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Section Charters and Insurance
The annual process for renewing NAR section charters is now underway. All those sections that had their renewals in to NAR HQ by March 6 should now have in hand their new insurance certificates. These are being sent electronically (only) to the point of contact designated by the section on their renewal form. Sections that get their renewals in by March 31 will have their certificates by early April. |
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NAR's Biggest Sections
Congratulations to the following sections for the recruiting programs that have made them our 7 largest in NAR membership according to records at NAR HQ, which match what is printed on each member's NAR card.
NOVAAR - 121
LUNAR - 97
CMASS - 94
ROC - 78
SSS - 72
DARS - 67
NARHAMS - 56
If your section has members whose NAR card does not reflect your section's number/name, those members can go the the " Contact Us" button on the top of the NAR website page and either log in to their own membership account to update their records, or send an e-mail update to NAR HQ. |
New Level 3 Certification Committee Chairman
The Level 3 Certification Committee (L3CC) is the group of our most capable high-power fliers who supervise the Level 3 certification of NAR fliers to this highest high-power level. After 8 years of outstanding service leading the L3CC and building the team that has run this important service program at very high standards of excellence, Dave Schaefer has resigned
to free up time in his life for other endeavors. All of us in the NAR appreciate what Dave has done and thank him for his service.
The NAR President has appointed Pat Gordzelik as the new Chair of the NAR L3CC. Pat brings a superb reputation for excellence and safety in high power rocketry to this important component of the NAR's overall high power program. Thanks to Pat for volunteering to take on this important contribution to our NAR. | |
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Message from the NAR President
Greetings!
I want to start with a big "thank you, well done" to the team at CMASS section of Massachusetts led by Bill Spadafora for the fine job that they did in organizing and running the 2010 NAR Convention last weekend. It was great to be at Clark University in Worcester, MA, the place where Robbert H. Goddard taught and did the research that led to the founding of modern rocketry. In addition to all the good NARCON presentations and programs on sport rocketry, we toured the Goddard museum and got to fly our own rockets at the site where Goddard started the space age with the flight of the world's first liquid-propellant rocket.
The NAR Board of Trustees met at NARCON, the day before the convention started. We will have the minutes and a report on the decisions from this meeting out by April 15. There were no highly urgent issues before the Board so we were able to devote much of the meeting to important longer-term planning activities. At NARCON I gave a "What is Happening in Our NAR" presentation to the attendees with a general update on the status of the NAR, which you may find interesting.
Our "52 by 52" membership drive is continuing to draw in new members thanks to excellent support from nearly all of the hobby's manufacturers, who have put links to the NAR on their websites, and to member recruitment efforts. These plus the new-member gifts from Semroc, Quest, and Aerotech have definitely increased our traffic of new members. However our net growth in the last month (new members minus existing members who did not renew) was only about +20. It takes both joining and renewing for us to grow and we need to be growing by +100 per month to reach our goal. Our combination of a great magazine and Member Guidebook plus our service programs and our very flexible insurance make the NAR a real value even without the free products that are being offered during this drive. Please help us reach our goal of 5200 members by telling the NAR story to those with whom you fly. Person-to-person recruiting is the best way for us to achieve this goal.
A few new members have expressed impatience with not getting their NAR numbers, magazines, Guidebooks, and/or free products immediately after joining. Each of these is mailed in bulk or batches, with the Guidebook and magazine going out once every two months and the others more frequently. Depending on which day of the month a new member joins it may be up to 90 days in the worst case before the last of these arrives. The membership card with NAR number should arrive first, however, within two weeks.
I will be at the NASA Student Launch Initiative launch in Huntsville in April, the Team America Rocket Challenge Finals in northern Virginia in May, at the National Sport Launch over Memorial Day weekend, and at NARAM in Colorado in August. I look forward to seeing you and hearing from you at one or more of these NAR events.
Be safe, have fun, and pay forward.
Trip Barber
NAR 4322
NAR President |
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National Sport Launch 2010
This year's National Sport Launch in Alamogordo, NM over Memorial Day weekend promises to be one of the most interesting national events in recent NAR history. The Fellowship of Las Cruces Area Rocketry Enthusiasts and Alamogordo Spaceport Model Rocketry Association have teamed up to create an NSL with three days of sport launching plus several days of special tours before, during, and after the launching days that will highlight the region's historical significance in space exploration. Special flying events planned for the three day flying portion of NSL from May 29 to 31 include the Centennial Challenge, the Sierra Blanca or Bust Challenge, and a paper helicopter payload contest.
NSL special tours of the National Solar Observatory, New Mexico Museum of Space History, Space Museum Warehouse/Restoration Facility, Holloman High Speed Test Track, and the historic V-2 Launch Complex 33 are can't miss activites. Other planned activities include White Sands National Monument Full Moon Madness Night and the NSL Blastoff Dinner/Social. Most of the tours have limited space availability and must be reserved by May 7th. For more information and registration go to www.nsl2010.org. | |
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Outreach Resources
The NAR has a wide range of resources available to its members and sections to help them get the story of the NAR out to rocketeers who should consider joining. Some of these are only available as downloads from our website (see the "Useful Documents" section), while others are also available (in moderate quantities) free for the asking from Marie at NAR headquarters. They include:
Downloadable documents:
Downloadable documents also available in paper form from NAR HQ:
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NAR Teacher Grants & Student Scholarships
Each year the NAR shows its support for teachers and students who are active in our hobby by sponsoring cash awards: up to eight Robert L. Cannon grants to teachers (who do not have to be NAR members) to support their classroom rocketry activities; and up to six NAR Scholarships to students in post-secondary educational institutions who have been NAR members for a year or more.
Each grant or scholarship totals $500, and is renewable. The Cannon grants are funded by the revenue from a benefit auction of rocketry materials held at each NARAM, and the scholarships are funded out of the NAR General Fund (your dues). A committee of NAR leaders, led by NAR Trustee Dr. Joyce Guzik, reviews applications that are submitted by May 1 each year and announces the awards at NARAM. Applications and details can be found at http://www.nar.org/teacher.html. Please help in spreading the word about the NAR's support for rocketry in schools, and encourage eligible teachers and students to apply. | |
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National Association of Rocketry
