Prez Sez Nov. 2004
Prez Sez
I would like to take this, my last Prez Sez, to thank the members of the
chapter who have been such staunch helpers and movers to make this chapter
what it is.
First and foremost, I must thank Ann and Bill Golding. These great folks
are not elected members nor do they even have appointed duties. Yet, I think,
it is a direct reflection of the effort they put in that has brought the
meeting attendance beyond the 35 mark on a consistent basis. Not only has
the "treats" they provide at each meeting gone from cool-aid and
cookies to now where there is always a beautiful spread of finger sandwiches,
cake, cookies, sometime a hot meal with various other goodies; but also,
the meeting room is always decorated for the various holidays in an appropriate
decor. This consistent dependable contribution to the chapter has had a very
beneficial influence to the growth and feeling of a family we have enjoyed
these last half-dozen years.
Next, I want to thank Mike McMains and Ron McKinley for their year in
and year out attention to the information line for the chapter. Mike has
kept the newsletter interesting and attractive as well as published on time.
The EAA National award he received this year as Newsletter Editor was well
deserved.
Ron has created a website that can keep members posted on all of our past
activities as well as filled with informative details for the public when
they visit our website. For years Bill Skinner made sure the newsletter was
mailed in a timely manner. When Bill decided to drop this duty and represent
our chapter at the Waco Aviation Safety Committee as his prime duty, we were
very fortunate to have the Williams family join our chapter at about this
same time. Rob Williams, with his very active family, has taken on the stapling,
stamping and mailing of the newsletter and they have done a fantastic job.
Of course, the task James Cooper has taken on getting the newsletter printed
and out on time has been a tremendous blessing for the chapter. James was
able to get the newsletter printed in color for a number of months. The color
newsletter has such a great impact on the presentation of our activities
that, I think, we need to really think about getting our own color printer
and putting out the newsletter in color when we have our permanent home.
The following folks have also stepped forward to do jobs as their contribution
to our chapter. The Technical Counselors: Phil Grisham, and Johnnie Holick,
and the Flight Advisor, Mike McMains, are additional very necessary jobs
that members are working behind the scene while fulfilling a vital service
to the chapter.
I am mightily impressed with the chapter elected officers. The executive
officers and the Board of Directors meet each chapter-meeting day for an
hour before the scheduled meeting. These dedicated members have become the
movers and shakers for the chapter over the past half-dozen years. Their
handling of the mundane details of the chapter helps to keep the membership
meetings more interesting and moving along at a good pace. The BOD is quick
to take details of things the chapter members need to know or vote on to
the main meeting and the BOD keeps the members well informed at all times.
The thing that really impresses me about this dedicated group of about 12
members is the fact they have over a 95% attendance at the BOD meeting. To
me this says these folks are not only interested in the chapter. But, they
are actively participating in the direction the chapter moves and are putting
their ideas into practice. With dedicated leadership like this, the chapter
is in very good hands and can do anything it chooses to undertake.
Another volunteer group that I need to give my heartfelt thanks to is
the Building Committee. The five members of this group, Boyce Vardiman, Dale
Breedlove, Elwin Cook, Dan McKee and Ron McKinley, have promised to put in
no less than 200 hours each year for five years working on the Hangar/Training
facility. They have met on at least a monthly schedule and sometimes several
times each month. From the meetings, the BC members spread out to do tasks
and gather details about the building and to bring back the information for
the BC to review. The chapter membership may not see too much of what the
Building Committee is doing. But, I have tried to go to all of their meetings
and believe me; the amount of work they have finished this last few years
is very impressive. The BC is working hard and I have no doubt we will have
our building in the next two years.
Elwin Cook has done an admirable job as the chairman of the nomination
committee for the last few years. In addition, Elwin has taken on the task
of finding and keeping our newsletter advertisers current and up to date.
Dan McKee has made the Young Eagle program a main ingredient of our chapter
activity. We started out with 15-20 youngsters at the first Young Eagle Rallies.
Last year, we flew over 200 at the Rallies and many more on a one-on-one
by chapter members. Dan is turning the Young Eagle program over to Charles
Wright. Charles is getting his feet on the ground and the Rally we held October
16th was handled mostly by Charles. Good Job Charles.
Boyce Vardiman has done such a good job representing Chapter 59 at the
Southwest Regional Fly-in that he has been chosen as a member of their board.
Boyce has kept up the "Trash Haulers" duties for the chapter and
added the "Handicap Trolley". He picked up the job of getting the
Port-a-potties and the shower for the last SWRFI at New Braunfels. Through
Boyce's effort, Chapter 59 is becoming a main contributor to SWRFI.
Jim Skinner has done an admirable job as the Chapter Membership Coordinator.
This is in addition to his elected job as Secretary for the last four years.
The slow steady increase in membership is a result of Jim's hard work.
Our chapter has numerous folks who do their part behind the scene on a
regular schedule without fanfare. Jon Botsford finding and arranging our
January Banquet, Irvin Guyer making sure all the awards are made and ready
for presentation at the banquet, Dale Breedlove and Larry Smith arranging
our chapter fly-outs and of course Boyce Vardiman has been the "Lead
Man" for our first Saturday of every month fly-in Breakfast.
As you can see from this list of people doing more than their share, the
chapter is full of interested hard working members. I am sure I have missed
someone that I should have mentioned. For that I am sorry. If I listed all
the wives who have helped, I would need to publish the chapter roster. They
are all appreciated and the work they do and the support they provide is
greatly appreciated. Please know that I am grateful for all of you and your
help. You are the chapter and the chapter is you. Chapter 59 is growing stronger
and getting better each year. This is all due to the effort of the members.
This is probably one of the best, most active chapters in the EAA. Thank
you all for your help and dedication. I see only good things for the chapter
in the future.
Emmette Craver