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MISASA Chairman’s Report 2015
The year 2015 is flying by. Sitting in the “hot-seat” as the chairperson of a fantastic bunch of ladies and gents is truly an honour for me. Our last Chairman, the corporate man, Donald Hicks is a tough act to follow. Donald decided that it was perhaps time for someone else to take the “pressure”, and I accepted the challenge at the last AGM.. Being Chairman is a new role, which I am not accustomed to and sincerely hope that I deliver on my promises to myself and to the committee. This magazine, yet again edited by Alan Mackenzie, will surely be another winner, as it has been for a decade. The “new format” coffee table edition has proven to be extremely successful and well received. As always, the challenge that Alan faces in getting the content in, is huge. Year on year it gets more difficult. This year he has been requesting content since February for this, the July edition. Th 2016 deadline is June the 5th. We certainly hope that our flight schools and the suppliers of aircraft and aviation accessories will give thought to sharing the stories of our members that purchase their products and services.
AGM 2015: We held our AGM at Kitty Hawk this year at the time of the MISASA Showcase. We did this so as to attract a larger attendance due to the meeting being held during our popular yearly flagship event. We will again do this next year so that it is convenient for many to attend. We appreciate the effort made by those that attend our meetings and we invite members that wish to chat to the committee to join us on a Skype meeting. Your input and observations would be much appreciated. At our last AGM, we bade farewell to the committee for 2014, with special mention going to John Comely (who confirmed his nonavailability for 2015 due to overseas business commitments) and to Deon Kraidy. We thank them both for their time and commitment during the past year. The guests were welcomed as were the outgoing committee members.
Following the meeting, the elections were held with the following people elected to serve for 2015:
• Chairperson John Boucher
• Vice-Chairman Donald Hicks
• Treasurer & Finances Brett Hickman
• Magazine Editor Alan Mackenzie
• Technical, MOP & ARO Rowena Kraidy
• Competitions Mervyn Reynolds
• Events & Calendar Marius Nel
• Membership Administration Thelma Roberts-Boucher
• PRO Johan Welman
• Safety & Accidents Henri v d Berg
• Training & Licencing Nico Willemse
• Transformation & Development Louis Jordaan
Rowena Kraidy was re-elected to the Board of AeroClub and thus MISASA retains this very important representation. We also have two additional committee members, by virtue of our membership numbers being over 1,000. We are the largest full payment member section of the Aero Club. Alan Mackenzie: Rowena has done an exemplary job on the board and she has achieved many a win in the interests of microlighters during the past year. Well done Rowena. Your tireless effort and dedication do not pass unnoticed.
Sadly in early August 2015, Johan Welman, had to vacate his position due to health reasons. Alan Mackenzie and I have taken over his tasks and responsibilities.
The Annual MISASA Showcase held at Kitty Hawk in 2015:
The report on the Showcase held at Kitty Hawk can be found in the Publications Report that follows. All I can say is - Wow! Our yearly event has grown from strength to strength – Alan Mac’s “brainchild” has grown from success to success!
The FUNDI system:
All indications were that with our input and direct/indirect assistance in the development of the system, it would make membership renewal an effortless and pleasant experience. This was mostly achieved, but regrettably it now does face some challenges. FUNDI has most definitely not kept up with the requirements of AeroclubSA and more so MISASA. We have experienced persistent problems of duplication and failed transactions. The burden of resolving this falls squarely on Thelma’s shoulders and then for our Treasurer to refund the affected member. Initially the system got off to a rocky start, improved greatly and has now slipped. FUNDI CRM needs to get their act together, or we shall most definitely lodge a vote of no confidence and seek alternatives.
Thelma can be contacted at admin@misasa.org or phone her on 071 656 2027 if you have queries or issues that need to be resolved.
Project 24:
Reg changes, flipping, etc This is a massive project that will, inter alia, redefine the regulatory framework . It is work in progress and we will keep you posted in the monthly newsletter. Competitions: Mervyn has a few competitions lined up and he will post details on our website and on www.microlighters.co.za when he has finalised these. Fly-aways: It has been a bumper year and I am sure that you will enjoy the feedback in this annual yearbook of ours.
In Conclusion:
We are a membership organisation that serves it’s members. We always welcome constructive suggestions for service delivery improvement. If you have an idea or if you wish to help, in any way, please contact us. If you are one of a select few that demand more yet help less. We are here to serve and will do more for you, with your help than without it. For my part it has been a pleasure to serve the membership.
Fly Safe everyone
John Boucher : MISASA Chairman 201
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