Welcome to the December Edition of ChapterGram

Before we get into this month’s issue, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pat Webb and I’m the new person at EAA headquarters who will be responsible for growing and supporting our nearly 1,000 local chapters. But really, I’m probably someone like you, someone who loves aviation. Since I was 2 years old, I’ve looked up to the sky every time an airplane has flown overhead. I still do that today and plan to keep doing that as long as I’m breathing. I’m fortunate enough to be able to take to those skies in the 1946 Ercoupe that my wife and I own, enjoying grassroots aviation as much as we can.

I’m also someone who thinks that EAA chapters are a very special thing in the world of aviation. You probably do, too. While I knew this to a point as a chapter member, this has been deeply confirmed during my first month on the job by talking with chapter leaders from across the country, reading many of your newsletters (thank you for sharing them), and learning more about EAA’s Ultralight, Vintage, Warbirds and Aerobatic divisions. It didn’t take long to see why Paul Poberezny once said, “We feel that the chapter is really the backbone of the organization.”

As we near the end of the year, it is common to reflect on accomplishments over this time. Many of you use the annual chapter recognition packages that we send out as part of that. The 2014 packages have shipped and should now have been received by chapter presidents.

This month EAA began working with chapter leaders on implementing our new online renewal process for chapters. An e-mail was sent to the four primary officers of each chapter, which included a link to the online renewal forms along with instructions for completing the forms and sending payment to EAA. If you have any questions about or issues with the new online renewal process, please contact us at chapters@eaa.org or 920-426-4876.

Also, as you are charting out your 2015 chapter events, please remember to update the EAA calendar. This helps to get the word out to EAA members (and the world) about all the great things we do throughout the year. You will need to be logged into your EAA.org web account to submit an event. If you do not have an EAA.org account, please register now. 

In closing, thank you for all that you do for aviation. Have a happy holiday season, and best wishes for a great 2015!