by Scott Thompson
As we move toward the end of the year, our chapter can look back on 2019 as one of some significant achievements.
Let me present a quick review:
- April: Airport Fun Day
- May: Young Eagle Rally
- June: supported the City of Lincoln with an Aviation Summer Camp
- July: started our chapter’s IMC club that now meets each month
- July: Sponsored two youths to Air Academy at Oshkosh
- September: Airport Fun Day
- October: Young Eagle Rally
- October: Award of a Ray Scholarship to a Chapter Member
- December… still to come… our Holiday Party
And, all of this was in addition to our normal monthly events that include Pancakes and A Movie on the first Saturday of each month; BBQ Lunch and a Program on the second Saturday of each month; and our monthly member meeting the third Wednesday of the month. We also support our sister group, the
Lincoln Regional Aviation Association, with a chapter pancake breakfast during their display days between April and October.
So, we are a busy chapter with lots going on. Of course, the danger of having a chapter that is this busy is burning out those volunteers who are doing the lion’s share of the work. It does take a whole lot of effort to bring some of these events together so that they run smoothly and are well-attended. I think one of the challenges for the 2020-2021 board of directors will be to modulate some of our activities and ensure that we don’t overload. As is true for any volunteer run organization, we always are on the lookout for individuals who step forward to contribute with time and ideas, and I am gratified to see some new faces in prospects for our chapter leaders.
As I have said probably too many times, this chapter will only remain vital and growing if we have those spark plug volunteers making things happen. It’s easy enough to sit back and figure that someone else will step up and do what needs to be done, but there isn’t always that someone else out there. As we prepare to move forward with our chapter’s new leadership group for next year, we remain without a volunteer to act as president of the chapter. We may be faced with having our point person leadership done by committee.
My intent here is not to push anybody into stepping into a role that they don’t want to do. The last thing we want is a reluctant and/or resentful individual trying to direct our chapter. It does need to be recognized, though, that we are probably going to have a different leadership model for 2020. Our chapter will adapt and I fully expect that EAA Chapter 1541 will remain vibrant and growing through the next year. We have a great leadership team but there is always room for more.