That was a very fast 15 years and you have done a great job running the club
Alan.
Congratulations and enjoy the extra time to fly rockets at your leisure or just
kick back and enjoy watching the rest of the flyers doing their thing!
I certainly appreciate your hard work!
Ken AllenPerformance Hobbies
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
On Monday, October 26, 2020, 9:41 PM, acwhit@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
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Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters, Friends and Comrades:
The time has come. I have been prefect of Tripoli East NC
since 2006, 15 years, and it is time for me to step down. I have enjoyed most
of my time in this office and met many new friends. But age is catching up
with me. My back and knees hurt all the time, setting up launch equipment has
become a chore, rather than a delight, and I no longer want to attend every
launch on the schedule. Time for new blood.
There are only two statutory requirements for a Tripoli prefect:
1. Certify new TRA L1 and L2 flyers, make sure all documents get
sent to TRA HQ
2. Receive and act upon all communications from TRA
However, that is clearly not all the work that must be done to
insure the smooth, successful operation of a good prefecture. In my opinion,
the prefect must either do these things or delegate the authority, and follow
up occasionally to make sure the tasks are being done. I have been very
fortunate to have a group of capable, enthusiastic people who have willingly
taken on many of these jobs and made my life much easier.
● collect launch fees and split between landowner and club treasurer.
● maintain good communication with the landowner concerning launch dates,
preferred site for our activities on any given month, and any other item that
comes up
● call in the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) every Thursday afternoon before the
launches
● transport trailer to and from the launch field
● repair/maintain all club equipment, including the club trailer
● deal with all “PR” issues: talk with visitors at the launch site,
reporters, local residents, and represent the club in a friendly, informative
fashion.
● File the waiver with the FAA yearly
● communicate with Cherry Point MCAS 2 hours before and immediately after
every day’s launch
● write launch report
● maintain NAR membership and work with any NAR members who want to progress
through the certification process
● each year, the prefect receives between 10 and 20 requests for assistance
with school, church, and civic groups for assistance with an amazing variety of
programs, demonstrations, science fairs, and things of that nature. This will
require a lot of delegation, or it will drive you crazy
● College and High School teams who are participating in various local or
national competitions or simple academic projects need guidance and
encouragement. During the past 5 years, 2 high school and 6 different college
and university level teams have sought out the Bayboro club for everything from
rocketry coaches to simple use of the field for their qualifying flights.
These students approach their projects with much less experience than adults
working their way through NAR or TRA certification and require close attention.
● ensure that all news about individual launch events is communicated to the
membership by email notification and posting on the club website in a timely
fashion
As you can see, this prefecture does not run itself. Looking
at the list has made me exhausted, I need to go lie down for a few minutes.
Somebody has to care enough to do the job. The next prefect may not place the
same importance on specific tasks that I do – and that’s fine, the club must
necessarily take on the personality of the leadership.
I will continue to attend most launches, and I will continue to
maintain Tripoli Technical Advisory Panel and NAR L3 Certification Committee
membership, so I will continue to help flyers in either organization attain
level 3 certification. As a TAP and L3CC member, I will be able to certify new
flyers from both organizations in the absence of the prefect. I will be the
first to volunteer to help advise college teams, that’s one of my favorite
things to do. I’ve got a truck and a trailer hitch, so I can tote the trailer
on those weekends that I attend the launches.
In January, Dennis Hill will open up the voting by asking for
nominations for the next prefect. I would like to put two names forward for
your consideration. Kurt Hesse and Joe Hill. Both of these gentlemen are
regular attenders, very knowledgeable about all aspects of rocketry, they pay
attention to everything that is going on around them at a rocket launch (no
tunnel vision), and on many occasions both of them have dropped whatever they
were doing to help new flyers, visitors, and academic teams.
Anyone else who would like to be on the ballot, or who would
like to nominate someone should get in touch with Dennis and say so. The more
choices the better. Prefects are obliged to serve for 1 year, and may choose
to pass on the responsibility when they wish at yearly intervals.
I am honored that you have chosen to keep me as prefect of your
club for 15 years. I thank you all for this opportunity, you have supplied me
with a wealth of great memories. You will certainly see me at a lot of
launches in the future, but perhaps not when it’s 32 degrees and sleeting 😊
With gratitude, Alan
