To : Club Members
March 03, 2006
From : John Perez, President
Topic: Membership Newsletter / 2006

President's Comments:
It is an honor for me to be the President of the Windingbrook R/C Club. As your President, I will do the best job that I can, to make us one of the outstanding R/C clubs in New England. I have a passion for the hobby and enjoy flying as much as any individual in the club. I have the interests of our membership foremost in my heart and mind. Not all of my decisions will be popular, or without flaws, but members are depending on me for direction, so decisions must be made. Hopefully, most of these decisions are more right than wrong. Time will tell!

Club Website:
Visit our club website at www.windingbrook.org Once a month I will post, on this site, a club newsletter entitled "The President's Corner" containing current information pertaining to our club. Along with the pictures, videos, sell/swap page and the President’s Corner it is an excellent place to visit on a regular basis. I have viewed many other R/C club web pages, to get a flavor of what they offer and ours is second to none. After comparing theses sites I would rate our web site as one of the top three in New England. Remember, this site is our internet exposure to the world. I have received numerous compliments from fellow modelers, new and perspective members, parents of children getting interested in our hobby and people moving into our area looking for a no nonsense, dynamic R/C club. We, as Windingbrook members can take great pride in this fact, a fine testimonial to the hard work of our webmaster David Teer. I would also like to thank Andre Normandin who has donated hosting space and our internet Club domain name for this site.

Club Flying Field:
Enclosed in your membership packet is an updated copy of the club rules and regulations. Please read them carefully. Failure to comply with these rules will lead to the termination of your club membership. We will be flying this year, once again, at the South field. If there are any changes to the location of the flying field, as the flying season progresses, you will be notified. The combination to the lock on the chain across the parking lot is 0911. Remember we fly as a guest of the owner of Windingbrook Turf Farm. Treat him, his workers and his property with the respect they deserve. We also must remember to be good neighbors to the other farmers who work in this area. I hope no one would do anything related to our flying field that would jeopardize its use for us or future members.

New Club Officers:
Bob Wallace, our club Treasurer, has decided to step down from his office. On behalf of myself and all the club members, I would like to sincerely thank him for the many years of devoted service to our club. He will be missed. After interviewing many worthy applicants, I have selected Mauro Balboni to fill this position. Mo, is a very honest, devoted, long time club member who I feel will do an outstanding job as our new club Treasurer.

Bob Bubello, our long time President, also has decided to step down from his office. Thank you Bob, for all the years of devoted service in this position. He has turned over this title to me and I thank him for his trust and faith in my ability to carry on in the footsteps of some fine leaders. Bob has accepted the position of club Secretary, so he is still involved with the leadership of our organization.

Club Inactive Status:
If a person is leaving the area for a few years and would like to apply for an inactive membership club status, please contact me in writing. This must be done by the current year membership deadline date. The function of this status is that it holds a membership for you in the club, without the individual paying dues, for a maximum of three years. This also enables a person on the waiting list to become a member. It is a great idea, however, the record keeping is getting out of hand. Some names go back over 15 years and I have no idea where these people are or if they are even still with us. Therefore, all future "inactive status"granted to club members will be for a term of not more than three years. You will be mailed a letter confirming this status and the date it was granted. It will be the responsibility of the individual to present this letter, within the three year period, if they apply for reinstatement to the club. If they go beyond the three year period, they must apply as "new members" and wait their turn on the waiting list. They would also be subject to any initiation fees due at that time.

Initiation Fee:
There will be an initiation fee of $12.00 for all new members this year. A new member is defined as an individual who was not on our club roster the previous year. The reason for this charge is that for years the club has been absorbing the set-up cost for all new members. This cost will now be the responsibility of the new member. The initiation fee next year will be $25.00. I decided to break the total increase down over a two year period in fairness to those individuals who have been on our club waiting list for over a year.

Club Financial Status;
In the last four years, that I have been involved as an officer, I have seen our club treasury declining. I believe this should stop. Hence I raised dues for 2006 from $25.00 to $35.00. I believe it is my duty and responsibility to keep our club in a strong financial position for any future growth. Our club dues have not changed since they were established at $25.00 in 1976. If another increase in dues is necessary in the future I will not hesitate to act. I would like to thank James Gleason for his monetary donation to our club. It was very thoughtful and greatly appreciated.

Club Waiting List:
As of January, 2006 there were (26) perspective members on our club waiting list hoping that they would be able to join our club roster. Our club has a maximum membership cap of 165, as per our club charter. I am very happy to report that all prospective members that applied for membership before February 20, 2006 were given an opportunity to join our club.

Related Issues:
Do not park on the road unless absolutely necessary. Park as far over as possible and be prepared to move your vehicle if the need arises. I have received a written communication from the AMA that under no circumstances may a pilot, or other person, touch a model aircraft in flight while it is still under power. Since we are a chartered AMA club we must strictly adhere to the rules of our parent organization.

Club Badges:
I have been working very closely with Steve Swahn in providing our membership with new club ID badges. Bryan Swahn was commissioned to make them for us. The quality of these badges is superb, without the problems of the older style. We still have some of the older style badges and they will be given to a new member for the first year of their membership. The reason for this is twofold. First, we will be able to use up our supply of older badges that we have on hand and second, new members will be very easy to spot since they will have the old style badge. This way you can introduce yourself to the new member and answer any questions that they may have on field/flight procedures. Of course, both style badges will have an "06" year designation. You must wear your club badge when on Windingbrook property. This alerts the owner and his staff that you are a member of our club. It is very easy for nonmembers to use our field, causing damage, or harassing the workers and we get the blame and consequences of their actions. My only defense to these accusations, is that are members can be identified by our badges. When the owner drives by and sees, for himself, that we do wear our badges he is a little more understanding of our position. Replacement cost of the new badge is $15.00

Club Picnic:
Joan and Ron Liska work very hard each year to run one of the greatest picnics around, bar none! Last year we had some fantastic chefs, John Digiovanni, Mo Balboni, and Ray Morin. You guys did a great job of keeping the food line moving and cooking each item to perfection. A big thank you to Steve Swahn, who every year provides us with tables, chairs, grill, speaker system and transports these items for our event. He than has the job of supervising the flight line making it safe for all of us to fly and have a good time. Many of our club members and their families brought food items and delicious treats to make us all smile and promise to go back on our diets the next day. Thanks to all the club members that brought donuts, coffee, ice, coolers, charcoal, trash cans, prizes and to those that arrived early to help set up or stayed late to help us clean up after the event. Please watch our website for more information on this years picnic. You will also receive a sperate mailing with all the details as this event approaches. The club picnic for this year will be August 27, 2006. Remember, there is no rain date.

Club Fun Fly:
Chapter 44, 392, and 566 will join us for a wonderful day of flying on July 16, 2006. The best part is you don't need a giant scale airplane to join in on the fun. This is a day for all club members to attend.

Closing Comments:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for all their efforts in making our club one of the best in the AMA. Some individual members, work very hard to make our club a success. Your work does not go unnoticed and for this I thank you. I would also like to thank those members for the many kind words I have received since becoming your President. It is very much appreciated. Feel free to contact me by phone or email if you have any questions comments or concerns. I certainly don't have all the answers but at least can listen and with your help this club has the potential to be one of the outstanding R/C clubs in the AMA.

Home Phone: 203-439-0035
Cell: 203-687-8979
Email: Jpgramps@aol.com

John Perez,
President WRCC