TALESPINNERS - January, 2003

EAA Chapter 174
Chartered since 1966

TALESPINNERS
Mike Franzago & Mike Griffith, editors

January, 2003

From the President

Welcome to another year of fun and aviation activities in EAA Chapter 174.  We had a very nice Christmas party in December and I would like to personally thank all of the volunteers who spontaneously pitched in and got all the food setup and festively organized.  It was lots of fun.

On January 6 we had our first meeting with the new Board and set out the Chapter’s direction for this year.  The agenda for the Board meetings and regular meetings will be posted on the web site to allow the members to stay informed with the business side of our Chapter.  Over the past couple of years we have accomplished much to modify the legal structure of our Chapter.  The rewriting of the bylaws and establishment of the 501(c3) non-profit status have required enormous work and have been the subject of many meetings, both Board and general.  With those two changes behind us now, we will focus the general meetings on the building and flying activities that attracted us to EAA in the first place.  It is my hope to reduce the actual business portion of the meeting down to 30 minutes to allow us more time to meet our new members and make sure all of our members have a place to come to get their building and flying questions answered.  We will continue to have a program each month and, in addition, I hope you’ll see an emergence of semi-moderated technical discussions during the extended break portion of the meeting.  If you can organize technical discussions, or know somebody who can, I’d love to hear from you.

It is clear that we do several things very well in Chapter 174, namely: flyouts, Young Eagles, social activities, web site and newsletter.  We will continue to focus on those things and continue to do them well.  The Board has great interest and sees much value in continuing to pursue each of these five activities.  I believe we are successful in these key activities because each one is organized and lead by one or two highly enthusiastic people with a group of volunteers to help with the many tasks necessary to make the activity run smoothly.  During the Board meeting I used the term “champion” to describe the person (or people) I felt was responsible for making our Chapter successful in their chosen activity.  You will hear me talk about “champions” throughout the year and I’m always looking for people willing and able to serve in that capacity.

If we are going to grow as a Chapter, both in numbers and in accomplishments, we will need to strengthen our support of our champions and volunteer teams.  Our current collection of champions is very heavily utilized and there is not much more they can do to in the way of developing additional activities without allowing our current strengths to dwindle.  Naturally, we are going to need more people to take active roles in developing new facets of our Chapter.  With this in mind the Board identified two areas to focus on for the upcoming year.  The first area is that of “membership coordinator”.  Scott Hersha will lead this activity and it will be Scott’s job to focus on and meet the needs of new members.  This is a big job and will require some help from other people too.  For example, one suggestion is to assign a veteran member to act as host to a new member until the new person is fully acclimated and comfortable.  When Scott asks for your assistance I count on you to pitch in and help to the fullest of you abilities.  Scott’s role will be very important and will be key in assuring that our Chapter can attract and maintain a strong membership.

Our second area of new focus for the upcoming year is both ambitious and exciting.  It goes to the heart of EAA and offers Chapter 174 a significant challenge.  As you may have heard, we will be mentoring kids in the building of a ground-display aircraft.  This project was proposed to us last year by Hal Shevers and Plane & Pilot Magazine.  We have named this activity the Young Builders program and it will be championed by your Vice President, Tom Jenkins.  Tom has a very big job to do and I expect you to support him enthusiastically when he requests your help.  The aircraft building side of the Chapter is the main reason many of us joined EAA and I hope to see it grow in our Chapter.  We have many members building projects in their own basements and hangers, but I’m particularly excited that the Young Builders program will allow more of our members to work on a common project in a common, more accessible location.

I wish each of you a Happy New Year and I look forward to working with and for you in the coming year.

Tim Fry, Chapter President

Minutes From the December Chapter Meeting

See the Board Meeting minutes, as we held our annual Christmas party in lieu of meeting for December.

Minutes From the January Board Meeting

The first meeting of EAA Chapter 174's 2003 board of directors was called to order by President Tim Fry at 6:40 PM on January 6, 2003 on the second floor of Sporty's at Clermont County Airport.  Attendees included Tim Fry, Tom Jenkins, Todd Winemiller, Art West, Phil Cady, Scott Hersha, George Elbel, Dave Robertson, Norm Beaudette, and Lee Jewell.

Tim discussed his plans and goals for the chapter in the upcoming year.  He wants to get more people involved and make new members feel part of the group immediately by having members greet the new people personally and involving them right away.  Scott will develop a greeting letter for new members.

Scott will compile the roster and forward it to Norm for inclusion on the website.

Tim wants to shorten the business meetings by limiting reports to 3 - 5 minutes.  It was agreed that Tim should control the time by limiting the length of discussions.

Tim cited the things that our chapter already does well and wants to continue those.

Tim announced his desire to have a "Champion", a person, to head up each project or activity whose duty it will be to solicit members to help in that activity.

Discussion was held on the plan to help mentor kids on the skills needed to work on airplanes through the cooperation of Hal Shevers, of Sporty's and Plane & Pilot Magazine.  Tom Jenkins suggested that the effort be named "Young Builders", a name well received by all.

Norm reported that the preliminary calendar for 2003 activities has been posted on the website.

Norm reviewed the 2003 Chapter Status Report, which has been sent in to EAA Headquarters.

Fund raising was discussed with the idea of covering the costs of picnics, breakfasts and the Christmas party and any other activities that the membership somehow expects to be paid for by the treasury.  It is hoped that the April fabric covering forum set up by Mike Griffith will provide a boost for our treasury.

With the plan to mentor "Young Builders", it was decided to table the subject of building our own hangar for the present.

Norm will handle any necessary tax reporting for our present 501(c)(3) status with the appropriate input from Treasurer Dave Robertson.

The meeting concluded with an audit of our treasury for the years of 2001 and 2002.

Lee Jewell, Chapter Secretary