All Ballots are In!
The ballots for the Top Ten Most Influential Free Flight models and the Top Ten Free Flighters of all time are in. Any ballots received after Sept. 1 (and there were a couple) were set aside, and the remainder placed into stacks of 100. I received 315 in all, and the counting part will begin soon. To all who voted, I thank you for your interest. To those who didn’t bother, please don’t contact me to complain. When the tally is completed the results will be forwarded to AMA for their Museum efforts and, of course, they will be reported here in the Digest.

NMAP - The NFFS Education Program--Has a Leader
For the past year and a half, the NFFS has been in development of its program to help young newcomers into this hobby. The program highlights have been published here in the
Digest. The Board of Directors of the NFFS has hashed over the details, and we have finally arrived at our first stage of implementation. The person who has stepped forward to help us do so is Rocco Ferrario. Rocco has directed a very successful youth program of his own in Napa, CA., and he has agreed to be the Coordinator of the NMAP for NFFS. An instructors kit has been developed and packaged and will be available shortly from Rocco. Rocco is also a member of the AMA Education Committee so he has a nice background for this duty.

A look at the NFFS website will show some of the details of the program. As with all of our efforts, this project is a work in progress, but it is one which has been quite awhile in development. The Board of Directors has still affirm the last details of the program, but we are anxious to get started this year. Any member who currently operates a youth program involving free flight can get more information by perusing the website at <freeflight.org>. If you like what you see, and you would like to know more, contact Rocco Ferrario at 2471 Solano Ave, Dept. 24, Napa, CA 94558. You may email him at <Siouxzq@Community.net> or phone him at 707-258-1705.

Notes from the NFFS Annual Meeting at Muncie
As has been the case for the past 5 years, the NFFS held its annual meeting in conjunction with the AMA Nats at Muncie. This year, the meeting was held at AMA HQ on August 10. All
elected officers of the Society were present and most of the appointed officers were also there. As the President of the Society, it is noteworthy to point out that from my first meeting, which was held on an evening at the end of the AMA Nats in the back room of a Muncie pizza parlor, this year’s edition was a huge improvement in decor and decorum. Some of the highlights
from the 2002 meeting follow:

•Scholarship: The Scholarship Committee recommended that three awards be
made in 2003 in the amounts of $3500, 3000, and 2500. The top award will be
named the Joe Guylas Award. This recommendation was accepted unanimously.
•Competition Committee: Bob Perkins, chairman, reported that the committee is
investigating the possibility of awarding an Indoor Cup with criteria similar
to that used for the National Cup. Contact with representatives of the Indoor
community will be made to elicit the level of interest in this project. It
was also noted that the number of Junior participants in the National Cup has
doubled in one year.
•Digest: Walt Rozelle reported that he has met most of the goals set up for
him as editor. Continuing issues include contributing editors who do not
contribute and the continuing problem with erratic mail delivery of the
Digest.
•Dues Increase: Although the Society could benefit at this time from an
increase in dues, it was decided that because of the large increase being
asked by AMA, that the NFFS Directors will postpone any increase for a later
time.
•Bylaw Change Idea. Rex Hinson proposed that the bylaws be amended to permit
an election to be held each year so that one vice presidential candidate is
elected annually. This would, in theory, allow the board to maintain some
institutional memory and to assist the new person in easing into his
position. No action taken at this meeting.
•Winter Meeting of the NFFS Board of Directors. The Board decided to hold a
Winter meeting to attempt to address in depth a number of items from the
agenda that were not addressed.

New Life Members
I wanted to acknowledge three new Life Members who have joined the NFFS in the past several months. They are: Donald M. Leath, Life Member #40, from Palmdale, CA.; Richard MacEntee, Life Member 41, from Palmetto, FL., and Ronald Hernandez, Life Member #42, from King Salmon, AK. I believe Ronald is our only Alaska NFFS member, and I know he is our only Alaska Life Member. Thanks to all of you for your support of the NFFS. If anyone is interested in Life Memberships, more information can be obtained from Hank Nystrom,
Membership Chairman. The cost of Life Membership is $450.
See you all next month!

Bob Stalick