From the President  11/13/2007

Flight Masters Of Elkhart County LTD.

November 13, 2007

Letter to all Members,

If you never read anything again, please read this letter. 

This letter covers upcoming activities, a state of the club report and what we need to do to ensure our club has a place to fly in the future, which does includes a dues increase. First of all, I would like to thank all of you for another successful flying season. We had a lot of activity at the field this year with a total membership of 83, which equaled last year’s membership. I would encourage you to participate in the Junkyard Fly on December 8^th. I have enclosed the flyer for it and we will have our regular December club meeting during this event, at 12:00 Noon. The main order of business will be elections. You will have a new president and two board members for sure, and both the secretary and vice president positions are also up for grabs.

We face some challenging times ahead, and your elected board of directors are working hard to make sure we all have a place to fly now, and in the future. I cannot say enough about what a flying field means to our club. We have clubs in our area that have lost fields and almost lost their club due to not being able to find a place to fly. Just this past week it was announced that the Sonoran Desert Flyers Club in Marana, AZ lost its field last year to the same type of thing we are facing. They were unable to locate a suitable place to fly and this past Saturday, November 10th, the club voted to disband and dissolve the club.

As most of you are aware, Gateway Properties has purchased most of the land surrounding Bullard Field. They have a plan to put in somewhere around 500 homes. They are working on a number of issues, which may delay the inevitable for a few years, but we know we have a limited amount of time in our present location. How much time? Speculation is that we have two years before they get the sewer, water system and plotting all worked out. We may have an extra year or two with the implementation. Last spring when we first found out about the plans for the surrounding land, the board sent each of you a questionnaire. The overwhelming majority wanted us to purchase property if possible. The board set up a field committee, and they have been active in looking for both rental/lease and property that could be purchased. It is very apparent the type of property we need is in short supply in Elkhart County. The committee has also been working on a business plan that would give us direction on how to go about acquiring a new field. And with that plan we have started to make the needed changes.

The first major thing we needed to do was to file for a Federal Not-for-Profit 501 (c) status. We started the process last summer, and on November 5^th , 2007, we received approval from the IRS. We are now a 501 (c) -7 Not-for Profit organization. We can now legally own property, allow charitable donations and have income.

That brings up the topic of funding for both a new location and our current operations. Right now we are not in a financial position to purchase and own property. There needs to be some adjustments made to dues. Currently each of us pays $5.42 per month to enjoy one of the best flying fields in our area. You have to ask yourself, what can I buy for $5.42?  One lunch at Wendy’s, a pack of cigarettes, a little less than 2 gallons of gas. And speaking of gas, when the current dues were set back in the mid 1990’s, gas was less than $1.30 per gallon. Now, at close to $3.00 per gallon, our cost to just cut the grass has more than doubled. On the survey we asked if members would support a dues increase and again the large majority said yes (41 to 12).

In 2005, I started a discussion with the board on dues with emphasis on what we could do for those who: 1) Participated in club activities, 2) volunteered their time for the upkeep of the field and betterment of the club and 3) to address those members who just want to pay and fly. The board has reviewed, discussed and wrangled with this topic ever since. It was not until the field question and our ever-increasing expenses came up that they felt we needed to make a change.

Your elected board approved the plan I will outline by a unanimous vote. This plan will pick up our current operating cost increases (which in itself would have added 20 plus dollars to the dues), and should allow us to bank an extra $4000.00-$5000.00 (depending on our enrollment levels) per year to go towards the field fund. That would mean we would have 10-20% to put down on acreage in 3-4 years. Once a field is selected, another adjustment may be needed depending on the number of members at the time, construction costs and so on. The board debated having a smaller dues increase, but doing it annually. They did not think that was in the club’s best interest, knowing we have a fairly short time to increase our treasury, nor did they want to nickel and dime us to death with additional levies.

The dues for 2008 will be setup in a tiered structure as follows:

Full open member volunteer                      120.00    Friends, that is still only $10.00 a month!

Family membership volunteer            140.00

Senior member volunteer (65 & up)         90.00

Junior member volunteer (up to 18)           5.00

Non-volunteer  work exempt                195.00

Our club depends on volunteers and support from members for the care of the field, equipment and the support for our club meetings. With that, to qualify for the volunteer membership, 10 hours a year of volunteer service has been set as a benchmark for each member. When you think about it, 10 hours a year in service for the club, when each of us has 8,760 hours to use in a year, 10 hours is such a very small number. We have required everyone’s participation at our annual field day each April, and that is normally 4 hours of service. Mowing takes 3 hours, club meetings each take an hour. Volunteer to work the club booth at the Goshen or Elkhart Airshow, and you could have an easy 3-8 hours.

This is an honor system; the board members are not policemen. However, we do take attendance at each field day, and we will have a sign-in sheet at the club meetings from now on. The vice president will have a mowing schedule, so the board will have a pretty good idea of who is volunteering and who is not. I should mention that if you are handicapped by illness or age, the board can exempt you. I have to mention an outstanding member who, even with severe health problems never fails to be at a workday or meeting unless he is in the hospital. Most of you know Bill Johnson and even though facing his illness daily he remains truly a Flight Masters volunteer member!

A number of you that just want to come out and fly, without involvement in club work activities or meetings. Now you can do it and pay cash for what you do not contribute in volunteer time.

When I thought about the increase for me personally, I had to remember some of the stuff I spend money on and compare it to the joy and pleasure I get out of being at the field with other members and flying. I belong to Blockbuster Video mail order service. The 3 DVD’s a month service was 14.95 a month and has now risen to 18.95 a month. That means I am spending 227.40 a year to watch 36 DVD’s……..How much more fun can I have at the field flying, and it is only 120.00 a year. That’s a heck of a bargain! Even the non-volunteer membership is very affordable.

The R/C Modeling hobby has never been cheap. Today’s values in equipment have kept many of the costs down. It all comes down to having a place to fly that is accessible, free of complaints from neighbors, and fun for everyone who wants to enjoy the great hobby of flying R/C model aircraft.

This will be my last official communication as president for now. I really want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to keep this club together, and with your continued support, we can look to even better times ahead, building for the success and future of Flight Masters.

Fair Skies and Calm Winds,

Marty