AMA VP Mike Brown at Field

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Also SFDRCM has been awarded TAG funds. I wanted to personally thank the club for applying for a TAG grant. This year there were several clubs who applied from most all AMA districts and three from District X alone!
There is only so much money available for these grants so I spent a lot of time thinking what was the best thing to do with the funds, what would be best for the hobby. In the end I thought it best I shared what was available between all three clubs who applied evenly, rather than all for 1. I hope you agree with my way of thinking.

I would also like to ask all three of the clubs that received grant money to write something for the District X newsletter. I think the entire district would be proud to know what three of its clubs have done for modeling. A long or short article with how ever many pictures you would like to send would be great.
If you could let me know in advance when your TAG event will be held I will try and get one of our AMA AVP's to attend. I wish it could be me Wayne but I won't be able to come back that fast.

Again, I thank you for your hard work and dedication to our hobby.

Michael Brown
District X Vice President.

AMA District X Special Election

I just receive this message from Lawrence and we pass it on for your information.


Michael Brown will be at our Field this Thursday March 18th and he would like to meet as many of you as possible.

Michael and Lawrence will be running against each other in the election that will take place in late September. Come and meet Michael this Thursday.


SFDRCM
C Wayne Brown, President

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lawrence Tougas amadistrictxelection@gmail.com
Date: March 16, 2010 10:33:57 AM PDT
Subject: AMA District X Special Election

Dear AMA District X Members,

Today I announce my intention of becoming the AMA District X Vice President. As many of you know I was a candidate in last year’s District X election. Jim Giffin and I campaigned for the office. After all 23,000 members of District X had an opportunity to vote the election came down to 34 votes. Jim prevailed by those 34 votes in a 51%-49% split.

Sadly Jim passed away 1 month into his term. AMA by-laws require that a special election be held when a Vice President leaves office before the end of their term. This special election will be held in the October/November time frame concurrent with the National Election for AMA President.

I believe my background in modeling, aviation, and business makes me the best candidate for the office. My top 3 issues for District X are;

1) Helping clubs find and keep their fields.
2) Bring District X to the internet
3) Build an AMA Western United States Flying site

Any club that is on public land, rents their land from a third party, or is near a population that may object to their field needs to be proactive in protecting their field. Building strong relationships with your elected officials, landlord, and community are essential in protecting the long term use of your field. Clubs need to market themselves, and it is essential that this take place before your field is at risk. I have some specific ideas on how clubs can do this and will do everything in my power to protect our right to fly.

Our District X website is not up to snuff. It has little information on it and it almost never is updated. We can and will do better under my leadership. We will harness the power of the internet to keep our members well informed. We will share news of our events, tips for construction, and flying of our models. We will also collect historical information about the clubs, and modelers that make District X great.

I believe that the time has come for the AMA to build a western United States flying site. AMA West will be a place we can hold large contests of every type, R/C, C/L, and F/F. We would be able to host a portion of the Nats with the dedicated support of our members. This will be a place for us to gather and enjoy the fellowship of the modeling community. We could hold large fun flys like the Joe Nall event on the east coast. We are only limited by our imagination.

I need your help to achieve these goals. You can help by talking to your modeling friends and let them know about my ideas. You can help by having your club officially endorse me. You can help by contributing to my campaign.


As an airline employee I am able to get around our large district. I would like to start mapping out appearances at large gatherings of modelers. If you are planning an event and would like me to attend please contact me, I can’t promise to make it to every event but I will make my best effort. This weekend I will be at the RCX show in Pomona, California. If you would like to meet me please send me an email and we will coordinate.

I have a blog that I started for last year’s election and will be updating. It is at

http://ama-district-x-election.blogspot.com/

Last year while running for office, I met some wonderful people, and received a lot of support for my campaign. I look forward to meeting more modelers, and will need all of your support to become the AMA District X Vice President.

Sincerely,
Lawrence Tougas
AMA 232