To All, please disregard the previous message sent out this evening, this is the corrected message;
EAA 393 President¡¯s Message ? ? June 4th, 2020
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Greetings to All
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To my fellow aviation enthusiasts, it is only appropriate to acknowledge the new crisis affecting our country today. The murder of a black man by a white man while under the color of the police uniform. This has led to peaceful protests, anarchy and looting. For the last couple of nights, I have been sitting in my backyard listening to gunshots, explosions and sirens. I find it to be unsettling to say the least.
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Combining that with the COVID-19 pandemic which is ongoing and I feel like a fighter who has taken a one two punch. I want to punch back by doing something positive, but find my hands tied in many ways. For example:
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Our chapter continues to be adversely affected by the pandemic; the June Young Eagles event has been canceled. It is very unlikely that we will have any in person social activities in the month of June.? This is of course by necessity as the county shelter in place order is still in effect. This morning I spoke with Airport Management and they still have to establish and distribute guidelines for groups such as ours before we can use the clubhouse. Judy with airport management could not give me a timeline. Unless that changes the General Meeting in June will be via Zoom. More about this later. I think that takes care of the items that I wanted to share with you that are beyond my control. Am I frustrated? Yes, Discouraged? No. Determined? Yes! So, lets get on to business.
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The June EAA 393 Board meeting was held via Zoom, with the following members present: Ron Lem, Mike Cunningham, Harvard Holmes, Pete Mitchell, Stephan Tucker, Rose Desmond, Rene Robinson, Tracy Peters, Bill O¡¯Brian, Lucy Hart, Greg K and after a long absence, Dick Sperling and his wife Marilyn.
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According to our treasurer, Harvard Holmes, our chapter is in sound financial condition. That being said, we have been experiencing a negative cash flow since the start of the pandemic. More about this later when I get to the fundraising part on the message.
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Pete Mitchell reports that we now have 91 members of which 80 have paid their dues. That means eleven have not paid dues. If you fall in this latter category, please pay your dues. The dues are $30 to the chapter and $40 to national. If you have a family chapter membership, it¡¯s $40 to the chapter and $40 to national. Please make your chapter dues checks out to: EAA Chapter 393. The mailing address is PO Box 6524 Concord CA 94524-1524. Thank you in advance for taking care of this detail.
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Discussions continue regarding new Google Chromebooks computers for the Young Eagles Program. Tracy Peters has significant experience in this area and will be putting together a presentation to demonstrate the ability of the chrome books to handle the Young Eagle registration program. The chapter is hoping that we will be able to hold a Young Eagles event in July, but that remains to be seen.?
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Bill O¡¯Brian who has been doing a wonderful job on the newsletter will be adding your pictures if you send them to him. Send your pictures as a response to this email and I will forward them to Bill.?
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Lucy Hart was present to discuss fund raising issues and it was suggested that because we can¡¯t meet as a group, we could send out a request to the membership asking for donations. That suggestion was discussed, motioned, seconded and passed. We will be sending out an email asking for donations to the chapter. A notice will also be posted in the newsletter reaching out to those who do not accept emails from the chapter. That number (those not receiving emails) borders on 40%. I can¡¯t explain it. Lucy has completed her ground school and is exploring ways to start her pilot training. I wish her good luck in her continuing endeavor!
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The VMC Club continues to be an effective format for discussion relating to pilot training and safety. Greg K our moderator for the VMC Club has done an outstanding job. Another VMC discussion is planned for the June general meeting.
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Vice President Mike, is working on a speaker for the June General Meeting. Mike is an interesting guy, being on the board of NRI Flying Club and actively working to replace the Cessna 182 that was totaled by a fuel truck. Mike is a stickler for details and very well spoken. Our chapter is lucky to have him.
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I discussed our clubhouse with Judy from airport management and they are aware that our chapter really cannot get together to do any maintenance on the clubhouse. It doesn't seem like the county will be asking us for money for rent above what we normally pay when we do perform the maintenance on the clubhouse.
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The Chapter now owns two Sonex aircraft kits; the Don Baldwin Sonex and the Samson Sonex named after Samson Phan, President of the San Carlos EAA Chapter 20 who generously donated his kit to our chapter. I visited both Sonex projects today and am happy to report that Lee Teichiera, Bill Lawrence and Frank Kelly were busy at work fitting the new cowl that they recently acquired. This is the third Sonex building session since the easing of restrictions 10 days ago. Lee has a special motivation to get the Baldwin Sonex complete as he has bought a Bearcat kit and will be picking it up next week. Stay tuned!
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The Samson Sonex acquisition was put together by Tim Roberts a member of our chapter who is also a member of EAA Chapter 20. Tim is on the EAA 393 Air Academy Committee and is the CAP Squadron 188 Safety Officer. Tim owns a Kitfox and is assisting EAA Chapter 20 with the build of a RV12. Many thanks Tim for all that you do!
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The upcoming Sacramento Airshow has been negatively impacted by the recent Snowbird crash in Canada. Tracy Peters, who has been a facilitator for previous Airshows reports that if the airshow does not have a jet team onboard, then attendance drops significantly. It was determined that our chapter would continue to prepare for the airshow as a vendor.
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A mi culpa: I put out the invitation for the May General Zoom Meeting on the same day of the meeting which caused many members to not be able to attend for a number of reasons. For the June Zoom General Meeting, I will send out the Zoom invitation on the Monday before the meeting, followed by a reminder on the day before the meeting. My apologies to those who wanted to Zoom, but couldn¡¯t!
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Lastly, I thank those of you who attended the Memorial Squadron's 20 ship flyover honoring our veterans the Sunday before Memorial Day. Honored guests included, WW ll fighter ace Dean ¡°Diz¡± Laird, Vietnam Combat Veteran Richard Sperling a DSC recipient, and Stephan Tucker, F4 Phantom EWO, Vietnam. It was a privilege to honor you!
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Ron Lem
President EAA Chapter 393
Ron Lem