Running an EAA Chapter?

Matthew K

Matthew K

Line Up and Wait
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Sep 14, 2016
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Georgia
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Broke Engineer
Anyone here have any experience being involved as president or acted as part of the board of an EAA chapter?

The reason I ask is the chapter I'll be moving near in the fall is talking about shutting down. They've had somewhat poor attendance/involvement, but its better than other chapters I've been apart of before. It seems the leadership no longer has the heart to run the chapter.

It saddens me to see this, at this point I'm willing to take over the chapter(acting as president, would need to find other members willing to be on the board obviously, assuming the whole board leaves) if that's what it takes to make it survive.

Is there anyone here that can help inform me about the politics and exactly what all is involved in all this? Obviously will take a considerable amount of time commitment. But with no other chapter nearby I don't want to see this one die just because leadership has lost faith.
 
I don’t have much concrete advice to offer, but my suggestion would be to analyze what exactly is causing this chapter to go by the way side. If it’s the leadership than that’s one thing that could be changed, but if it’s also low attendance and an overall disinterest within the local community, than unfortunately there isn’t much you can do. That is unless you can find a way to reignite the spark within by changing how it’s ran etc.
 
Ryanb said:
I don’t have much concrete advice to offer, but my suggestion would be to analyze what exactly is causing this chapter to go by the way side. If it’s the leadership than that’s one thing that could be changed, but if it’s also low attendance and an overall disinterest within the local community, than unfortunately there isn’t much you can do. That is unless you can find a way to reignite the spark within by changing how it’s ran etc.
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I agree. I'll be talking to the president tomorrow and will find out more as to what they've tried to do and what exactly attendance has been like as of late.
 
Contact the chapters dept at EAAHQ - they can provide a lot,of upport and ideas.
 
No pay, long hours to do it right, constant complaints, and a boatload of liability if the organization does anything worthwhile. It’s spiffy.

And maybe a sense of accomplishment once in a while. Or some resume fodder if you need such stuff in your line of work.

Don’t forget to come up with something interesting or useful to say at every meeting, too. :)

Hahaha. Been doing volunteer BoDs for a very VERY long time.

Just like any job, but even more important in volunteer work, always be training your replacement and if you can hook ‘em young and get them to feel a sense of the importance of the role, their guilt will probably handle the rest and they’ll stick around.

:) :) :)

“I tried to get out, but they pulled me back in!”

On a serious note, check the financials before you accept the job. There is literally nothing less thankless than straightening out a non-profit’s financials/accounting practices/tax status/tax filings/whatever.

Days and days of work and nobody will ever say a single thank you. Most members won’t know it was screwed up, and assume it’s all “fine”. Etc.
 
Been there, done that. Which chapter is circling the drain?

My old chapter was in Marietta, GA. We never could land a permanent home - the chapter got serious about creating one about the time KRYY (McCollum) got serious about becoming a jetport. After that, no long term space was available at to the chapter at any price. Eventually, the chapter relocated to Paulding County, which is too far of a haul for most of the legacy members.

It is unfortunate that with so many people in the community with aviation ties (Delta and Lockheed in particular) that the Chapter couldn't gain critical mass at McCollum.
 
I'd be glad to talk to you about this. Hard to discuss on a message board. Does the chapter have 501(c)(3) status? Send me a PM and we can set something up.
 
I've not done it, but I have run events and got pretty close to our old Chapter president. It s lot of work, and yeah unpaid and unappreciated and all that. But you get to know a lot of people, and there's no way that can't come in handy.
 
steingar said:
I've not done it, but I have run events and got pretty close to our old Chapter president. It s lot of work, and yeah unpaid and unappreciated and all that. But you get to know a lot of people, and there's no way that can't come in handy.
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It will/would be a lot of work, probably more than I'm even realizing right now. But the part about meeting people is what I think will make it worthwhile, even if its just a handful of people.
 
I serve as vice-president at Chapter 72, Meadow Lake (KFLY) and I was treasurer for a couple years and president for one. I believe our chapter does a lot to foster the aviation community at our local airport. We went through a significant loss in interest as well but I think we are making a good comeback. I will second the suggestion about working with EAA's national office. Attend one of their chapter leadership seminars and meet the people who will be supporting your efforts. I will send you a PM and we can discuss your questions off line if you like.
 
Good luck in your endeavors,do a good deal of research on the club,to learn the problem causing low interest,could be a political problem,among the members.
 
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