Committees

The Article VIII of the AGS bylaws describes the committees of the AGS that are appointed annually by the AGS President. The roles and responsibilities of each committee can be found below.

Committee Chairmen

The committee chairmen can be found in the table below.

Committee Roles

Required committees per AGS bylaws

• Field
• Membership
• Newsletter Editor
• Safety

Optional Committees

• Activities
• Contest
• Historian
• Librarian
• Program
• Public Relations

• Annual Dinner Party
• Flight Training
• Nominating
• Sound

Required Committees

Field Chairman – Duties and Responsibilities

The Field Chairman is the focal point for maintenance of club grounds, equipment, buildings, and the road. With the exception of those members exempt due to physical limitations or other mitigating factors, ALL club members share the responsibility to maintain club facilities.

The Field Chairman shall establish a mowing list from all non–exempt members which consists of at least two people per week. One person is responsible for mowing the runways using the club tractor/riding mower and another is responsible for using a hand mower/weed wacker around the fence and pavilions. The Field Chairman sends the mowing list to the newsletter editor and webmaster so that it can be published in a timely fashion.

The tractor/riding mower operator should have previous tractor/riding mower operation and safety training. The tractor/riding mower operator for a given week is responsible to coordinate with his/her other team members the day and time for grass cutting. During the high growth season, the grass is cut weekly, no earlier than Thursday or later than Saturday noon. The Port–O–John should be cleaned and checked for adequate toilet paper and limed weekly.

The Program for the June club meeting (typically the first meeting held at the field) should be a refresher in tractor/riding mower operation and safety. New club members should receive training prior to operating the tractor/riding mower.

Any issues or concerns with the mowing equipment should be communicated to the Field Chairman and an officer on the current AGS Board. If equipment is unavailable for any reason the AGS Secretary should email the club general mailing list so that members are aware of the situation and alternate arrangements can be made for mowing/maintaining club grounds.

The Field Chairman is responsible for coordinating the maintaining of the field equipment including the tractor, flail mower, tractor blade, tractor side–cutter, X–Mark riding mower, hand mower and weed–wacker. This includes ensuring that adequate fuel is available, proper oil and water levels are maintained, and the flail mower blades are kept sharp. The mower should be greased once a month and the tractor greased every other month. All equipment must be properly winterized at the end of the season.

The Field Chairman is responsible for coordinating the maintaining all buildings at the field including the main pavilion, the flight line pavilion, tables, benches, the bulletin board, the flight control center, the fence, the gate and the Port–O–John. A check of each of these facilities should be done at least monthly during the flying season. All buildings and associated equipment shall be properly prepared for the winter at the end of the season.

The Field Chairman is responsible for coordinating the maintaining of the road and the parking area. Frequent inspections are performed to ensure that erosion is corrected promptly and that all drainage ditches and the sluice pipes are kept free of obstructions.

The Field Chairman is responsible for coordinating the Field Opening and Field Closing tasks which must be performed each year. The Field is typically opened in April and closed in October but weather conditions may dictate earlier or later as applicable.

Membership Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

The committee is generally composed of only a chairman. The chairman shall be responsible for promoting the club to all potential new members and shall maintain contact with all visitors until such time as that person becomes a regular member or decides not to join the club.

A list of all visitors to monthly meetings shall be maintained. This list shall include the person's name, address, phone number, e–mail address and area of interest.

He shall introduce all visitors at the monthly meetings. All visitors who express an interest in joining the club or who appear to have not made a decision shall be given a Visitor's Package.

The Visitor's Package shall include: Introduction Letter AGS Brochure Membership Application with Membership Types and Dues Structure AMA Membership Application

The AGS Brochure shall be updated each year. Copies shall be kept at our flying field main gate and flying site pavilion so they are accessible to visitors.

Insure that all visitors are sent a copy of the monthly newsletter for at least 3 months or until he becomes an Associate Member. Provide The CONNECTOR editor with names and addresses.

The New Member Package shall be given to all new members and shall include: New Member Information sheet. An AMA Plane ID Label

All Associate Members shall be assigned two sponsors who are Regular Members by the Membership Chairman. The sponsors shall insure that the Associate Member understands the AGS By–Laws and Field Rules.

Sponsors shall assist the new member with aircraft construction, flying and any other items as requested. It is the sponsor's responsibility to insure that the new member has developed sufficient flying skills before telling him that he can fly without a coach at his side.

All Associate Members shall be contacted at the end of his Associate Membership period to determine if he wants to be voted into Regular Membership. The Membership Chairman shall inform the President of what Associate Members are to be voted upon.

Assign each new Associate member to either the Activities or Field committee after consulting with these committee chairmen.

Supply a "Visitors" and/or “New Members" article to The CONNECTOR editor monthly as needed.

The Membership Chairman should attend all board meetings if possible.

Updated 3/18/2020

Newsletter Editor – Duties and Responsibilities

The editor of the club newsletter is responsible for publishing a monthly newsletter to all active members that will provide the news of the club. Items that should be included monthly are:

• Prez Sez
• Calendar of Events
• Meeting dates and locations
• Meeting program title and description
• List of visitors and new members
• Non AGS events of interest to members

Items that should be included periodically are:

• Roster – quarterly
• Field Rules – annually in April
• Video and book library lists annually

Distribution of the newsletter is made to other clubs, to AMA officers, and to all club members and subscribers.

Safety Chairman – Duties and Responsibilities

The Safety Chairman is the primary contact person for safety–related issues.

He ensures that all members are familiar with and meet the intent of the AMA and AGS Field Rules.

He presents the AMA Safety rules and the AGS Field Rules at the April general membership meeting.

He brings to the attention of the club President any person(s) who continue to fail to comply with good safety practices and the AMA and AGS safety rules.

He implements any safety practices that he deems necessary after obtaining approval from the Board of Directors.

Updated 9/18/2013

Optional Committees

Activities Chairman – Duties and Responsibilities

This committee is generally composed of only a chairman. Other members who organize and direct club activities, called event directors, can be considered to be members of this committee.

Club activities are those events that are hosted by the club outside monthly membership meetings. The events may be for only club members and their families or open to all AMA members. Events that are open to all AMA members should be considered for AMA sanctioning if insurance requirements and protection from events outside of the club is considered necessary.

The primary responsibilities of the Activities Chairman are:

• Publish an Activities Calendar for the newsletter and web site. Include in the Activities Calendar those events or activities in which the club members will be participating.
• Insure that all events have an event director assigned and these event directors are listed in the "Activities Calendar".
• Coordinate the dates for all club events with the event directors.
• Assign new members to help with at least one activity when requested by the Membership Chairman and notify that Event Director.
• Insure that each event chairman submits a financial report to the club treasurer for their respective activities. These reports shall include income, expenses and a net profit or loss.

Updated March 2020

Contest Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

This committee is composed of a chairman, the Contest Director and all those members who work at the Annual Contest.

The chairman has been referred to as the Contest Manager and is responsible for the financial operation of the contest and all activities that do not relate directly to the competition. All activities that are part of the competition are handled by the Contest Director.

Contest Manager is responsible for:

• Erecting a safety line to control spectators
• Providing food for contestants and club members. This is generally done by hiring a concessionaire.
• Providing porto–johns
• Erecting the club tent for weather protection of the food concession
• Parking
• Mowing; shared with the Contest Director
• Submitting a financial report which includes a report from the Contest Director

The Contest Director is responsible for:

• Mowing; shared with the Contest Manager

Historian – Duties and Responsibilities

The club historian presents at each Annual Meeting of the organization an annual report of the work of the organization. This is scripted and accompanied by slide pictures, photographs and/or video.

The script and photos are inserted into a scrap book with all other pertinent information and documents pertaining to the members and the years activities. This includes event sanctions, event flyers, news reports, model magazine pictures and articles, and any other material that depicts the activities of the club or any of its members.

Optionally, this information can be made available to the membership on a CD or other media at a small fee.

Librarian – Duties and Responsibilities

The club librarian is responsible for the maintenance and distribution of the club library. This library consists of all of the club–owned books, video tapes, and DVDs. Maintenance includes the repair or replacement of existing books and videos as well as the procurement of additional materials as approved by the Board of Directors. The librarian presents purchase recommendations to the Board of Directors by keeping current on new book and video releases through model magazines and any other available sources.

It is recommended that an up to date listing of all books and videos/DVDs is published on the club website and published once a year in the club newsletter.

The librarian may also provide the listing of all books and videos/DVDs to the Membership Chairman for inclusion in the Membership Package.

The librarian is responsible for the distribution and control of all library items. He responds to member requests for materials by bringing requested items to monthly meetings at a minimum. There is no fee for use of club books, video tapes, or DVDs.

The librarian makes a yearly report to the Board of Directors which documents the library inventory.

Updated 9/18/2013

Program Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

This committee is generally composed of a chairman and other members who contribute to this committee by giving programs.

The Program Chairman is responsible for ensuring that a program of general interest to the membership is presented at each club meeting. Subject material is best obtained by soliciting requests from the membership at meetings and through the newsletter. A proven effective method of finding out what programs the members want is to circulate requests for input semiannually at general meetings and have members list what they want along with any suggested presenters.

Traditionally, the November meeting program is the annual auction and the April meeting program is project night.

Programs are presented after the business meeting and planned for approximately one hour. Programs that require more time can be scheduled by consulting the President or by dividing the program into multiple presentations.

A description of each program, including the presenter(s), is given to the newsletter editor before his deadline for inclusion in the forthcoming issue.

Public Relations Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

The purpose of this committee is to ensure that the club is recognized as a contributor and asset to the community.

This can be done in many ways including:

• Participating in local CHOW drives
• Inviting local TV news personalities to visit the club field for flying demonstrations
• Contributing to local scouting groups through presentations and/or demonstrations
• Participating with static displays or flying demonstrations at appropriate local events such as:
• Mall Shows
• Service club events
• Chamber of Commerce events
• Air shows
• Other appropriate events

Deprecated Committees

Annual Dinner Party Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

The chairman of this committee has traditionally been the Vice President. He organizes his committee as he feels necessary.

The Annual Dinner Party has been held in March or April and should consist of a dinner, entertainment and club awards.

Club awards are:

• Dick Allen High Point Trophy
• The Bob Noll Pattern Trophy
• The Annual Racing Season Championship Award
• Any award for outstanding contribution to the club as deemed proper by the Board of Directors.

A major portion of the expense of this event should be covered by ticket sales although some funds should be budgeted by the club. A budget of $150.00 is recommended.

Adequate notice and description of the event should be provided to the newsletter editor for publication on a timely basis.

It is also recommended that a special mailing be made to spouses with all details of the event. Experience has shown that this will maximize attendance.

Invitations to others outside of the club should also be considered.

A financial report including income, expenses with receipts, and a net profit or loss statement of the event is submitted to the club treasurer.

Flight Training Coordinator – Duties and Responsibilities

The flight training coordinator oversees all training activities for the club. Suggested activities may include but are not limited to:

• Ground School
• Primary Flight School
• Advanced Flight School
• Other training activities as the need or demand arises

Suggested Actions:

• Work with activities chairperson to set up training schedules.
• Select/appoint chairpersons to conduct training activities as required:
  • Ground School Instructors
  • Chief Flight Instructor – primary school
  • Chief Flight Instructor – advanced school
  • Flight Instructors
  • Helpers
• Chair an organizational meeting during the winter/spring months with instructors and previous students to determine training strategy.
• Cause log books and necessary handout material to be printed and distributed.
• Organize ground school to be held prior to beginning of primary flight school. Key topics should include but are not limited to:
  • Plane inspection
  • Safety discussion
  • Field Rules
  • Basic equipment maintenance
  • Overview of how flight school will be organized

The training coordinator should delegate as much activity as possible rather than overload himself with work. He should only have to coordinate activities, not perform all of them.

Nominating Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

A nominating committee, consisting of three (Regular) members, should be appointed by the Board of Directors at least six weeks prior to the Annual Meeting (October).

At least one candidate for each office must be recommended. This includes a candidate for President, Vice–President, Secretary, Treasurer and one Board Member At Large.

The nominating committee shall advise the Board of Directors of the candidates no later than Sept 15 so that the candidates may be furnished to the newsletter editor in time to be published in The CONNECTOR prior to the October Annual Meeting.

If a nominating committee cannot be filled, then the responsibility of recommending candidates for the next election defaults to the current AGS President and Vice–President.

Updated 9/18/2013

Sound Committee – Duties and Responsibilities

This committee is generally composed of only a chairman. He is responsible for ensuring that the club sound requirements are met by all planes flown at the club field. The present sound limit is 96 dBA measured at three meters using the club Radio Shack sound meter.

He is responsible for measuring the sound of the planes of all new members and all flight school students and recording the necessary data required to properly ensure compliance with the club requirement.

He is responsible for maintaining the club sound measurement log book.

He provides guidance to all members who are having problems meeting the club requirement and ensures that members are making improvements toward that objective.

He presents the names of any persistent violators to the Board of Directors in a timely fashion for action.