January 16 2021 Minutes

1. Opening Business

In attendance: President Rich Hanson, Fishers IN; EVP Randy Cameron, Springfield MO; CFO Keith Sessions, Burlington KY; Executive Director Chad Budreau, Parker City IN; District I, Andy Argenio, Smithfield RI; District II Eric Williams, Schenectady NY; District III Mark Radcliff, St. Marys WV; District IV Jay Marsh, High Point NC; District V Andy Griffith, Jacksonville FL; District VI, Gary Himes, Kansas City MO; District VII Randy Gibson, Lansing MI; District VIII Lawrence Harville, Hurst TX; District IX Jim Tiller, Custer SD; District X, Lawrence Tougas, CA; District XI, Phil Tallman, Medical Lake WA; Greg Principato, NAA.

Others in attendance: Felix Gora, AMA legal counsel; Paul Bretson, Harry A. Koch Co.; Tim Jesky, former District VII VP; Randy Adams, District III AVP; Leo Martin, District III; John and Lisa Zoldak, District III; Staff in attendance: Tyler Dobbs, Government Affairs director; Kyle Jaracz, AMA Education director; Liz Helms, recording secretary.

Additions to Final Flight list: Robert Gialdini, CL community; John Weiss, Cincinnati; Fred Weaver, Soaring community; Bruce Batch.

A moment of silence was observed.

Any EC member may request a Consent Item to be pulled and added to the regular Agenda.

2. Consent Agenda

a. approval of October 24, 2020 minutes

Motion to accept the minutes of the October 24, 2020 meeting by Mark Radcliff, District III, seconded by Randy Cameron, EVP. Motion passed by acclamation.

There have been no motions or votes taken since the October meeting.

3. President’s Report

R. Hanson

Rich hasn’t done any traveling. He has been active with Zoom calls with DAC and ASTM groups. AMA no longer has a seat on the DAC committee (3-year term) but still have an active presence (Rich, Chad, Tyler) on the subcommittees. There are no recreational interests represented on the DAC. Rich believes that the FAA seems to feel that the recreational issues have been addressed and needs to focus on the commercial, heavy-use segment of the UAS. Remote ID is out and 91-57C is imminent. Rich is most involved in the Remote ID committee in the ASTM involvement and the committee is making adjustments to the ASTM standards to comply with what is in the final rule. The FAA dropped the network aspect of the rule and everything is broadcast possibly on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. A lot of people want to see networking (UTM process) although that is not currently an element of the Remote ID regulations. Andy Argenio (District I) asked if Rich thought that there would be more emphasis on the UTM process in the next three years or so. Rich thinks that networking will be seen in the future in some respects, but it will likely not be an issue for model aircraft flown within visual line-of-sight unless a modeler is flying within a UTM system.

Rich discussed the COVID-19 situation and he hopes that vaccinations will help to open up Indiana and other states to on-site activities.

4. Executive Vice President’s Report

R. Cameron

Randy has been involved in SIG meetings and Nats scheduling for 2021 and 2022, Marketing and Membership, and AMA 2020. He has also been involved in the AMA Foundation and Grievance Committee. He has attended a few local events.

Keith Sessions, AMA’s CFO, was appointed to the position for a three-year term. Rich asked Keith if he was willing to do another three-year term and Keith respond that he is.

Motion I: Moved by Randy Cameron (EVP), and seconded by Phil Tallman (District XI), to retain Keith Sessions for another three-year term as AMA CFO.

Motion passed unanimously.

Rich welcomed Randy Gibson as the new District VII representative to the EC and noted that Tim Jesky will continue as the FAI chairman through this year. Randy noted that there was a virtual orientation for Randy and it worked out well.

Randy Cameron suggested that the Investment and Audit committee be combined with the Finance Committee and it was agreed. Randy presented the committee member report. Mark Radcliff (District III) asked to be reappointed to the Publications committee. Rich brought up the suggestion that the Museum Steering Committee be combined with the Museum Acquisition Committee. There was discussion concerning the mission of the two committees. Eric Williams (District II, Museum Steering Committee) feels it works well as is. Mark Radcliff (District III, Museum Acquisition Committee) agreed. They are two separate responsibilities although they work in concert. The museum itself decides whether or not to accept smaller artifacts (pins, patches, magazines, and such).

There was discussion concerning Advanced Flight Systems Committee and Safety Committee. Rich asked for thoughts on the Advanced Flight Systems Committee becoming a subcommittee of the Safety Committee. Andy Argenio (District I, Advanced Flight Systems Committee) feels that the two committees work well together and now that Remote ID has been put in place, that the two committees they will work even more closely together concerning the standards and wording. He stated that the AFS committee always presented its determinations to the Safety Committee for approval before presenting them to the EC.

Rich discussed the “SLAC” (Staff Liaisons and Affairs) committee. It was initially developed to mediate between staff and management (ED and/or EC). It hasn’t been used as such in many years. Rich questioned its relevance. Andy Argenio (District I, committee chair) discussed the committee’s history. Eric Williams (District II) suggested that with the importance of HR in today’s world, it is still important to have some vehicle intact to monitor and be available in the event that there is a need. Felix concurred. The committee will remain in place.

Rich asked about the relevance of the Multirotor Membership Development Committee. The board decided to sunset that committee since its function is covered by other committees.

Tim Jesky was appointed to the AMA Foundation Board. The EC is tasked with confirming new Foundation Board members.

Motion II: Mark Radcliff (District III) moved, seconded by Randy Gibson (District VII), to confirm Tim Jesky as a member of the AMA Foundation Board.

Motion passed unanimously.

Randy asked each District VP to name replacements in the event that the elected VP couldn’t complete his/her term. The list is as follows:

• I: Darren Hudson; Steve Brehm
• II: Michael Wong; Gary Fitch
• III: Randy Adams; Jeff Black
• IV: Rusty Kennedy; Nic Burhans
• V: Bill Barbee; Keith Hall
• VI: Leo Rodrigues; Donald Way
• VII: Tim Jesky; TBD
• VIII: Tony Breyen; Gary Strickland
• IX: Brandon Koch; Terry Wiles
• X: Barry Mattison; Jim Mohan
• XI: Rick Crow; Mike Ingram

Randy Cameron (EVP) nominated Randy Gibson as chair of Nominations Committee. The motion was seconded by Eric Williams (District II). The motion was approved by acclamation.

Randy Cameron (EVP) discussed the 2021 National Fun-Fly. He is looking at adding a swap shop and adding vendors. Free shirt if registered before June 30. Membership meeting at the gazebo. Price for entry is $40. Shirts will be $15. Eric Williams (District II) suggested that any profit be reinvested for future National Fun Fly events. Andy Argenio and Jim Tiller agreed. Last year’s profit was given to the AMA Foundation. Per Rich, no vote necessary and any profit will be earmarked for future National Fun Fly events. Eric Williams (District II) and Randy Gibson (District VII) were added to the National Fun Fly planning committee.

Randy Cameron (EVP) nominated Randy Gibson as chair of Nominations Committee. The motion was seconded by Eric Williams (District II). The motion was approved by acclamation.

5. Chief Financial Officer’s Report

K. Sessions

Keith reminded council to turn in expense reports on time and turn in equipment (asset tracking) reports that can be used for depreciation.

2020 turned out to have positive results. Assets have grown and membership numbers were right on budget. He noted that AMA Headquarters has kept costs in check. He also applauded the Education department’s endeavors that were delivered to the public. There was a big bump in AMA Plans Service sales. He discussed Vicki Barkdull’s contributions on moving AMA accounts to a different financial institution where we became a valued client. Keith doesn’t expect that AMA will qualify for an additional PPP loan in 2021. He discussed having more balanced politics and how it will affect corporate taxes and the economy. He expects that taxes will increase by 2022. He discussed the possible increase of minimum wage to $15. These factors will affect the economy and discretionary spending, and in turn AMA.

Rich asked about AMA’s portfolio and how it performed in 2020. Keith stated that it significantly outperformed expectations and it would be further discussed in Executive Session.

6. Executive Director’s Report

C. Budreau

We’re learning that AMA is having to expand beyond Google and Facebook for increasing membership. Acquisition costs through some of these vehicles have increased, so AMA has expanded acquisition into influencers, events, and other channels. AMA Air is bringing in a lot of nonmember viewers. Member acquisition has increased by more than 7% from 2019 to 2020.

Headquarters operations are looking good and we were able to put money back into reserves.

Chad presented the annual AMA Foundation report. Donations (mostly bequests to date) have increased tremendously, he credited Mandee Mikulski and Kelsie Walker for their work. He discussed some of the new endeavors that the AMA Foundation is pursuing to include a recurring donor program created with the help of the IT department.

AMA’s Annual Report is in Dropbox for EC members. He has found that a lot of outside entities review the report. Chad discussed a number of AMA’s 2020 endeavors and initiatives highlighted in the report. He discussed its focus on community and asked for the board’s input. Andy complimented the booklet and wants to be able to share it with others. It will be released in AMA Today on 1/19/21. Chad asked for feedback from the EC. Andy Argenio (District I) complimented the report and asked what it would cost to produce copies for sharing with entities to promote AMA. Chad will look into it and noted that it is a great way to introduce external entities and potential partners to the hobby and the organization.

Tyler Dobbs, AMA’s Government Affairs director, discussed the government issues and noted that the 2020 Government Affairs report was also available to the EC in Dropbox. The Remote ID ruling was introduced in late 2020 and thanks to hard work it went much better than expected. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) became law at the end of 2020. Educational provisions were not initially included in Section 349 (only university-level operations were protected under the recreational rules) and AMA worked with and got educational exemptions within the NDAA passed, including JROTC, as long as it was under the auspices of a community-based organization. He noted that Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma, Senator Jones of Alabama, and Senator Sullivan of Alaska, had been extremely helpful in getting these educational provisions included in the bill. He noted a restriction in the NDAA bill that originally prohibited government agencies and federal dollars from being used for foreign-made UAS. AMA pushed back because Civil Air Patrol and JROTC were having trouble finding UAS platforms that complied with the ruling. That provision was removed from the bill.

Tyler is currently working on a streamlined process for Safety Risk Mitigation Panels (SRMs). He is working on a set of guidelines that will help guide Air Traffic Control (ATC). A checklist is being compiled to help guide ATC managers. He is working closely with AOPA and EAA to make/suggest changes to that checklist to the FAA.

Tyler briefly discussed Advisory Circular 91-57C. It is currently in the Office of Management and Budget for final edits before it is published in the Federal Register. It is being reviewed by the legal department.

Remote ID: The rule came out on 12/28 and it looks better than what was expected. The fixed flying site rule was adjusted and the internet connectivity requirement was removed. Companies have asked for AMA’s input as they begin developing add-on module equipment to meet Broadcast Module guidelines set by FAA’s Remote ID requirement.

Tyler noted that some great relationships have been built with Congress. There will likely be a lot of TFRs in the Delaware area where the incoming President currently resides. These will affect roughly 16 clubs and he is exploring what relief that can be provided. Tyler thanked Chrystal Pearson and Holly Silvers for their hard work.

Andy Argenio (District I) asked about having something similar to password protection for the Broadcast Modules. Tyler offered to invite Andy and other interested parties to see demonstrations that are being set up. Phil Tallman (District XI) asked about altitude exemptions/adjustments/waivers for sites in uncontrolled airspace. Controlled airspace is the current focus. They are exploring a blanket altitude waiver to cover fixed flying sites in uncontrolled airspace. Rich suggested tying this to Community-Based Organization (CBO) recognition.

Chad shared the Government Affairs report (in Dropbox) that discusses the government endeavors, especially Remote ID, in the last year. Tyler recognized the AMA membership’s contributions to the Remote ID issue and noted more than 53,000 comments to the FAA’s initial proposal. There were significant changes to the initial proposal and that is unusual in such a ruling.

Mark Radcliff (District III) noted that District III AVP Jim Martin works for the FAA. Jim couldn’t speak officially but said that there has been a favorable change in attitude by the FAA regarding recreational activity and especially in the education area. Jim and Tyler both commended the AMA membership and the 53,000-plus comments submitted to the FAA for the successes achieved in the Remote ID ruling. There was much discussion about the various rulings but so far there is little information concerning the implementation processes. There was also much discussion concerning the renewal of Letters of Agreements (LOAs), FAA-Recognized Identification Areas (FRIAs), and other FAA recognition/approvals. Also discussed were other CBOs.

7. NAA Report

G. Principato

Greg Principato mentioned a number of events/dinners/recognition gatherings that have been postponed indefinitely. He noted that most of the participants wanted to wait until all could be together again. The NAA staff are observing isolation protocol. NAA has partnered with the National Aviation Hall of Fame on a webinar series; the most recent two focused on STE(A)M education. The second was held in the evening so that teachers could tune in.

EAA is still planning on presenting the annual Oshkosh AirVenture event again this year, at least all of the outdoor events. Indoor events might be limited. Sun ’N Fun is also planning to hold its annual April event.

FAI has elected a new president, David Monks. Greg noted it has nearly all new board members and much fewer staff. The COVID-19 situation has worsened globally and this will likely impact world competitions planned for later this year. He noted the fluid situation internationally.

Committee Reports

1. FAI: Tim Jesky (FAI committee co-chair)

   Tim reached out to Antonis Papadopalous (CIAM chairman) who has concluded that FAI doesn’t know what to expect. The European situation is much the same as in the US. AMA has a go/no go date of February 12 for the FAI events planned at the IAC this summer. Travel has been severely restricted through much of Europe. FAI is in a holding pattern. He has also spoken with Peter Uhlig, the F3A subcommittee chairman. Tim recommends a wait-and-see approach. Rich stated that per the FAI, the host country can cancel by February 15. After that date, FAI can still cancel a planned competition/event. Decisions to postpone events could impact events scheduled in 2022. The backlog of other world events is the problem, and events can possibly be canceled permanently.

   Rich discussed that unmanned aircraft record attempts were originally managed by FAI and NAA. These record attempts are now under the auspices of CIAM (aeromodeling) and thus under AMA in the US. Rich expressed some concerns for potential unmanned aircraft records that typically fall outside of model aircraft such as what AMA currently represents. The Global Hawk, which has already set several records, was used as an example. Tim and Rich will investigate further.

2. Grievance Process: A joint committee with staff and the EC to clarify how issues and conflicts within the organization get resolved? Chad shared the process. Local level is first level (CD, Safety officer; next is AVP, VP, level. If there is an egregious complaint, a three-member committee that includes the AMA president and/or EVP and two other persons (assume two other VPs) can be designated to address the situation. The constant is the president (or EVP), and the president will appoint two others, temporarily addressing the situation until the proper process/policy can be followed. Of course, if the situation is extremely egregious, contact law enforcement. Rich noted that AMA Bylaws changes will be needed to enforce this if a smaller group is permitted to withhold membership. Eric wanted to make sure that the proposed new document is identified with a date created and passed.

    

   Motion VI: Motion by Eric Williams (District II), seconded by Mark Radcliff (District III), to accept the grievance process, dated January 16, 2021, as proposed, and sunset all previous applicable documents.

   Motion passed unanimously.

3. Museum SLRP: The National Model Aviation Museum Strategic Long-Range Plan issue was tabled in October until all had the chance to read the proposal as presented by staff.

   Four primary elements include youth engagements, expansion (staff and artifacts), partnerships, and virtual/digital experience.

   Motion VII: From the October 24, 2020, meeting: Moved by Phil Tallman (XI), and seconded by Jim Tiller (IX), to adopt the National Model Aviation Museum’s 2020 Strategic Long-Range Plan as presented by staff.

   Motion passed unanimously.

   Marketing: Report tabled and will be submitted via text document to the EC.

4. Education: Kyle Jaracz, AMA Education director) reported that education has been working with AMA Government Affairs to address Civil Air Patrol and JROTC and other educational pursuits. He discussed Kyle Thede, the newest education staff member. Also has worked with the museum. Working on AMA Jr. Camp. Camp AMA is also being planned, but that will depend on the pandemic situation. The department is moving forward in STE(A)M initiatives. He is continuing to work on UAS for STEM initiatives and is working with the Marketing/Creative team to release educational webinars. Kyle is still pushing Quick Projects and stated that it is a good way to get inexpensive aircraft projects into living rooms. Jim Tiller (Education Committee chairman) mentioned that Kyle is putting together an advisory committee of educators, especially those with secondary education experience in STEM activities. Kyle stated that he is looking forward to vetting some ideas through that committee. Kyle noted that Emily Rice is back working part-time in the Education department and Joel Brumley, who has a background in education and with 4-H, who is also working part-time. Chad noted that education will be important in the coming year because of the current government issues. Curriculum will be more important as time goes on. Andy Argenio asked about the primary focus of the Education department. Kyle noted that the UAS for STEM project is primarily geared toward high-school students and that he is exploring a way to transition middle school students into the UAS for STEM curriculum with a Heavy-Lift project. Chad noted that developing curriculum-based projects were becoming much more strategic and this is one of Kyle Thede’s strengths.

    

5. Museum Steering Committee: (Eric Williams, chairman)

   Roughly 2,300 artifacts were added to the online digital museum collections in 2020 by Maria VanVreede and Jackie Shalberg. He noted that the virtual museum tour is impressive and urged EC members to view it. Michael Smith has agreed to remain on the steering committee and noted that Eric Boehm has also been added to the committee.

   Eric discussed the National Aeromodeling Historical Heritage program and noted previously recognized organizations and sites. It has been five years since the last recognition. He discussed the Lakehurst, New Jersey, site and the blimp hangar located there. It is designated as a Category IV indoor flying site. Flying in this facility predates AMA by roughly 10 years. The East Coast Aeromodelers is among the oldest clubs in the US, predating the AMA. The site includes a museum that is open to the public although flying in the blimp hangar is regulated/must be approved by the Department of Defense. The committee has recommended both the club and location for recognition in the National Heritage Program.

   Motion VIII: Motion by Eric Williams (District II), seconded by Mark Radcliff (District IV), to accept the Museum Steering Committee’s recommendation to designate the Lakehurst Naval Air Station Hangar I as a historically significant flying site, and the East Coast Indoor Modelers as a historically significant model aircraft club.

   Motion passed unanimously.

6. PADCOM: Randy Cameron noted that the original seal coating proposal has increased because the EC requested a brush application be used instead of spray for sites 1 and 3. Discussions followed concerning cracks, weather erosion, traffic, and life expectancy.

    

   Chad noted that Joyce Hager, who was involved in taking the bids and previous repair and sealing of various sites at AMA, felt that the spraying was the preferred option. Eric Williams (District II) was in favor of the thicker, brush-on (squeegee) application, stating that it will have a longer lifespan. Discussion ensued concerning previous maintenance, other consultants, and asking for other bids. Mark Radcliff (District III) suggested talking with Mike Barbee who does these processes for a living.

   A proposed motion by Gary Himes (District VI) and seconded by Lawrence Harville (District VIII), was made to approve one application of squeeged on sealant, and one application of sprayed on sealant, for Sites 1 and 3. The subject was tabled until more information concerning the previous repair/applications so the EC can make an informed decision. It was asked to have staff provide three different quotes and references.

11. Awards

Motion by Lawrence Tougas asked for approval to award Superior Service Awards. Seconded by Randy Cameron.

Approved by acclamation.

12. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 4:45.

*Requires EC Vote