MAAA Wingspan

WING SPAN AUGUST 22 MANAGEMENT MATTERS: NEW STRATEGIC PLAN Sir Richard Branson reached the heights of earth’s orbit recently and it took him 17 years to turn his dream into a reality. Jeff Bezos and his team at New Shepard also recently achieved his goal of launching into space. The aviation industry has just entered a new age and this historic event has refocused people’s attention on flight. And who has been watching the Mike Patey build of Scrappy? The innovation, engineering and experimentation has grabbed our attention and taken lots of us along for the ride through his build. It is inspirational! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an opportunity. We can take the MAAA to a new level that ensures that our sport is relevant and accessible, as well as protected for the future. For this we need a new strategic plan. We need a clear vision and purpose, our reason for being, and more transparency and energy to our most critical priority, giving MAAA members access to flight. The new Executive, of Tyson, Michael, Gary and I represent a good mix of experience and drive to make a positive change. The new strategic plan has a focus on modellers and clubs, where we will look after the regulations, in conjunction with your Club, so that you have all the approvals you need to keep flying. We will also be helping those clubs that want to grow their membership. We need to introduce the next generations to our sport. There are other things to review and decide how we will move forward. This issue will be the last issue of Wingspan while we take some time to set out a clear direction for future MAAA activities. Once defined we can then choose which are the most appropriate marketing, communications, social media and member engagement activities to adopt, and the priorities. The new direction will be much more than a new policy, new MOP’s, exemptions, area approvals and insurance. For this change to be meaningful it will require genuine engagement from our members from each layer of aeromodelling in Australia. Our survival and future growth are at stake. So, when the survey comes out, please participate and have a say in your MAAA. Get involved and come on the journey as we refresh our MAAA. If you have an issue or questions, talk with your State Secretary. They all have a wealth of knowledge and are part of the MAAA Council and they will bring your ideas, suggestions and concerns into the discussions about the future directions of our sport. You can send me an email, and I’ll do my best to respond, or let’s chat at the flying field. As I said in my video message we are volunteers, looking to pay it forward for those who invested in us when we all began aeromodelling. I look forward to meeting many more at the flying field doing what we are passionate about, flying and having some fun. Tim Nolan, President MAAA