AMA Charter Club Safety Officer.

This could be titled The AMA Listens to the Membership;
In Ms. Joyce Hager's column, page 192, Model Aviation, October 2004, (the official newsletter and IRC 501 (c) (3) non-related business publication) Ms. Hager, as the Executive Director of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, so stated "....document # 537 provides a guideline for the duties of a club safety officer ..." in reference to the AMA EC's mandate that all Charter Clubs must have a Safety Officer for 2005.
Now on AMA's web site one can find:>>>>
"Safety Officer/Coordinator (Added 9/10/04)
We have been receiving a lot of information regarding a document listed on the web site, PDF Document #537. Please understand that this document was created in 2001; it only suggested guidelines or responsibilities that a safety officer could use. The Executive Council did not make a motion to approve this document; it only stated that each club for 2005 will be required to have a safety officer/coordinator. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. —Joyce Hager Executive Director <<<<<<
Now in reality:
The discussion and motion in the OFFICIAL RECORD, Approved EC Minutes, Feb. 7-8, 2004 evidence differently:
There is no mention of the term Safety "Coordinator". My downloaded copy of the document 537 is dated 03-31-04
The document 537 offers no mention of the term "Suggestion".
From the AMA web site the document 537 begins with: >>>>>>>
CLUB SAFETY OFFICER This should be an appointed position, within a club. The appointment should be made by the club’s elected officers. The person chosen needs to be mature, knowledgeable, and able to express himself/herself before an audience as well as on a one-to-one basis. Duties include: 1. Pre-flight inspection of new aircraft ........... etc. etc. etc.
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From the website minutes, 2-7/8-04:
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Investigate Methods to Enforce Reasonable Safety Practice on Part of Members
D. Brown informed Council that the Committee has been unable to develop program. Discussion of this topic included: should AMA mandate safety officers for all clubs, this would be the contact point for AMA to distribute safety information;
the safety officer could be the contact where AMA gathers incident reports (as mentioned in the Safety Committee report);
one of the VP told Council that he has requested his AVP’s investigate any incidents they are aware of and report their findings to him;
clubs have difficulty in finding a person to be the clubs safety officer; some perceive this position as a “bad guy”;
MOTION VI: It was moved and seconded that effective with the 2005 Charter Club Renewals, all clubs are required to name a Safety Officer. This officer must have access to email. MOTION passed unanimously.
The named safety officer will be the communication link for safety matters to the chartered clubs. AMA will keep complete push email list of the officers. Over time the President would like to build a safety infrastructure within districts. A job description for safety officer is already in place and is listed within charter club packages.
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Ms Hager: Out here in the real world many of us are well aware of how the legal profession can twist "guideline" into a definite hard-core RULE especially when in front of a judge or jury. If you had ever been involved in a criminal charge by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) especially when not guilty, and the prosecutor is simply trying for a personal revenge judgment, then perhaps you would be more aware of the potential litigation of such situations as those that could occur within litigation of liabilities that may stem from AMA's directed Safety Officer and published Document 537.
In addition, the nouns "Officer" ( one who holds an office of trust, authority, or command) and "Coordinator" ( to bring into a common action, movement, or condition) have significantly different meanings. In my opinion your use of those different terms, in your own words which are significantly different from the official AMA records, does place you in a most compromised position. Again my position is that if I were an elected AMA officer, you would have to provide some serious explanations of your words. (Of course I suppose that portion of my internal discipline is one of the reasons that I have failed to gain elected status which is very good for you and yours.)
May I respectfully request that you give a tad more attention to the details of these items so important to us that provide the operating capital for your employer, the AMA. In addition your words on the web and in your column should reflect only the highest standards of integrity.
Horrace Cain AMA Leader & CD 539 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As of right now, Sun. PM, the AMA web site document list displays:
"66K 537 Temporarily Removed - Club Safety Officer"

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537 is now back and worse than ever.
How could I have ever thought that AMA had ears?

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THis Safety officer thing is going to cause my club a lot of trouble especially if the AMA forces it & takes our charter away. This would mean lose of insurance& lose of a field we have leased for over 25 years. There are only 7 of us & nobody will be safety officer . Personal Libality & the fact he could not fill his duties because of the way we fly. Most of the time we fly alone& there is nothing but Antelope & buffalo to hit. There should be exemptions for smaller clubs.

http://www.unitedmodelers.com /

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The biggie in what you said is "most of the time we fly alone" which isn't a good idea. I'm not sure if that's a violation of the safety code (I don't have one handy right now), but it's not going to look good on an insurance claim. I know of one club that has a rule which states that if the elected safety officer isn't present, one of the flyers present is the temporary safety officer.
Morris

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> Ah, is that YOU or your club or all of us?

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Sounds to me like this "safety officer" game is a way for the AMA to cut and run when the heat is on!
Aw! Gee! Your safety officer wasn't present so I guess you're just S.O.L.

I am our clubs safety officer and I always stress SAFETY is EVERYONES responsibility, that I alone should not have to always be the enforcer. We are all suppose to be mature people and the rules were made and voted in at club meetings.
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I dont see where they are telling us what we must uphold other than the AMA rules, which I have never seen CAN NOT FLY ALONE. I realize its safer, bt most of the time My wife is the only other person at the field with me.
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That is a RECOMMENDATION rather than a rule. The issue is to have some person around who is capable of calling for help should the need arise. Your wife IS another person.
This AMA mandated Safety Officer thing is a mess and appears to be an attempt at grabbing control of operations that potential insurance carriers might deem unsafe. Kind of like predicting the weather..
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carriers
Just an effort by the AMA to CYA the hobby into oblivion! IMHO anyway!