[NSRCA-discussion] From the new President - Introduction

[Maureen Dunphy]

Congratulations Archie.  You will be a great President



On Fri, Jan 11, 2019, 10:48 AM Archie Stafford via NSRCA-discussion <
nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org wrote:

> As the new President I wanted to take a minute and introduce myself as
> well as share some ideas and opinions on things we are currently dealing
> with.  Many of you know me, but for those that don’t I want to give you an
> idea of my background in pattern so that you can understand where I may be
> coming from.
>
>
>
> First, I want to thank Joe walker and the entire outgoing board for their
> time and talent donated to the entire pattern community.  I also want to
> thank everyone who voted.  Not just the ones who voted for me, but everyone
> that took the time to show that they care about the future of pattern.  It
> is proof that only a few minutes of your time can actually have an impact
> on things that we all enjoy.
>
>
>
> I started flying pattern the same way that many who are over age 35
> started.  I went to the field with my dad when I was growing up and
> fortunately, there was a club nearby that had a contest.  We made the
> 45-minute trip up the road to the contest that was held in Ravenswood, WV
> and was put on by one of my heroes, Mark Radcliff. I was especially
> interested in Mark, as I grew up flying single stick radios.  At my first
> contest, I flew a Great Planes Cherokee that my dad built with an OS .40 in
> the nose.  I was flying an Ace silver 7 single stick radio and was flying
> against 11 pilots in Novice at the time.  After my first flight, Mark
> noticed I was flying a single stick and came over and introduced himself.
> At the time, Mark had retired from Pattern, but was still CDing the local
> contest.  Also, in attendance that day were Mike McConville, Geoff Combs,
> and even Ivan Kristensen came down from Canada. I also believe that scale
> legend Mike Barbee was in attendance.  At the end of the first day as Ivan
> was headed back to his motorhome, he asked me to carry his transmitter
> case.  At that moment I was in absolute awe of the fact that I was helping
> him.  I won’t bore everyone with the rest of my pattern story.  The short
> version is that I’ve flown now for nearly 30 years and won Masters in 2012
> at the NATS.  The point is, that by those simple acts of Mark, and Ivan, it
> changed my entire outlook on pattern and I was hooked.  It went from
> something that my dad thought would be interested in trying to being
> something that changed the rest of my life.
>
> I have now spent the last 20 years of my life working in the UAV (drone)
> industry. I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world and
> experience things that I likely never would have if it hadn’t been for that
> one local contest in the late 80s.  My point of the story is that you never
> know what kind of influence you may have on a new person that shows up at
> the field and if we approach every new pilot with the same level of support
> that those guys showed me, pattern will naturally grow.
>
>
>
> At the end of the day, the NSRCA leadership can make suggestions, or even
> create new rules, but the only thing that will truly make pattern grow
> again is the influence we all have at our local fields.  In District 2 a
> couple of years ago we made the statement that is every one of us finds one
> new person to bring to a contest over the next 3 years, then in the next 3
> years pattern will have grown.
>
>
>
> As President, I plan to do everything I can to see pattern attract new
> blood, and there are resources that we have, but at the end of the day the
> greatest resource pattern has are the people who fly it.  I don’t expect
> this to be an easy job, but I do plan to put everything I can in to it.
> For those that know me, I am very open to new ideas and I’m happy to talk
> with anyone about how we can grow pattern.  My email is
> rcpattern2012 at gmail.com.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you
> have suggestions or ideas as I want to hear them all.  One thing that I
> know won’t help pattern is to do exactly what we have done for the last 15
> years and expect things to change.
>
>
>
> Looking forward to the next 2 years,
>
> Archie
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