Happy Holidays & Final 2010 Update

[Michael]

It's a couple of weeks before Christmas, and I want to wish all of our members a joyous holiday season and give you a quick update on Scale Masters issues.

The US Scale Masters will have a booth (#206) at the AMA Expo January 7-9, 2011 in Ontario, CA at the convention center, and I will be manning the booth along with Curtis Kitteringham, our Marketing Director.  Drop by and see us if you are attending the AMA Expo and say hello.  We are determined to improve publicity for the Scale Masters program in 2011, and this is one of the ways we are reaching out to develop new interest and new members for the USSMA.

It is important to note that the US Scale Masters Association will be electing new officers in 2011, and I am on the nominating committee to find members that wish to run for key officer positions in our organization.  We will be electing a National Chairperson, a West Coast Vice-Chairperson, an East Coast Vice-Chairperson, a Director of Finance, and a Director of Administration.  The other members of the nominating committee are Mike Barbee, Josie Aune, and Mike Chilson.  If you are interested in serving in any of these important positions, please contact me by e-mail (peckster1@msn.com) or by phone at 623-872-0176, or any of the other nominating committee members for additional information.  If you would like to run for any of these positions, we need your response by the end of February to insure your inclusion on the ballot.  Regrettably, I will not be able to continue as your West Coast Vice-Chairperson beyond the 2011 election term because my elderly mother and handicapped sister require ever-increasing amounts of personal attention that leave less than the minimum required amount of time and energy to perform this job adequately.  Please give careful consideration to volunteering to run for election to any of these jobs.  In order for the Scale Masters to continue bring together the best of the best in scale r/c modeling, we need the best of the best to help lead this organization.

We are actively working to seal the deal for a host club and flying site in the western US for the 2011 Scale Masters Championships event, and I now have some promising leads.  We had two clubs that were on the brink of accepting the host club duties previously, both of which had to cancel for unforeseen reasons.  Hang in there; we will get this done for 2011, and the host club & site will be announced as soon as possible.

I'll end this on a very positive note by announcing (again) that the infamous Gunsmoke Scale Masters Qualifier is back for 2011, hosted by the equally infamous & mighty One Eighth Air Force.  Gunsmoke has always been a premier well-attended Qualifier in the Southwest, and this year it will be bigger and better than ever.  It will feature Expert, Team Scale, Advanced, Open, and Fun Scale classes... something for everyone.  The event dates are March 4, 5, & 6, 2011 and the location is at the Arizona Model Aviators field in Mesa, AZ.  Static judging will primarily be on Friday, March 4th, but late arrivals can be judged Saturday morning only by advance arrangement with the Contest Director, Austin Goodwin, (e-mail n4351x@aol.com, ph # 480-215-5446).  Austin is a highly regarded CD who has run numerous Gunsmoke events in the past, and also served as CD for the 2002 Scale Masters Championships event.  Entry forms to past contestants will be mailed or e-mailed early in January 2011 and will also be available through the contest calendar on this web site and on the One Eighth Air Force website http://www.oeaf.org early next year.

Best wishes for the New Year,

Mike