Wow..

Really I searched through my vocabulary..and the word Wow is all that comes to mind to describe the 2011 season.

With three judging schools, several online scoring seminars, and 19 contests ranging from Virginia to South Florida, to say it has been a busy year is an understatement!

From a personal view point, 20,000 or so new miles on the RV, (and a battle wound from an errant T-28...) I attended 27 various R/C related events of at least 2 days or more, and four, full week or longer events!

And the calendar is already filling up for next year! It is hard to believe, as I write this it is just a few days before Christmas... and the Season opener is just a couple weeks away! It is only a month until our first of two judging schools that are already on the schedule!

This past year has had its challenges but great rewards too! I have truly enjoyed meeting new friends and visiting with old ones. And the level of competition in every class and at every contest was intense. With maybe a little bit of trash talk thrown in for fun!

Thanks to all of the contest directors, score keepers, judges, scribes, and club members for your efforts in the past and for the future efforts as well.

Preparations are well under way for 2012 and beyond. It is a rules change cycle and there are RCP's that have been posted and sent up to AMA, and a few more to be posted.

There is an IMAC World Championships on the horizon as well. Our IMAC President, Wayne Matthews is taking the lead on this and it looks exciting.

Gil Major is already knee deep in preparations for the 2012 Scale Aerobatic (IMAC) Nats. Will you be there? I know I will... and I'll probably be looking for scribes! The Nats are already in the regional schedule so check it out and sign up! If you have never been to the Nats, it is an awesome event. I have been every year that I have been in IMAC and plan on going for many more! It is a “don't miss” contest

We already have 12 contests on the schedule with more in the works!

As mentioned, already have 2 judging schools on the calendar. Good judging is key to the success of IMAC. It is well worth it to come on out and learn a bit. Even if you have been before, there is always more to learn.

And along the lines of IMAC education, Matt Balazs and Jerry Hailey stepped up to run an Intro to IMAC seminar in 2011 which was very well received.

And thanks to Dan Baker, Kent Porter, and Phyllis Youngblood for running online contest director and score keeper seminars in 2011 and we hope to see more of these educational initiatives in the future.

Thanks to everyone in the region for making this a great year! I'll see you all at the field in 2012!

Curtis