In a concerted effort to serve members as effectively as possible, the full crew gathered at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland to plan and prepare to deliver an expanded schedule of services and resources to the flight schools, flying clubs, and individuals we work with.
In addition to the core services crew who are based in Frederick, the full contingent of You Can Fly Ambassadors converged on 411 Aviation Way to participate fully in the planning sessions held at the future home of AOPA's You Can Fly Academy. They came from California, Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida. Additional staff will come on board in the coming year too, including at least one more Ambassador, to expand and enhance our ability to directly interact with members on their home turf.
The Flying Club contingent in Frederick will be growing as well. With more than twenty new flying clubs formed this year, and more in the works, putting talented people in place to help members form and operate those flying clubs effectively and efficiently is of considerable importance. Yet, flying clubs aren't our only focus. We're gearing up to conduct twice as many Rusty Pilot presentations in 2017 as we did in 2016. We're also launching the new Back to Your Roots program, designed to help professional pilots transition back into grass roots general aviation. We're also working with an ever expanding number of high schools nationwide.
All of this ties back into our core mission of helping members find cost-effective, socially satisfying methods of getting into general aviation, or getting back into general aviation, and staying active for the long-term. Flying clubs offer an affordable option for so many of the people we encounter throughout the year, while high-school students, Rusty Pilots, and jet-jocks finding their way back into a piston-driven VFR aircraft offers those flying clubs potential new members.
All in all, we're pretty excited about what lies ahead of us next year, and we hope you are too. In the meantime, reach out and contact us if we can help you achieve your goals. We're ready to jump in and do whatever we can to help you make it happen.
