Plans from PAMPA

[Gerald Schamp]

Ordering plans from PAMPA is a bit of a pain. I wanted 2 sets of a plan, got it all ordered with card info and all that, submitted it and then a message pops up and says that they were sorry that I cancelled my order. So I did the same thing again, and after submitting, thank you for your order of 4 sets of plans. I didn't want sets of the same plan. I really prefer calling in to order stuff, then I usually get what I want and not something else. 

[Sean McEntee]

Same boat as I. Ordered a set of plans almost 2 months ago. Bought and paid for. Nothing arrived. Reached out to several folks with no luck. Seems like the PAMPA store is a ghost ship.

[big ron]

Same

[Vincent Judd]

Oh great.  I just ordered a set of plans last week.   I also sent in what I though would be the money for a 2018 membership.  I was informed that I had paid for a 2017 membership that would expire at the end of December.  Why in the world would I have paid $35 for a 3 week membership?  I figured that sending my money in late in December would be for next year's membership.  Very disappointed.

I guess I'm partly to blame, I did not come across any of the "do not apply for 2018 PAMPA membership" notifications before sending in my money.

[BYU]

Ordering plans from PAMPA is a bit of a pain. I wanted 2 sets of a plan, got it all ordered with card info and all that, submitted it and then a message pops up and says that they were sorry that I cancelled my order. So I did the same thing again, and after submitting, thank you for your order of 4 sets of plans. I didn't want sets of the same plan. I really prefer calling in to order stuff, then I usually get what I want and not something else. 

Yup, same here, sent money for 2 sets and got the grand prize of one set. (at least I got some plans for my money)

[john e. holliday]

Give them time guys.  Remember this is a volunteer group that do this for us.   Maybe some one needs to volunteer to help out a little more than complain.  My opinion.   

[Gerald Schamp]

Sorry, my bad. Kind of frustrating though. I have a hard time opening my email, so shouldn't complain I guess. My apologies.

[BYU]

Maybe some one needs to volunteer to help out a little more than complain.  My opinion.   

So who do I volunteer to?

[john e. holliday]

Try Bobby Hunt for one.

[BYU]

Try Bobby Hunt for one.

Will do!

[Dave_Trible]

Actually if you want to help out contact the senior officers,  Dennis Adamisin or Matt Neuman.  This MAY BE one of those jobs that have been looking for a new volunteer.  I don't think Bob has anything to do with the plans service.

Dave

[Bob Hunt]

Dave's correct; I don't have anything to do with the plans. He's also correct in suggesting that Dennis or Matt should be contacted.

I, as a PAMPA member, however, want to thank Eliott for offering to step forward to take on this responsibility. That's the volunteer spirit I have been writing about. Good on you Mr. Scott!   

Bob Hunt

[Matt Neumann]

Just as an update, Sean McEntee contacted me and I am looking into this and will see about getting an answer to the plans service.  I think one of the positions that we are looking for is for someone to take over this part of PAMPA. 

Unfortunately we are in a bit of flux at the moment.  Dennis' new hours at his job is 6pm to 6am, the graveyard shift and then some.  Plus it is 6 to 7 days a week.  Before that he was not sure if it would be the day shift, second shift or the graveyard shift.  He would not know until 6pm the day before.  All I can say is I hope he enjoys his job and is paid well.  But because of this he has not been able to keep up with things like he wants.  I have been trying to step in more and more to help out but getting in touch with him is a bit problematic at the moment. 

So give me a little bit,  I will try and get to the bottom of things.

[Brett Buck]

Unfortunately we are in a bit of flux at the moment. 

    The larger issue is that PAMPA needs people to step up. The volunteers are transitioning from the old guard to a new generation. I might be the tail end of the old guard, and I can tell you, I do not feel capable of jumping back into it (after having some *very unpleasant* tasks I had to attend to, one of which stands out as one of the more painful incidents I have experienced in any context).
     
   PAMPA has always run on the efforts, sometimes extraordinary efforts, of a very few people. In general, that's the way the membership wants it, and has rejected other models of operation on multiple occasions. But that means that a few people are going to have to come forward and replace those who move on. It was always my goal (and my former EC-mates) to make the various tasks require less extraordinary effort to make them less prone to burning people out, but that requires that everyone pitch in, otherwise, it's back to the secretary/treasurer and newsletter editor working 60-hour weeks at times.

     The other thing I discovered was that plenty of people want to be elected to an office, but not to actually stay engaged with the day-to-day operation or duties.  I don't use that as an accusation of anyone, but they like the idea of being an officer and are not prepared to deal with the actual work involved in it. And there's a lot of work - a tiny few people will require a disproportionate amount of your time to deal with, we all know who they are. I think this is probably better now than when I did it, but I figure that human nature hasn't really changed in the last 5 years.


    I think one of our mistakes over the years was to spend too much time dealing with trivial or unimportant supposed problems raised by these few people, sometimes to the detriment of the rest of the members. But it's very tempting to try to smooth things over or compromise, even when it's a compromise with something completely unreasonable. You only see the tips of the icebergs here.
 
    Brett

[Dane Martin]

Well, as a rookie to stunt, I don't know anyone personally in PAMPA. These issues make sense to me, though, having been the treasurer of one of the largest RC clubs around, the LVRCC for 5 years.
I wouldn't mind pitching in with some sort of volunteering. I work 50hr weeks, weekends off, 2 kids, wife, all the normal things we all have taking up our time. I can't say I have free time, but I wouldn't mind prioritizing some time to help with this or other PAMPA projects.

[Dave_Trible]

Thanks Dane!  Your situation describes most of us.  There are several ‘jobs’ needing to be filled.  I don’t have that list here and now but perhaps one of the others has and can post.  Otherwise talk to Matt (above).  If nothing else try your hand at judging a class you aren’t presently flying.  That helps a bunch and is also a great way to learn.  There will be help available.  Our core is hollowing out with age and we do need some new blood to begin taking the reins.  Thanks!!

Dave

[Fredvon4]

Been there done that too many times.... some volunteer positions I had to do for much longer than desired cuz no one would offer to take over and I could not stand the guilt of just quitting

The ideal is to have 3 or 10 volunteers TOO Many----perhaps something like the Plans fulfillment guy has three or more helpers to divide the work into

I quit my last club secretary position  because the same 4 guys did EVERYTHING for decades....and the arm chair captains NEVER thought the effort was good enough...I would rather work with cub or boy scouts instead of grumpy old men

A list of unfulfilled needs of PAMPA should be presented on all the various forums

[Matt Neumann]

A list of unfulfilled needs of PAMPA should be presented on all the various forums
[/quote]

That is a good idea and had thought of that myself.  I will see what I can do to fix that one.

Easy stuff first the harder may take a little longer.

[BYU]

Just wanted to give you a heads up that PAMPA products and plans service are transitioning to a new team. This means the stock of books, plans and products are being shipped to a new warehouse which will affect orders for a few weeks.

Once moved, there will be an easy way of ordering online and we plan on fulfilling your orders fast with no more than a 7 day turnaround.

Thanks for your patience

[Chris McMillin]

What's with the anonymous internet presence? Who are you? Why should I believe a promise from someone that doesn't even have an identity? 
 
Chris...

[BYU]

What's with the anonymous internet presence? Who are you? Why should I believe a promise from someone that doesn't even have an identity?
Chris...

Hi Chris

You dont have to believe anything.

Scroll up, read a few of the posts and you will get the background including names. If you’re pushed for time maybe take a good read of Bretts post, it underlines the challenges faced by PAMPA.

As you can read from the above posts I have volunteered to take over fulfillment of Products and plans as NO ONE ELSE has raised their hand. I will be supplying warehouse space free of charge and will be handling orders from PAMPA members to the best of my ability with my own time and resources as soon as the products show up, which should be in the next 3 or 4 weeks.

The post of products was up for offer to anyone who would take on the work and if you want the role I am sure Matt and the other folks on the new PAMPA team would consider any offer of free help very favorably. Certainly I have no problem stepping aside if you are volunteering.

If not, maybe you would stand for the District post that is open?

A list of posts is at this link

https://stunthanger.com/smf/open-forum/what-volunteers-are-needed-for-pampa/

[Sean McEntee]

While I applaud your willingness to step up and fulfill one of the vacant positions, what Chris is getting at is club officers—particularly the position you’re volunteering for—need to be reachable and contact information (name, address, phone number, email address, etc. ) is a requisite. A simple SN handle won’t suffice.  I ordered a set of Golden Falcon plans from the website back in October. While I understand the issues at hand and am willing to wait, getting them sooner than later would be wonderful.