​

  cancelled                            Remembering Bill Sampson this weekend.

October 16, 2022

​

Due to scheduling issues and such short notice, we are now CANCELLING Bill Sampson’s celebration of life ceremony until further notice. Thanks for your understanding.

​

Jimmy, Paul and Tom

​

______________________________________________________________________

 

​

Reminder of Flight Instructor’s Meeting

October 8, 2022

11 AM

Sparks’ Club House

 

When you pay it forward and teach someone to fly it’s very rewarding. The most rewarding part is you usually become friends with that student forever.

 

Be a founding member of the newly forming “Sparks’ Flying School”. You do not have to have been an instructor in the past. There are tools available via ama and our club that can get you up to speed and work with your student within weeks.

 

Our website will list you as a flight instructor, be it as a ground school, simulator, or full flight instructor. The club needs your help to advance our current dozen plus member’s that are on the student list. We can aid them in achieving their “Sparks’ Solo Badge”.

 

Our first flight instructor’s meeting will start a two-month process of building our flight school from the ground up. You can learn how to help by simply showing up at the Sparks’ clubhouse on Saturday at 11am. At the end of the two-month process you will receive a flight instructor’s hat and shirt.

 

See you there!

 

Paul

 

____________________________________________________________

 

Sparks General Meeting

October 1, 2022

 

                                                                                         Minutes of meeting.

 

Meeting was brought to order by Sparks' President at 10am, with 32 members present.

 

1..  .The first order of business was to place a nominating committee for our 2023 elections.

• Jaffray Stephenson and Gordan Hannah were voted on with unanimous yeas, no nays.

• Jaffray and Gordan will collect any nominees that want to run as an Officer or Board Member for our 2023 elections. Nominees must be members of good standing and with more than a year with as a Sparks’ member. The nominees should be able to have and use emails for communication with members.

• If you wish to run as an officer or board member provide Jaffray and Gordan with your name and the position you are running for.

• Jaffray contact number is 813-395-4954     Gordan’s number is 727-906-2072

 

2.  The second order of business was to vote on having or next two meetings at the Sparks’ Field.

• The vote was unanimous with all yeas and no nays.

 

3. The third order of business was to vote on extending the suspension of any pilot to fly’s their plane (any UMA) beyond the fence line between Sparks and the surrounding roads; from on 7 days to 30 days.

• The vote was unanimous with all yeas and no nays.

 

 

In general discussions we recognized the passing of fellow member Bill Sampson and that we wanted to have a fun fly day of recognition for Bill, aka Will, aka Sweet William, to be announced. It goes without saying Bill will be so missed at our club. In his memory we unanimously voted to add his name to our field name and it is now the “Hoffsetter/Sampson” Flying field.

Meeting was adjourned at 10:35 and flying resumed.

Thanks to all the members for attending.

​

Respectfully summited to the Sparks Members,

​

Jimmy Kline  (acting secretary)

​

​

______________________________________________________________________________________________

                                                                                                                                        September 29, 2022

                                                          Saturday's October Meeting is on....10AM

​

Ian has come and gone. Once again, we were spared a direct hit. I went to the field this morning and all is well. There was very little evident that we were so close to a major hurricane, with a minimal amount of water on the runway, easily gone by Saturday. 

​

That said, Saturday is on for our meeting at the field. Weather should be great for a day of flying til 10am then meeting and flying again. after the meeting. 

​

Meeting agenda for Saturday’s meeting.

​

The first order on business will be to elect and vote on a nomination committee. The committee will gather names during the month of October for our 2023 board of directors and officer.  These names will be offered to the club at our November 5th meeting, also at the club. December 3rd meeting will finalize the voting process, voting will be closed, counted and our new 2023 elected officials will be announced.

​

Item 2 will be to confirm our future meetings to be held at the field.

​

The 3rd item will be to vote for a new rule that would be placed on any member that fly’s their plane beyond the fence line at the roads edge. The vote will be for a one-month suspension for that violation.

There will be snacks after the meeting.

​

Paul and Tom

​

​

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

​

​

​

September 26, 2022

 

OCTOBER  NEWSLETTER:

 

Club meeting October 1st, at 10 am sharp!

 

This month’s newsletter is a week early to let all members know we have a meeting at the field at 10am this next Saturday Oct. 1st.  This “General Membership Meeting” will be at Sparks. The field will be closed for all flying during this meeting. Flying before and after the meeting is ok. After the meeting there will be snacks available. This meeting will be 100% agenda driven, meaning it will be on point and time managed.

 

                                                      Let’s stay on topic.

 

This meeting is the most important membership meeting of the year because we start the process of electing next year’s Sparks Officers and Members. Here is that process.

 

1.       Brief overview:   Oct. 1st, elect a “Nominations Committee” (generally it’s been someone that has been a member for a few years).  This committee gathers all members' names willing to serve on the board for 2023, their names will be presented to our membership meeting November 5th. Bob will put the nominated members on a ballot. These ballots and a locked “Absentee Box” will be available for your voting from November 5th till December 3th.

 

Please advise the committee if you are interested in serving.

 

2.  At the November 5th meeting, the committee will announce all the nominees’ names. The floor will recognize any additional nominees to be added. The nominees list will then be closed, locked and voted on as the final "2023 Nominees List".  Bob will create voting ballots for the nominees...  STARTING November 5th and ending at our membership meeting Dec 3, ballot voting will occur for all membership.

 

3.       The “Absentee Box” is located at the clubhouse. Members can vote until the Dec. meeting, where a cut off will be announced, ballots counted. And 2023 NEWLY ELECTED will be announced.

 

 

 

President – Paul Jones                                        P. Pres.    -- Tom Simpson

Treasurer - Bob Shadroui                                   Secretary - Micheal Velletti  (temporary)

Board       - Bill Drummond                                 Board       - Ken Elder

Board       - Jerry Thorton                                    Board       - Luis Espinosa  

​

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

EMAIL sent to all Sparks Members,                                                                                                   September 21, 2022

 

Ken Elder, Bob and I have been working or updating our old website since January of this year. We originally set out to fix ways to make the site current and to add a credit card system so members could pay their membership. What became obvious was the current web-builder was developed in 1999 and was not friendly to our today’s computer world and would be too difficult for us to pass on to a future web manager.  (Just not user friendly). 

 

We are now ready to present our new Wix based website. As you browse through the tabs and pages, please realize it's not 100%. However, it has been tested to renew our membership payments for both renewal and new memberships. 

 

NOTICE:  please read this entire "Join or Renew" tab off our website and it will guide you through the process. You still have to copy an application and give it to Bob along with you 2023 AMA  proof. 

 

                                             https://www.sparksrc.org/q-a

 

 

Going forward we will announce as other improvements become available, such as being able to fill out and send in the application form direct to Bob off the website.  We still have many tweaks and only hope our members will use Sparksrc.org as an information tool going forward. All coming soon.     

                                         

                                                 https://www.sparksrc.org/

 

Many thanks to Ken Elder for all his many hours in helping put together this huge improvement.

 

 

Paul, Ken and Bob

________________________________________________________________

​

This Saturday September 17th is our cookout and fun/fly. At this fun/fly there will be a very important announcement prior to eating that will affect all Sparks members, so please attend this event.

This fun/fly is focused on members bringing planes they just don't fly anymore and selling or trading them for something of interest. There will also be a 50/50 raffle to help the club pay for the hamburgers, hotdogs and Tom's famous beans. There will also be parachute drops, and many other activities. If you haven't been to the club in a while, now's the time to come on out and say hi, watch the planes, listen to the announcement and have great food and drinks. We will have fans so don't let a little heat keep you away. There may be another announcement regarding an event during the fun/fly this weekend so don't miss out  this weekend. 8am Eats at 11.  on this event. 

I want to take a moment to thank Tom and Bill for the efforts in making the cookout such a success. 

Paul, Tom, Bill and Mike

​

________________________________________________________________
 

SEPTEMBER update 09/09/2022

Saturday Sept. 10 Sparks fun-fly has been postponed to Sept. 17th.

Members, 
Due to the strong possibility of rain our scheduled fun-fly for this Saturday has been rescheduled for next Saturday Sept. the 17th. 

No one's good at predicting the weather so if the weather turns out ok for flying come on out anyway.

 

Paul, Tom, Bob S. and Jim

​

SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER:

SO WHAT'S happening this month? Sept. 10 is our Labor Day cookout. Bring your favorite dish if you want. We always pay for the food with a donation bucket and 50/50 raffles.

Something different about this cookout/fun fly. We have a number of members that have airplanes with nothing wrong with them. They are looking to sell these planes and need the money to upgrade their hangers with different planes. These planes are ready to fly, so bring your money.

More information is coming soon. 

 

Paul and Tom

AUGUST NEWSLETTER:

No club meetings in August

August 2. 2022

 

 

Spark’s July/August Newsletters

July was a great month if you like Hotdogs, Hamburgers and Watermelon.  We had a great turnout for our annual Swap Meet and Cook-Out. Lots of fun flying and at the same time making more room in our hangers. Continued thanks to Bill and Tom for the hot grill work.

 

Let’s talk about August…………

With it so hot at the field, many are not coming out. Just have to say if you can bare the heat the winds have been perfect. Just remember to drink water. 

We are in the process of finishing a board showing flying bounties, we should have it posted at the field this Month.

Jim Lewis…………Jerry and others have been changing out the table top carpets. Jim so many thanks to you for this and all the work you do for the club. Sometimes it’s not mentioned enough but what awesome work you do for us, it’s appreciated.

This month is (take it easy month) come out and fly with us……or just visit.

Hope to see you at the field

 

Paul and Tom 

_______________________

APRIL NEWSLETTER:

Sparks May-June Newsletter

NO Sparks meeting in June                                      

Let’s talk about May

We’re all looking forward to flying in better weather in June.

I said last month was T-Shirt and Hat month….

With the prices of everything so high it has been a challenge to find prices that make fundraising from apparel sales worth the exposure and effort. So, to offer our club members a break the club will pass on the shirts and hats at costs. The samples to the shirts listed below were cancelled because the price and quality of the shirts changed and I had to use another vendor.

Figure 1 Order Cancelled       Figure 2 Order Cancelled.

Our new vendor is Allen sporting. To help with cost they had to change the 5-color logo above while offering a premium shirt with the below logo and also could print on the back and still kept the cost under $15.

This is the order we just received. You’ll notice we have three colors in stock and all different sizes. If we don’t have your size, we can now order in quantities of 12 any size, any color going forward.

I will be at the field every day in June as long as we don’t get rained out.

The cost to our members is the same as the club cost of $15, the new hats are at $20 each. 

$20 Hats

 

$15 Shirts colors LT Blue, Lt Tan or white Front Back S                                                 

 

The thought was to get the shirts in the price range of local store t-shirts so we can buy our summer shirts from the club and end up with a premium shirt at the same time. 

_____________________________________________________

 

Let's talk about JUNE...

 

With the 4th of July approaching we are planning a Pre-4th event on 

JUNE 25TH..............DETAILS TO FOLLOW. 

 

Paul and Tom

________________________

MAY NEWSLETTER:

NO Sparks meeting in June                                      

                   Sparks May-June Newsletter 

Let’s talk about May

We’re all looking forward to flying in better weather in June.

I said last month was T-Shirt and Hat month….

With the prices of everything so high it has been a challenge to find prices that make fundraising from apparel sales worth the exposure and effort. So, to offer our club members a break the club will pass on the shirts and hats at costs. The samples to the shirts listed below were cancelled because the price and quality of the shirts changed and I had to use another vendor.

Figure 1 Order Cancelled TtT The      Figure 2 Order Cancelled.

Our new vendor is Allen sporting. To help with cost they had to change the 5-color logo above while offering a premium shirt with the below logo and also could print on the back and still kept the cost under $15.

This is the order we just received. You’ll notice we have three colors in stock and all different sizes. If we don’t have your size, we can now order in quantities of 12 any size, any color going forward.

I will be at the field every day in June as long as we don’t get rained out.

The cost to our members is the same as the club cost of $15, the new hats are at $20 each. 

$20 Hats

 

$15 Shirts colors LT Blue, Lt Tan or white

Front                                            Back

S                                                 

 

The thought was to get the shirts in the price range of local store t-shirts so we can buy our summer shirts from the club and end up with a premium shirt at the same time. 

_____________________________________________________

 

Let's talk about JUNE...

 

With the 4th of July approaching we are planning a Pre-4th event on 

JUNE 25TH..............DETAILS TO FOLLOW. 

 

Paul and Tom

______________________

APRIL NEWSLETTER:

MARCH NEWSLETTER:

First and foremost:  Please attend our CLUB MEETING Wednesday April 6th at 7pm sharp.

                      When:   This Wednesday evening, April 6h, at 7pm sharp.

                     Where:   Pinellas Park Library:  7770 52nd St N, Pinellas Park, Fl  33781

                                     Park Blvd. to 52nd St…..go north two blocks

Spark’s March/April Newsletters

Sparks RC had a busy month in March. We ended March with the McDill FLYFEST in Tampa. Many thanks to Mike Valletti, Secretary and Tom Simpson, Vice President for making the event a huge success. Not to go without mentioning Jim and Keefe for working our booth for multiple days also setting up our 10-table display, photos to come.  We had over a dozen volunteers for Sparks in all, so thank you for the great turnout.  FYI… we signed up two new members so far.

Let’s talk about April 16th     PIG ROAST…..

We are having a BIG PIG ROAST with hotdogs and hamburgers ON Saturday APRIL 16th. Eating at 11am. We’re working on having a big turn-out which will include many flying activities and as much food as ever, with deserts!!!   It’s going to be an extravaganza to remember!!

Included ON Saturday APRIL 16th a FUN-FLY……

We are having a traditional FUN-FLY, where we put our skills and our planes to the tests, LOL. Tom S. & Bill D, will be outlining the FUN FLY events in a future email.

Also included a FAREWELL TO AN AWESOME MEMBER.

Dave Outzs, born Aug 10, 1969 and passed on Feb 28, 2022 of this year. Dave was 60 when he passed from complications from a surgery. Dave is remembered by all as a generous and well-liked person. Dave would stop and help anyone that was in need. A long time RC pilot , club member and dear friend to all, his knowledge base was always available. His companion, Sapphire, and club mascot was taken by his neighbor, very kind, loving dog owners close to Dave and Sapphire.

Also Saturday APRIL 16TH A CLUB “EBAY TYPE AUTION” OF DAVE’S PLANES.

Bidding: Prices on planes are starting bids (40% of original value or in some cases less). That price is also (the buy it now) or price if you want it now. Any questions regarding the sale of planes contact Paul, Tom S. or Bill D.

 Paul and Tom

Remember: Please attend, let's have a great turn out….

Sparks Meeting this Wednesday April 6th 7PM.         7770 52nd St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781

                                                                                                  Park Blvd. to 52nd St, go north two blocks

_________________

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER:

February 2022 members update.

 We’re already into March, so what happened in February 2022, here’s a recap.

The next time you see Gordan Hannah, please share in my thanks to him for being a special member. We had a safety issue at the field regarding the fences at each of the pilot station’s not being firmly secured, that if one leaned on them they would fall over. Gordon said he had a fix that would not interfere with mowing. This is the special part…….not only was it a great solution, but he did all the installations and they work. I now see many pilots using the fence as a balance assist. For me it just adds to my confidence when flying.  Thanks, Gordan.

Why no cookout in February?..some might say.

There is always a grill for the members to use anytime. If you forgot to bring hamburgers, sausage or hotdogs there in the freezer and the catsup and mustard in the fridge. The Thursday afternoon gang already knows.

Oh, you didn’t know………. we have installed a club fridge for coffee creamer and comes with a coffee pot on top of the microwave, thanks to club management.   

These are all improvements from the club to you at no additional cost, all we ask is to keep it clean and donate a buck if you want.

Must mention: That about, two Wednesdays ago, I counted 22 pilots at the field. Attendance has been up; spirits are high and for those not attending well…you’re just missing out on a lot of fun.

Looking forward to March, Great News!

March 26th and 27th, Mike Valletti is doing an awesome job spearheading our booth setup a McDill’s airfest, check it out: https://www.tampabayairfest.com/    featuring the "Blue Angels"

So far, we have 20 members, manning 6 tables of static RC aircraft, and two big screen simulators. Not too late to join in. 

Also, remember March 12th cookout is at the field. See you there.  

 Paul

________________________

JANUARY NEWSLETTER:

January 2022 members update.

 

“2021 in the Rear-View Mirror”     January 2022 is here

On a brighter note, Happy New Year to everyone.

HERE WE GO 2022! The start of a new year and a new flying season! This is always an exciting time of the year as it holds so much promise and potential! Let’s make it a great one!

No amount of flying will improve your plane’s static score. Let’s see how many flyers get the 100 flights over Florida’s best RC air-field award.

GOOD NEW!

Thanks to Bill Drummond and his wife Ann, we now have a grill that is always ready for all our members.  The Thursday afternoon crowd has already put it to good use with hotdogs and sausage. Tom Sampson, our new VP, and Bill Drummond, our new Board Member, are planning a cook-out for all members and their families on the 15th, weather permitting. Expect a weather go, no go email confirmation by Wednesday the 12th. Again, thanks to Bill Drummond for helping put the refrigerator in the clubhouse.

We are already working with two other clubs to coordinate the combined purchase of hats and tee-shirts, if a combined order works better for us. We will keep you posted on this order, and take orders from you.

Thank you all for being great members, more important great friends.  It is truly an honor to be your President and I enjoy flying with you!  I hope you all had a great holiday season and you are as excited as I am about the New Year!

Get out to the field, be a friend, keep your wings level with the horizon and WATCH THAT PROP!

See you at the field!

Respectfully flying,

Paul 

 

President – Paul Jones

VP. Pres.    -- Tom Simpson

Treasurer - Bob Shadroui

Secretary - Micheal Velletti  (temperary)

Board       - Bill Drummond

Board       - Ken Elder

Board       - Jerry Thorton

Board       - Luis Espinosa

 

Safety Officer– Jim Jeswald

Chief Flight Instructor - Paul Jones (acting) Looking for replacement volunteer 

 

To all members... If you are not feeling well please stay home and get well. We don't want to infect other members with any bug. 

______2022_____________

2021

=====================================================================================================

With “2021 in the Rear-View Mirror”    

                                            January 2022 is here...   On a brighter note, Happy New Year to everyone.

HERE WE GO 2022! The start of a new year and a new flying season! This is always an exciting time of the year as it holds so much promise and potential! Let’s make it a great one!

No amount of flying will improve your plane’s static score. Let’s see how many flyers get the 100 flights over Florida’s best RC air-field award.

GOOD NEWS!

Thanks to Bill Drummond and his wife Ann, we now have a grill that is always ready for all our members.  The Thursday afternoon crowd has already put it to good use with hotdogs and sausage. Tom Sampson, our new VP, and Bill Drummond, our new Board Member, are planning a cook-out for all members and their families on the 15th, weather permitting. Expect a weather go, no go email confirmation by Wednesday the 12th. Again, thanks to Bill Drummond for helping put the refrigerator in the clubhouse.

We are already working with two other clubs to coordinate the combined purchase of hats and tee-shirts, if a combined order works better for us. We will keep you posted on this order, and take orders from you.

Thank you all for being great members, more important great friends.  It is truly an honor to be your President and I enjoy flying with you!  I hope you all had a great holiday season and you are as excited as I am about the New Year!

Get out to the field, be a friend, keep your wings level with the horizon and WATCH THAT PROP!

See you at the field!

Respectfully flying,

Paul 

 

President – Paul Jones

1. Pres.    -- Tom Simpson

Treasurer - Bob Shadroui

Secretary - Dave Outzs

Board       - Bill Drummond

Board       - Ken Elder

Board       - Jerry Thorton

Board       - Luis Espinosa

 

Safety Officer– Jim Jeswald

Chief Flight Instructor - Paul Jones (acting) Looking for replacement volunteer 

 

=================================================================================================

Saturday January 8th 

Today was a very special day at the Sparks field.

Happy Birthday William Simpson.

 

Our Safety Officer, Jimmy Jeswald, presented an awesome birthday cake, as the Member's sang “Happy Birthday” to long time Member William Simpson.  It was a very special moment and was enjoyed by all.

It was awesome to see all of William’s RC buddies let him know how special he is to all of us. Much more than just another member……….HE IS A TRUE FREND.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLY

Another Great Day and Sparks!

=================================================================================================

To current Sparks members and officers.

 Tue, Jan 11, 2:33 PM

  

I did not want another week to slip by without setting up our first 2022 officer's meeting. I want this and all meetings to be agenda driven, so we all know what the meeting's agenda is about, where, when, how long. Meetings that stay on agendas tend to stay on topic and time. After talking to most of you, I would like to do the following.

 

Let’s have the first meeting at the Sparks field at 12pm on the 16th of January. Spatial distancing will be required and the meeting will be held outdoors, at the two electrical tables, closest to our club house. Masks are always your call.

MEETING AGENDAS…….

1. Time and place for future officers’ meetings.

2. Time and place for our first General Membership Meeting.

3. Cook-outs 

4. American Flag pole by club house w/light.

5. Discuss old business, to include IRS 501C (7).

6. Club needs list.

7. Suggestion Box comments (if any).  Remember that comes from our membership)

8. Club Safety.    e. g.  (Member falling on his plane at a pilot station, and what we can do to help fix a safety problem).

9.    

Agenda lists should take 30 to 45 minutes. If we start running past this time, we are always prepared to move an agenda to the next meeting’s agenda list. This way the meeting will be limited and we should stay on topic.  NOT staying on point is what has interfered with flying times in the past, causing members to be unhappy with meetings at the field. Meeting time limits are required to keep everyone happy.

We are required to have at least one meeting per quarter, four annually, and will be strictly directed by a meeting's agenda.

Finally, we can never please all the people all the time, but we can please some of the people some of the time.              John Lydgat

Fun flying,

Paul    

==================================================================================================A