offer the following: a reflection of AMA's challenges and accomplishments of the past year.
If you ask a member to identify the most important benefit he or she receives, chances are that person will tell you it's the magazine. That is why I challenged the publications staff to improve not only the look and layout of MA, but also the content.
Those people did that in numerous ways—some more obvious than others—and the redesign effort is attracting attention and positive comments. The bottom line is that they strengthened an existing member benefit and that improved what I call the value proposition.
Score one for the AMA team, and they're not done yet!
We communicate with members not only through the magazine, but in a number of targeted ways, and not every member gets every communication. A case in point is the National News/newsletter. This was a publication sent only to club newsletter editors.
I challenged the staff to provide us with a more effective communications vehicle—one that could still accomplish its original purpose but also reach more people with our message. The staff responded with the AMA Insider.
In addition to the original content, this new electronic-format publication has been expanded to include a message from the AMA president, tips about club operations, and safety information. It now goes to all club officers.
Score two for the AMA team!
Competition is all about challenge, and it is equally challenging to promote. In truth, only a small percentage of our members participate in competition, but as I have always said, it contains our most passionate members and drives a lot of our technological development.
Although most of us don't compete in things such as the National Aeromodeling Championships—the Nats—there is keen interest in what happens at these events. I challenged the staff to deliver information about the Nats as it was occurring to a much broader audience in a timely manner. The staff responded with the NatsNews. This was a daily electronic newsletter with information about the contestants, scores, pictures, and analyses of the competition. In its first year it had approximately 2,000 subscribers and it is without a doubt our best effort to date to promote competition and spotlight the people and their disciplines.
Score three for the AMA team!
Focusing on membership growth is extremely important. Some have challenged that statement and maintain that we should not look to grow but simply focus on our core of "real modelers," which they normally define as people such as themselves.
The real world is made up of many different types of modelers, and our recognition of that fact is critical to maintaining a healthy, dynamic organization. I challenged the staff and the new Membership Development Committee to find ways to improve our data collection methods and to expand our view of where future members might come from and how we might attract them to AMA.
These people responded with tools and analyses that have allowed us to increase the number of membership renewals compared to last year and helped us clearly identify the categories where we are losing ground. The committee is now a working arm of membership marketing, and now with the support of a revitalized marketing department within AMA, the future looks more promising.
Score four for the AMA team!
Not every reflection of the year's effort is positive. We still have to deal with an overall decline in membership that, even though relatively small, is worrisome. We still have to find better ways to control our costs, improve our efficiency, and always, always focus on improving our value to the member. Those are never-ending battles.
But in the larger picture, you look for the successes that will position the organization for the future. That is the work being done by the AMA team every day.
That team includes each and every one of you who, on a daily basis, participate, educate, and promote the values of our hobby, sport, and association.
Safe flying.
Don Koranda Executive Director exdir@modelaircraft.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
