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Vol. 11, No. 11 -December 2009
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Welcome to the December
Edition of EAA Chapter e-Gram |
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Well, just like that, winter
has descended upon EAA headquarters. If you tried to
contact us on Wednesday (December 9) you may have had
trouble and we apologize. Wisconsin, and the Oshkosh area,
was hammered by a major winter storm and many people were
snowed in. As I write this, there are about 10 inches of
snow on the ground and a bit more to come, plus the wind
is expected to pick up overnight to near white-out
conditions. (And yes, for those of you in the warmer
climates, on days like today, I too wonder why we live
here!) But despite the nasty conditions, we'll be shoveled
out by morning and ready for a white Christmas in a few
weeks.
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Many chapters have
completed their elections for the coming year. We look
forward to working with your newly elected and re-elected
officers in the coming year. The annual renewal packages
are being prepared and will be in the mail next week. Two
things to note: The renewal package will go to your 2009
chapter president; and we have been able to keep the
insurance rates from increasing again this year - the
third consecutive year without an increase! This is
due in part to your diligence in hosting safe chapter
events. Keep up the good work!
As we close out 2009 and
look forward to the New Year, we thank each of you for
your enthusiasm and support of your chapter. May you, your
family, and friends enjoy a safe and wonderful holiday
season.
Steve Buss, Manager, EAA Chapters |
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FOUNDER
SENDS CHRISTMAS WISHES |
| Recently
Paul Poberezny sent a personal letter to all EAA Chapter
presidents. He also wanted to share his message with all
Chapter e-Gram readers, so click
here to read Paul's letter and enjoy this photo
taken this past summer at the dedication of the
Founders' Wing. |
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WEBINAR
FOR CHAPTER TREASURERS |
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On December 2, we hosted our
first "webinar" for EAA chapters. The topic was
"Information for Chapter Treasurers," including
the changes in IRS regulations governing not-for-profit
and non-profit organizations. More than 125 people logged
on to the webinar, hosted by our resident expert Patti
Arthur, who also serves on the EAA Legal Advisory Council.
Patti has long been an advocate for chapters and has
assisted many of them in filing for 501 (c) 3 status
(non-profit). She has also helped other chapters with
tax-related questions and concerns.
While the webinar was a
tremendous success, we had some technical glitches in our
attempt to record it for others. However, we do have
Patti's PowerPoint slides along with a recording of her
forum at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009. Much of the
webinar's content was similar to the forum, so many of the
same issues covered last week, were also discussed during
Patti's previous forum.
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The links to all of this
information are available on the chapter resource page at
EAA.org. Click
here for the direct link. |
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| EAA
CHAPTER LEADERS ACADEMY |
| With
the 2010 chapter election season winding down, we're
experiencing increased interest in our upcoming Chapter
Leaders Academy weekends. These sessions are extremely
valuable for any chapter officer, and we encourage your
chapter to consider participating. Past attendees have
been overwhelmingly positive in their reviews and would
recommend attendance to other chapter members. As in the
past, we'll cover your expenses once you arrive in
Oshkosh-food, lodging, and transportation. You'll be
responsible for the travel expenses to Oshkosh, but
don't let that stop you. If travel is an issue, let us
know and we may be able to assist you. |
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| There
are still a few spots remaining in the January 22-24
session is, but it's filling up fast. If you or someone
in your chapter is interested, please contact us at chapters@eaa.org.
If January does not fit your schedule, there are two
other sessions scheduled this winter; February 26-28 and
March 26-28. Learn
more here. |
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ANNUAL
REPORT TO CHAPTERS NOW AVAILABLE |
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As mentioned above, the
renewal packages will be mailed next week. Included with
the renewal paperwork is a copy of the Annual Report to
Chapters. It highlights some of our accomplishments during
the past year and looks ahead to next year. You can read
the complete report here. |
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| CALENDAR
OF EVENTS |
| Here's
a friendly reminder to make use of your EAA
Calendar of Events, which our surveys show is one of
the top five most visited pages on the EAA
website. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts use the
calendar quite a bit when looking for things to do or
places to fly. So how can you help? The calendar is only
as good as the content. Please have someone (or a
committee) responsible for posting your events on the
calendar. We encourage you to post all of your chapter's
events - from monthly meetings to your annual fly-ins
and Young Eagles rallies. You can also spread the word
by reminding others at your airport to post their
aviation-related events to the calendar. It is easy to
post an event and you don't have to be an EAA member to
make use of the calendar. Visit the
website for more information. |
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| EAA
CHAPTER SERVICE AWARDS UPDATE |
| EAA
Chapter Service Awards are provided annually to all
chapter officers and volunteers. They include a
certificate and pin recognizing those who have served
your chapter this past year. The packages have all been
mailed, so your chapter should have received the awards
by now. If your awards package has yet to arrive, or if
changes or corrections are necessary, please contact us
as soon as possible at chapters@eaa.org.
Thank you again for your leadership during 2009. |
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| PLAN
YOUR GUEST SPEAKERS WITH THE EAA SPEAKERS BUREAU |
| As
the planning cycle for next year begins, remember
there's a great tool to help you plan your meetings,
fly-ins, or banquets: the EAA
Speakers Bureau. New and improved based on your
comments and suggestions, the online speakers bureau
provides more refined and useful searches with new
search screens based on the popular and easy-to-use EAA
Calendar of Events. You can also search for a speaker by
radius, subject, or speaker's name.
We currently have more
than 500 registered speakers…but more are needed!
Nearly every chapter has had outstanding speakers visit
their meetings or banquets, so we strongly encourage you
to ask them to register as a speaker so their
presentations can be shared with others. And don't
forget the people in your chapter who have interesting
stories to share.
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| FROM
THE NEWSLETTERS |
| This
month's selection caught the eye of EAA Founder Paul
Poberezny. He highlighted a nice article about getting
ready for winter in EAA Chapter 35's (San Antonio,
Texas) newsletter. Chapter member Oscar Zuniga has some
thoughts on winter preparations. By the way, Paul (and
several of us on staff) still reads all the newsletters
that are sent to EAA headquarters, so keep them coming! Read
the newsletter here. |
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| EAA
CHAPTER A DAY: EAA CHAPTER 512 |
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Many
of you are familiar with EAA Radio, which provides live
coverage from the flight line during EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh. This year the radio staff dedicated a segment
each day to feature an EAA chapter. Since the week goes
by so quickly, we'll share the "Chapter a Day"
segments with you in the next few issues of Chapter
e-gram. This month, it's EAA Chapter 512, of
Placerville, California. The interview features Chapter
512 President Kay Morgan discussing the chapter's annual
ground school along with other activities. Listen
to the interview here. |
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| NOMINATIONS
OPEN FOR TONY BINGELIS, SPIRIT OF FLIGHT AWARDS |
| Is
there an extraordinary tech counselor in your chapter?
Or a pilot whose accomplishments and dedication to
aeronautics have "flown under the radar"?
Perhaps they may be appropriate recipients for two
annual awards presented annually at EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh, the Tony Bingelis Award and the Spirit of
Flight award.
The Bingelis award
honors the memory of Tony Bingelis, EAA's highly
regarded homebuilding authority, author, and columnist
in EAA Sport Aviation. Created in 2002, the award
recognizes people who have made significant
contributions to the encouragement of aircraft projects
for fellow EAA members, the promotion of safety, and for
maintaining the values of EAA. A nominee must have been
an active and current EAA technical counselor for five
consecutive years.
Download the nomination
form here. Read about the 2009 Tony Bingelis Award winner
here.
The Spirit of Flight
Award was established in 1997 by the Society of
Experimental Test Pilots and Scaled Composites to
recognize an EAA member who best exemplifies the spirit
of research, development, or flight-testing. They
promote air safety by presenting a pilot's opinion,
strengthening the influence of the test pilot on
aeronautical progress, and continuously evaluating the
adequacy of flight equipment.
Download the nomination
form here.
If you have any
questions, please call the EAA Safety Programs Office at
888-322-4636, ext. 6864. The deadline for both award
nominations is February 1, 2010. |
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| WHAT
DO YOU DO WITH YOUR OLD COPIES OF SPORT AVIATION? |
| This
was a question raised at the October Chapter Leaders
Academy and at about the same time a discussion popped
up on Oshkosh365. So what does your chapter do with the
extra issues of the magazine? How might you be able to
use them to increase your chapter's membership? Join
the discussion here. |
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| FREE
ADVERTISING TIP FOR YOUR CHAPTER |
| How
can you get the word out about your next meeting or
event and do it for free? Why not try Craig's
List? You can post a free listing in the groups
section. It is a great way to reach out beyond the EAA
"family." You never know who may discover your
chapter. |
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| EXCITING
CHANGES AHEAD FOR EAA'S PUBLICATIONS |
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Next
month, the new EAA Sport Aviation magazine will
arrive in your mailbox with a new look and feel,
re-tooled content, and other new and exciting changes to
better serve EAA's diverse membership of builders,
restorers, pilots, and enthusiasts. The extensive
redesign and content upgrade of EAA's flagship
publication incorporates many of the findings received
from our extensive member surveys. Click
here for more details and frequently asked questions
about these important changes.
This new direction also
marks the end of EAA Sport Pilot &
Light-Sport Aircraft magazine. Content from that
publication will be incorporated into the new Sport
Aviation, plus we have a new sport pilot/ultralight
e-newsletter, Light Plane World, which debuted
last week. Take
a look here.
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