Memorial Day Fly-By 2007 Planning Meeting

November 27, 2006

 

The meeting was called to order by event chairman Tom Ritchey at 7:00 PM.  Present were: Tom Richey, Andy Andersen, Pete Weber, Dave Martin, Ed Hannevig, Robert English, Larry Weber and Lynn McDonald.

 

Reviewing the previous event's program, Tom solicited comment about how well it worked out.  Pete requested an announcement about the arrival/departure of helicopters, that's providing that the helicopters actually make it to next year's event.  Ideas for a speaker were passed around, but no decision was made.  The portable flag pole worked out fine, partly because the ceremony could be held on the grass rather than on the pavement in the parking lot; the restaurant being open could change the location since the regular flagpole could be used.  Keeping the ceremony in the grassy area was considered a good idea since it provides view of activities on the ramp.  The wreath arrangement was good, but leaning it against the generator was not a good spot.  Pete asked to be relieved of the security post, and Tom said he could be relieved of the post when he found someone else to fill it.  Military aircraft was a question; there is a possibility that an F-15 and a Blackhawk could be at the event, but nothing had been nailed down.  Last year's request got submitted relatively late but it is on file so it will save us time for the upcoming event.  Sending another letter at this time of the year should be sufficient.  A question  came up about balloons, since we have a couple of balloonists here at the airpark now, and whether we wanted to include them in the event.  They should have their own safety officer and have their launching pad in a safe area.  This started a general discussion about the possible benefits (great attention-getter) and disadvantages (unpredictable flight pattern).

 

A preliminary list of participating entities was passed around which included all that were committed to participate in next year's event as of this evening.  Larry brought up the boy scout troop #108 as a possibility to help with the flag ceremony and parking parts of the event, and this was greeted positively.  The food concessions could probably be handed over to the restaurant, owned by Dave Baker, though it will be a much heavier crowd than they usually get.  Dave Martin will discuss this with him. Old car clubs were discussed: many of the clubs that were called never got back in touch, and a few local individuals showed up, though there is definitely room for more.    The tables and chairs from the EAA worked out fine with an adequate supply.  The advertising last year worked out fine, so the plan was to repeat the same type and size of ad as last year; the same goes for the shuttle busses that were used last year.  A model plane display was discussed, and there were several names of people in the airpark who put those together.  

 

The port-a-potty proved to be a major headache since the bill was paid immediately but statements kept coming anyway for several months.  There would be some possibility of one being donated, but this has not been confirmed.  The restaurant being open makes two more restrooms available, but that will probably not be enough. Last year's budget for the event was $300.00, and new possible contributors toward the event were discussed.  Larry mentioned the possibility of a corporate sponsorship from Garmin who are spearheading a new GPS unit for airplanes and have a sales office at the Salem airport already.  They could at least be approached about putting up a booth at the event, and possibly making a contribution toward sponsoring.   Pete mentioned that there were many pilots attending who might object to the involvement of Commercial booth as this is a Memorial event, and this was acknowledged but Tom asked that Garmin be approached to see if they were amenable. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted by Robert English, secretary.

 

 

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