Thanksgiving!
Here we are at the end of the racing season and the beginning of the Holiday season, and what better time to be thankful for all the help we received this past year. As you probably know, we had a few challenges to overcome this year and I am very happy with the way things have turned out for us. I hope you are too! Of course the progress that we have made is due mainly to the hard work of a number of people and this is a great opportunity to recognize and thank them for their efforts. So here’s my thank you list!
First on the list is Vice President Scott Hanbury. I had to twist Scott’s arm a bit to get him to run for the office, and I am grateful that he ran and was elected. Scott has been a joy to work with and our relationship has been tremendous. He was instrumental in keeping things together this year and I can’t thank him enough for his hard work. We have also become good friends and I’m looking forward to another year working with him.
Next up is Loren Tregellas. In addition to coordinating his successful Planes Over El Dorado event, Loren also accomplished the majority of work necessary to incorporate the USRA. This wasn’t a simple filing of paper work job, as it required some research and attorney time all of which Loren donated to us. Loren still found the time to come race with us at all three events this year as well.
How about Kelley Hartranft and Tom Easterday? They both worked very hard on developing and producing a matrix generation program that far exceeds anything that we have used before. They also spent the entire year evaluating, re-evaluating, and polishing it so that even I could figure out how to use it! Kelley has also been a tremendous help in establishing and updating our USRA web site.
I can’t leave out Stacy Hanbury who came on board as our Secretary in the Spring. Stacy has been a blessing for us and has helped me with just about everything we have done. Processing memberships, distributing rules packages, ordering scoring forms, you name it and she’s done it. She is also the “Gold Standard” for keeping Scott and myself in line!
Ohio event organizers Tony Husak, Chris Justus, and Tom Keating also deserve our thanks. They put together a great event with the help of the MARCS club that really impressed everyone. The future of our sport depends on people like Tony, Chris and Tom and the year-round effort that they put into their event.
While we are talking about event organizers, we can’t leave out Archie Snider. Racing at all three events with his entire team, organizing the Golden State Unlimited event, and signing on as a sponsor of the USRA World Championship Series, Archie was busy helping us all year. Archie was also instrumental in helping us line up other sponsors for the USRA Series as well.
OK, now that we are on the subject of sponsors, let’s talk about Fred Burgdorf of APC propellers. Fred has helped us with props for our AT-6 and Dominator classes for many years now. He even machined a new mold for the T-6 props when it was time to update the old propeller. We need more friends like Fred Burgdorf.
Ron Koberg from Airtronics has also supported us for many years. Ron doesn’t make it to too many races any more, but he stepped up and sponsored the USRA World Championship series this year. Ron’s contributions to our sport have been very generous and his products are well known in our hobby. I hope we can get Ron to come out to the races again next year.
John and Sharon Creagh at Performance Plus Fuels also sponsored the USRA World Championship series this year. John has raced Giant Scale since the beginning and his fuels have powered more winners and champions than any other brand. It’s great to have another winner on the USRA team.
Another member of our team this year was Ralph Cunningham of R/C Ignition. Ralph donated his services as engine inspector at all three events this year. Ralph traveled on his own dime from Arizona to Kansas, to Ohio, and out to California to help us with this job. He also brought Jan’s World Famous cookies with him wherever he went, so what more can I say?
And what about the rest of our inspection crew? Julius Miller, Fred Sattler, and Keith Keoppel all chipped in to tech and check our racers.
Since a few of our Board members names popped up here, we should recognize the work that they have done this year too. Julius Miller, Fred Sattler, Tom Keating, Fred French, Loren Tregellas, Chris Justus, Archie Snider and Kevan Avery have all been instrumental in steering the ship this year. Fred’s wife Lynda also helped us early in the year with our membership duties so we can’t forget her too.
Our list wouldn’t be complete without Roger Smith of R/C Excellence Magazine. Roger has been wonderful to work with this year, attending our Kansas race and sending his wife to California to help organize the coverage. Roger calls me frequently to ask what he can do to help us grow. It’s obvious that he’s a big supporter of our racing series.
Well as you can see, we had a tremendous amount of help from a great number of people. It should also be apparent to you that the USRA has many people working to help us succeed and grow in the future. Please join me in thanking all of them for their efforts on behalf of the USRA this year.
Now let me thank every USRA member who entered an event this year. Your participation at our races is what keeps these events viable. For those of you who attended two or three events, I want you to know that your commitment has not gone un-noticed and you have earned a great deal of respect from myself, and the Board.
USRA World Championship Series 2003 Schedule.
Well everybody, now is the time to start making plans for next year. Like I mentioned before, the race organizers need your participation at their events to keep things rolling. The future of our sport is up to you, so plan on making as many races as possible.
The Series will open June 26th through the 29th in Kansas at the Planes over El Dorado event. Loren Tregellas will again be our event organizer and the city is ready to roll out the red carpet for us again.
Next up is the North Coast challenge in Ohio, August 14th through the 17th. Tony Husak, Chris Justus, and Tom Keating are heading up this event again in 2003 and I can already taste the corn-on-the-cob.
The final race will be the Golden State Unlimited, September 25th through the 28th. Archie Snider will be our host again this year when we finish off the season with a bang and crown the new champs.
Start making your plans now…It will be time to race before you know it!
Keep Your Eyes Open!
Thanks to the efforts of our Ohio event organizers Chris, Tony, and Tom, you will be seeing coverage of the North Coast Challenge in the January issue of Model Airplane News. The race will also receive some mention in an upcoming Model Aviation issue as well. But wait, there’s more! There will be race highlights in a program on the Outdoor channel called “Inside R/C” in January. R/C product manufacturer Dubro is spearheading this television production.
Get Out the Vote.
The Board recently received a notice from Fred French asking us to remove him from the Board, which we have done. Fred states that he is happy with our current direction and wants to focus on attending some races next year. The Board wanted me to express our thanks for Fred and Lynda’s time and effort on behalf of our organization.
Luckily for us, Loren Tregellas was eligible for this position according to our Constitution and Bylaws, so the Board has approved him for this position. If you’ve been keeping score, Loren entered the year as a Board member with a vote, then he voted to limit the Board size and remove his vote, and now we have voted to give it back to him! Through all of this, he has been a tremendous help to all of us, and we want to thank and congratulate him.