In the News…

My Friends,

It is time to start thinking about the upcoming convention. As we have discussed last fall, we want to spread this opportunity out to everyone, and not just have the same few people attending the convention year in and year out.  Therefore, I am going to open registration up for two weeks to those folks that have not attended a convention within the last two years. Remember, ANYONE can attend if they are willing to pay for their own registration and flights, and chapter officers are automatically offered the opportunity to attend. This discussion is only for the folks that need to be reimbursed in order to attend the convention.

I will get an exact number from the Convention Committee in a few days, but National guidelines only allow us to cover the registrations for a certain number of folks. That will be 10 or 11 members. I am a National Officer this year, so I will be compensated out of the National budget, which will open another slot for our chapter.

The Convention is September 12-16, 2010. It will be in the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. Early registration begins on May 15^th. Anyone that has not attended in the last two years has until June 7^th to contact me and let me know they would like to attend. After that, we will open registration up to everyone.

Here is the key, on the website; there is a box that you check if your chapter president has agreed to pay for your registration. The Convention Chair will contact me every few days and ask me to verify that I have agreed to pay for the folks that have checked that box. You must contact me and get my verification prior to registering for the convention. Otherwise, you may find yourself being charged the fees on your credit card.

Two other items;

First, the training we provide is recognized by the FAA, and meets our 40 hours a year requirement. The training is on official FAA time, therefore, attendance is required. When you attend the convention, you are required to sign in every day, twice a day.  There have been folks in the past that signed up for the convention, flew out, and did not attend any of the training. If you do not attend the training, leave early, or arrive late, you will not get official time,  and may not have your fees paid for by the chapter.

Second, only register if you plan on attending. None of us can plan for every emergency, but there have been incidents in the past where folks signed up, blocked one of our slots, and then did not attend the convention. It is very difficult to fill those slots at the last minute and denies other members a great opportunity.

The convention is always fun. I look forward to seeing you there.

Although you cannot register on-line until May 15^th, you new folks can start coordinating your requests with me now. You can contact me at aksnjksn@aol.com, jallen@faama.org, or 404-668-2752.

Jack