Vote! Please Vote!
In the last issue of the Digest, you probably noticed a ballot asking you to vote for a change in the NFFS constitution. If you did not vote, I would ask you to find that issue of the Digest and mark your ballot, sign it, and drop it in the mail Do it now, before you forget. We do need to have an update in our bylaws, which the officers have approved, but which requires a certain number (7%) of our membership to cast ballots in order to get the bylaws passed. We need your vote to make it happen!

Nominations of Officers
Current bylaws require that a nominations committee be established in each District where a vacancy occurs. This committee, made up of members from each District, is responsible to the membership to come up with nominees to fill this vacancy. At the end of this year, the Central District VP position, currently held by Bob Hanford, will be vacant. Even though Bob may choose to run again, he is required to be nominated by this committee. The committee is composed of Jim O‘Reilly, chairman, and Larry Kruse. As of the writing of this column, they are the only members. Anyone interested in being considered as a nominee for this office, should contact Jim for more information. Jim can be reached at <KSFreeflit@aol.com> or by
phoning him at 316-744-0856.
The nominations committee for the office of President is underway with its search as well. Hardy Brodersen is the chairman, and he is assisted by Bob Waterman and Tony Italiano. Anyone interested in finding out more about the President’s position, which will also become vacant on December 31, 2003, can contact Hardy at<brknspar@netrek.net> or by phone at 248-626-2577.
If you would simply like more information about the duties of the President, please feel free to contact me (Bob Stalick) at <freefliter@aol.com>. Additional information about these offices can be found by reading the bylaws of the NFFS on the website.

Donations to NFFS
At the request of the NFFS Board of Directors, the NFFS membership application form will have a line where members may indicate their donations to the Society. As you may know, the Society is a 501-c-3 organization, and any donation made in excess of dues can be deducted from your federal income taxes. In providing the extra line on the form, our hope is that while members have their checkbooks out, they might consider adding a few extra dollars to help the cause. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 38-223 1086. If anyone decides to make a very generous contribution (of over $300), my understanding is that the IRS will require you to provide the Federal Tax Number. Thanks in advance for your consideration of this request.

Volunteer Needs of the NFFS
Although the newly renamed Planning and Development Committee has the primary responsibility to locate individuals who might serve as volunteers as the Director of Public Relations of the NFFS and the Director of Development, I thought it would be worthwhile to see
if any of the members who are reading this column might want to put their own hats in the ring. The PR position is one where we need to have someone who can help us publicize the NFFS and the people who fly in our events. Additionally, we have a nice product to sell in the NMAP, our National Model Airplane Program for youngsters, and our scholarship program. Someone who has a background in journalism or related fields would be ideal for us. We are also looking for someone who can head up our development needs. The Society would like to encourage members and the general modeling public to be aware of our ongoing programs, but we would also like to be able to expand them to include more people in the fold. To do so, we will need to increase our resources. That means we need to have someone head up our efforts to obtain funding outside of the current channels. Our hope is that someone who is a financial planner or insurance professional, who is either just retired or looking for some way of helping the hobby, would be interested in such a position.
Anyone who has an interest in either of these positions should contact the chairman of the Planning and Development Committee, Dan Tracy. Dan can be reached at <DanielJTracy@MSN.com> or by phone at 425-432-0585. If you are just slightly interested, but want more information, please feel free to contact me (Bob Stalick) at <freefliter@aol.com>.

Next Month
The past month (and the past Winter) here in the NW has been pretty wet. I have had practically zero opportunity to get out and do any outdoor flying. We have had a pretty solid indoor season, however, but my blood gets moving really well only when the outdoor season cranks up. At any rate, the days are getting longer and I noticed some flowers in the yards just recently, so Spring can’t be too far away, can it? I have a brand new Starduster 900 ready to go, and it is setting in my shop just itching to get out. Also, I have a brand new F1P model with an AD .061 on the front. It is setting in my shop, dwarfed a bit by the big Starduster. I hope to have both of them in the air before I write my next column, as the F1P will be a featured plan/3 view next issue. This is a model that can be built by anyone who has built a standard 1/2A free flight. No component parts or complex features. Just straightforward stuff.
Stay tuned and join in again next month.