That
outlook—and
devising
strategies
to
meet
its
opportunities—emerged
from
a
brainstorming
session
that
highlighted
an
organizational
retreat
held
March
19
and
20
at
Campbell’s
Resort
in
Lake
Chelan,
Washington.
The
29
officers,
directors,
and
other
representatives
of
the
1,000-member
nonprofit’s
local
chapters
were
joined
by
state
aeronautics
division
officials
and
Warren
Hendrickson,
AOPA
Northwest
Mountain
regional
manager,
who
briefed
them
on
regional
and
national
initiatives.
The
retreat
focused
on
an
outlook
that
Posner
said
reflects
a
need
to
update
a
long-standing
mantra
of
the
GA
community:
“Instead
of,
‘Let’s
keep
‘em
flying,’
let’s
get’
em
flying,”
he
said,
adding,
“nothing
happens
until
people
go
flying.”
Most
who
participated
in
the
brainstorming
session
were
of a
mind
that
GA
is
enjoying
resurgence,
he
said.
So
it
was
agreed
that
leveraging
the
membership
by
giving
members
informational
tools
to
use
to
“talk
to
people
who
aren’t
members
and
tell
them
why
they
should
be”
was
critical
to
sustaining
the
perceived
momentum—but
not
with
a
lot
of
statistics
and
other
data
Posner
dismisses
as
“eye-glazing
stuff.”
Because
“everyone
listens
to
the
same
radio
station,
WIIFM,”
(the
letters
stand
for,
“What’s
in
it
for
me?”)
talking
points
should
demonstrate
how
it
directly
benefits
a
new
or
returning
aviator
to
get
involved.
“It’s
very
compelling
if
you
say
it
that
way,”
Posner
noted,
ticking
off
successes
from
the
Washington
Pilots
Association’s
advocacy
efforts
such
as
making
sure
that
state
general
fund
revenue
finds
its
way
to
aviation
accounts
as
an
example
of
the
organization's
selling
points.
The
group
also
brainstormed
ways
the
Washington
Pilots
Association
can
strengthen
support
of
its
local
chapters
and
help
get
people
enthused
about
flying
through
promoting
social
activities
like
fly-outs,
and
connecting
with
other
groups
dedicated
to
flying
and
promoting
aviation’s
sense
of
community.
(See
the
Facebook
page
for
Flights
Above
the
Pacific
Northwest.)
Creating
a
speaker’s
bureau
for
in-person
and
Internet-based
talks
to
local
chapters
also
made
the
list
of
working
ideas.
The
new
initiatives
being
devised
to
meet
aviation’s
expected
upswing
could
also
“drive
down
the
average
age
of
the
membership,
which
is
probably
now
in
its
sixties,”
Posner
said,
adding
that
the
more
the
Washington
Pilots
Association
reaches
out,
the
more
the
organization
will
become
“a
bigger
voice
for
advocacy.”
To
keep
the
ideas
moving
along,
the
session
included
appointing
“functional
directors”
with
specific
areas
of
responsibility
who
would
boil
down
the
ideas
to
action
items,
and
propose
deadlines.
“It
really
works,”
he
said
of
the
strategizing.
“Everybody
is a
volunteer;
everybody
is
committed
to,
and
fascinated
by,
aviation.”