Message from the President : Paying Forward
Our hobby, almost uniquely among craftsmanship hobbies, had a very specific and distinct beginning and a clear purpose for this beginning. We were founded by the late G. Harry Stine in 1957, at the dawn of the Space Age, to provide a safe means for the young people of America to experience the excitement of rocketry and establish a personal connection to space flight. Our purpose from these first days was to promote rocketry as an educational activity and to popularize its appeal and safety with the public. We have done this very well as an organization for over fifty years and as a result rocketry has made a difference in the lives and the career goals of millions of Americans who are adults today; nearly every NASA astronaut or current aerospace engineer flew model rockets as a kid. Harry Stine used to tell those of us who asked how we could ever pay him back for all he had done for us to “pay forward, not back”; to repay him by passing on our enthusiasm for our hobby to a new generation. It is part of what the NAR is all about.
The history of the NAR is full of examples of adult members who have “paid forward” by organizing youth activities and community outreach events to share the excitement and enjoyment of safe rocketry with others. From Harry Stine and the other founders of the NAR in the 1950’s and 1960’s to Howard Galloway in the 1970’s and Robert Cannon through the 1980’s, many of the most respected names in our hobby made a deep personal commitment to rocketry outreach programs. This culture continues strongly in today’s NAR, and I am proud to be part of an organization that has this culture. I am regularly encouraged and amazed at the dedication of so many of our members and sections across the U.S. to outreach activity and youth programs. From holding classes at schools or build-and-fly sessions and public demonstration launches for Scout groups, to enthusiastic participation in our “Fly 50K” first-launch program for young people, there are countless examples of this spirit in our NAR. It is uniquely part of who we are as an organization and its strength is an encouraging sign for the future of the NAR and of our hobby.
The best and most successful example of “paying forward” that the NAR has ever implemented is the Team America Rocketry Challenge competition that so many of you are supporting today. Over the last seven years this program has involved over 50,000 students from all across the U.S., in seventh through twelfth grades – exactly the years where most young people lose interest in beginner-level rocketry, and the same years where they make the important life decisions on what career to pursue and what college to attend. The enormous effort that hundreds of NAR members and dozens of sections make each year to mentor and support these student rocketry teams in learning advanced rocketry skills is clearly making a difference in the turning the interests and career aspirations of thousands of young students toward rocketry and aerospace. It is “paying forward” on a grand scale that is very visible to U.S. government and industry leaders as an expression of who the NAR is and what we are all about. Harry would be proud of what we are doing here as an organization, and I’m proud of what so many NAR members are doing individually in this program to make it such a success.
Obviously, most of us are in rocketry because we enjoy our own flying experiences; it is our hobby, something we do for fun in our spare time rather than how we make our living. Few of us make “paying forward” or outreach activities our sole involvement in the hobby, and I am not advocating that anyone do so. If you are not having fun with rocketry then it is not really your hobby and you won’t be able to sustain your involvement for the long haul. My theme as your President is to “be safe, have fun, pay forward”. All three are important, and I ask NAR members to do them all, but they are important in that order.
Each of us should feel at least some obligation to spread the word about the rewards of rocketry and the benefits and camaraderie of the NAR, and to spend a little of our rocketry time helping or teaching others who want to try the hobby. When you have the opportunity to teach a young flier about this hobby, or to extend a welcoming hand to a new adult flier who shows up at your section’s meeting or launch, I ask that you take the few extra minutes to do so. Rocketry is a craftsmanship hobby in a society where such hobbies are increasingly rare and are declining in popularity. If we do not each do our part to ensure its future, where will the next generation of rocketeers and NAR members come from? It’s in our hands.
Be safe and have fun, but remember to pay forward.