[Father Don]

All of my esteemed flying brothers, I have news from our meeting at our South Shore Radio Control Club (SSRCC).

First, I’d like to thank the AMA for backing away, allowing the club to meet and make its own decisions about its future.

We had excellent attendance. I along with Baj and others stood outside the doors of the hall to greet members as they arrived. We have also been spending a lot of time at the flying field over the last weeks leading up to the meeting, so many of the faces of the members as they showed up were now familiar and there were many smiles and welcoming handshakes; which I enjoyed very much.

The discussion began with old business about previous meetings; yes it included discussion of the very poor behavior. It should be noted that the most offending person has left the club. But really what needed to be decided was whether or not the club was to remain as an AMA Chartered Club because the following issues and direction of the club all hinged on that decision/vote. The many benefits of being an AMA charter were discussed; the President of the club pointed out the cost of private insurance and had acquired quotes for doing so that he pointed out were quite reasonable and doable. He pointed out that the Prison was fine with them getting their own private insurance along with their individual home owners insurance. He stated that he did the research but had no opinion either way. Mark Stopa then spoke regarding the private insurance option to becoming a private club, pointing out that it differed in many ways to that of the AMA insurance; most importantly, it had no protection for the board from litigation; which at the end of the day could result in far greater damage to the club than a liability claim. I’m mentioning all of this because this is a broad forum and many fellow flyers have run into these questions within their clubs. Plus, I wanted to sum up how the discussion went on the most important vote of the meeting, that of the AMA Charter.

After the discussions for and against, there came the vote. It was overwhelmingly decided that the club would remain an AMA Chartered Club! However, to be clear, there were three against.

The discussion moved on and Baj pointed out that we need to find a way to become more respectful and all need to realize that we are all members of the same club and all need to be able to use it in a welcoming open environment. He also challenged the one person that stood to speak and started with the “They” and “Them” and “Us” and “Those guys” stuff because that’s exactly what got us into this whole mess in the first place. I was extremely pleased to see that there was a general consensus to keep the discussion more positive and productive. Ken Crane, now an official member of the SSRCC, reached out to the membership to come and fly with him and other GS flyers because as he put it, “We are good guys and we are picking up where you guys brought the hobby.” He asked that all members embrace us and our way of flying, as well as our planes and that we will prove through our actions that we are good and decent people that we ourselves love every aspect and every type of flying there is, including war birds and scale planes. Many of us fly war birds, electric and scale planes as well as GS; it’s not an either or type of thing. It's not an "Us" and "You" thing. We all love to fly. His comments were very positively received and even applauded.

We were pleased that John Glezellis and his father Peter came to the meeting and are also members of the club. John pointed out that the larger planes can be made to be very quiet because he has done it.

All of the new submissions for intent to run for office were turned in to the board and acknowledged. The submissions were accepted and the members agreed to leave the current board in place until the upcoming election in the October meeting.

Now came the discussion brought up by the membership of the 65cc engine limitation. It was immediately decided to call a vote to rescind it once and for all period. The vote was quickly called and it was almost unanimous to rescind it. So, the 65cc engine restriction is now gone once and for all. Shortly thereafter the meeting was adjourned and there were many smiles and handshakes, pats on the back and good new friendships that were beginning to form.

There is still much work that we need to do. One meeting does not set a precedent for how the club will continue on this positive path. The new board that is elected in the upcoming October meeting will need to be the forward-thinking members of this club; leaders that can continue to move the club in the right direction, to welcome new members with open arms, and to be civil and understanding of the diversity that this wonderful hobby brings. If that happens, I have very high hopes that our club will become a shining example of how a club should be, rather than how it should not be.

Finally, although the FG forums had many, many positive results to our situation, really bringing these issues to the forefront, it was also pointed out that some were offended and there was particular outrage over any and all personal attacks on individuals. So, now that we have our club on track and things are moving in the right direction, please keep your posts positive and forward thinking for the good of our hobby in all of its forms.