Suggestions for flying at K Mart?

[frank mccune]

    Hello all:

    Kindly give advice as to how I may convince the corporate heads in Chicago to grant our club permission to use their back lot.

     I saw a local K Mart that is in an isolated area and has a very large area that is half paved and the other half is very nice grass. This area is not used for any store business! This store is doing very poorly so perhaps we could bring some much needed attention to their store  that is withering on the vine.

     I spoke to the manager of the store and she said that she would send an E Mail to the woman who is in charge of these things and get back to me.  I want to contact this person via E Mail Skype or whatever it takes to plead our case.  In the club, we have a person who is a brilliant writer who spent much time writing for grants etc, for the local university.  He is very professional and well spoken.  All we need is a chance to pitch our request to the right person.  Heck, we have adequate funds in our club treasury to fly our man to Chicago for a meeting!

     Suggestions?  Any people in the HR field?

                                                                                                                        Be well my friends,

                                                                                                                        Frank McCune

[Motorman]

Ain't never gonna' happen bro but good luck.


MM

[John Cralley]

Contact AMA for their help! They should be able to provide you with guidance and "official" documents about liability insurance and so on. They may have suggestions as to how to present your plea!

Good luck!

[Tim Wescott]

     Suggestions?  Any people in the HR field?

You mean PR.

Read your back issues of Model Aviation that have accounts of how people got access to flying fields to get ideas.

Remember that you need to point out to K-Mart what the advantages are to them.  Unless you've got buckets of money sitting around for rent, what you have to offer is good public relations.  Also remember the things that K-Mart might be concerned about, mostly being traffic, liability, and having you folks being a real or perceived encumbrance on the property should they wish to sell or expand.  Play up the advantages and allay the concerns.

Basically, your best bet is to write an application that points out that you're all thrifty, responsible & brave.  Point out that as an AMA chartered club you'll have site insurance.  Offer to use the spot at their sufferance and as a secondary user -- meaning, promise to be ready to leave in an instant, and acknowledge that if they need to park the lot full of trucks or something you can be out of there in an instant.  Since the corporate officer in question may never have seen the site, take a picture of it & sketch in the area that you'd want to use.  Tell them what you'd want to put in (if anything) & what condition you propose to leave the land in when you leave.  Stress that all you really need is parking and a flat grass field of a certain size, but mention it if you want to put in any structures.

If you have any kids that fly, make sure to mention how many and get pictures.  Especially if you have any programs with boys & girls club or Boy Scouts or anything, make sure to mention that.  Mention that the people out playing with toy planes behind the field are all customers, and so are the people that'll wander by to watch.  Offer to name the field the <your town> K-Mart Control Line field (home of <your club>), and to put up a nice sign, so they get credit.

[john e. holliday]

Don't forget to offer to keep the grass mowed.

[Tim Wescott]

Don't forget to offer to keep the grass mowed.

Oh lord yes, and I'm sorry I didn't mention it.  One would hope it goes without saying, but making it clear that you'll mow, clean, and otherwise maintain the site so that it's always presentable should go a long way toward making you an attractive tenant.

[George Albo]

Keep us posted as to how this has worked out for your club. WHEN, you succeed, maybe post the letters used, etc. Could be used by some...

Thanks,

George Albo

[frank mccune]

     Hello All:

     Thank you all for the great replies! I needed some direction and suggestions to add to my very limited thoughts.  I had many of these ideas in my mind but you all have helped me focus on the goal.

      I need to male up a package of positive advantages that we could offer the K Mart store.  I think we could include a Google Earth photo of the site would help immensely.  I need to contact the person in Chicago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     I did contact Tony Spillman  at AMA headquarters but he will be gone until Friday.  He has always offered great advice to help us in our quest for securing a flying site.

    Yes, it should have read PR in lieu of HR.

                                                                                                                          Be well my friends,

                                                                                                                          Frank McCune

[john e. holliday]

The thought just hit me.  Is the grass area maintained and kept mowed or is it mowed and baled during the summer?   Dave's circle was in an industrial area and he had permission from management to mow and maintain the circle.  The city of Lenexa after us using it for almost two years we could not use it as it was zoned for agricultural use not for recreation.  The management was looking at a fine if they ley use keep using the field.  The two of us did not have enough money to line the individuals pockets to look the other way

[Steve Helmick]

When we (NW Skyraiders) had use of surplus park property in Kent, WA, one of the surprise benefits to the park department was that our frequent presence tended to make homeless people move elsewhere. This may or may not be a problem for the K-Mart in question, but if you were to hire homeless people to camp there....

Don't forget to mention that the could expect increased sales of Crazy Glue, epoxy and other hardware items, plus food & drink items, ice, etc.  Steve

[RknRusty]

All I can think of to add has been inferred in other words, but assure them that your club will adhere to the old Boy Scout rule: We will leave it better than we found it, every time we use it. In the BSA, it was mainly for campsites, but it's a rule I impose on myself and companions whenever we use the property of another, be it borrowed, rental or otherwise.
Rusty

[Steve Helmick]

Rusty has a point, of course. But it didn't help us when we were caught flying at what we locally called "The Mattress Factory". At night, it was used by local "Drifters" for wearing out their tires. It was a dumping ground for Taco Bell bags, if that tells you anything. Daytime, it was used by truck drivers training companies as a place to teach drivers maneuvering into loading docks and "close quarters drill". We had to get there early Saturday or Sunday to beat out the "speed skater", who practiced on roller skates.

When we got caught, we pointed out that we had insurance, could get them site insurance if they would let us fly there, that we picked up litter from the Drifters and took it away, and I even pulled weeds from the landscaping that their hired landscape crew did not. I don't think we left as much as a rudder scrape track on the asphalt, but they still didn't want us there. The speed skaters seemed to think the owner would let them skate inside the empty building. That didn't happen, either. Most of the building was vacant. Odd that they keep building warehouses, even when the economy is in the crapper and they know there won't be any renters/buyers for years, but they do. Tax write-offs, I'm sure. There's only so much you can accomplish, when their minds are made up.     Steve