AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 4

PRESIDENT'S POSITION

Seeking to understand

MARK BAKER
AOPA President and CEO

Staying true to the mission

AOPA PRESIDENT

Mark Baker has
been an AOPA
member since
1987. He was
named association
president in October
of this year.

4 | AOPA PILOT December 2013

ANY TIME you start something new, there's a lot to learn.
And I'm a big believer in learning first, then acting decisively. In my first months at AOPA, I spent my time doing
what I call "seeking to understand." I looked into everything. I asked a lot of questions. And I listened carefully
to the answers. To do the work of AOPA, and do it well,
I need to understand what matters to four key groups of
people: our members, our government decision makers,
our aviation community, and our own staff-the people
who get the job done day in and day out.
I had the chance to talk to hundreds of members
at AOPA's Aviation Summit and during the town halls
we hosted in Denver and Atlanta. I met hundreds more
members and nonmembers alike at events such as
NBAA's convention in Las Vegas, the Kansas Aviation
Expo, a seaplane splash-in at Virginia's Lake Gaston, a
pancake breakfast at Mecklenburg Brunswick Airport
in Virginia, and a gathering of Beechcraft enthusiasts
in Tullahoma, Tennessee. You asked a lot of questions-
although I did get in a few of my own-and it was clear
that you have strong opinions about what your association should be doing to protect and promote GA.
I also spent my first months meeting with elected
and appointed leaders who make decisions that affect
GA. Among them were the FAA administrator and more
than a dozen senators and congressmen. The legislators
I met play important roles in the GA caucuses. These are
the leaders who support GA, oversee our national transportation network, and decide how federal dollars for
aviation get spent-a good group to know.
Then there are the leaders of other GA organizations, including EAA, GAMA, NATA, NBAA, and more,
including past AOPA presidents Craig Fuller and Phil
Boyer. Plus there are aviation business leaders and
influential individuals who are dedicated to making
GA better. I listened to their insights and perspectives. I also spoke with reporters from all the major
general aviation media. It's their job to ask questions,
of course, but the types of questions they asked gave
me real insight into what they believe is important to
pilots. I took it all in and I learned a lot. The first and
most important thing I learned is simple but powerful: If
you fly, you can't afford not to be an AOPA member. Our
members have high expectations-and AOPA can and
must deliver. The way to do that is to align our resources
with our objectives-make sure we're putting our people and our funds where they do the most to support our

mission. All of which led me to make some early decisions. The first you already know about-the decision
to end AOPA's Summit in favor of regional events, so
we can reach more pilots where they fly. Since making
that announcement the number one question I've been
asked is, "Will you bring back the Frederick Fly-In at
headquarters?" Yes! We're working out the details now,
and we'll let you know more in the next few weeks.
We also need to do more to make our advocacy
operation pilot-centric. That means getting our staff
from headquarters into Washington, D.C., more often
so our legislative and government affairs teams can
work together seamlessly. It also means putting our
subject-matter experts-the pilots who know and
understand the issues at the most granular level-in
front of Congress and other decision makers more often.
It meant making some internal changes to the way those
departments are structured and staffed.
Then there's the long-term challenge of growing the
pilot population. This is a big issue for everyone who
cares about GA, and I am determined to make a difference. I made the decision to concentrate our resources
on programs that deliver tangible results, such as
expanding the network of flying clubs. We will also
collaborate with other organizations that have great
programs of their own, like EAA's Young Eagles.
And finally, I decided that we need to get back to
our roots and focus on the things pilots want and need
us to do. Next year, AOPA will celebrate 75 years. That's
no small achievement, considering that aviation has
been around for only about 100 years. When I came on
board at AOPA, I had the privilege of visiting Wings
Field, the airport where AOPA was founded, with one
of our longest-serving board members, Paul Heintz. I
was genuinely awed to see the table where a handful
of pilots turned their love of flying into an organization
that has protected GA for three-quarters of a century.
I am absolutely committed to staying true to the
mission set out by our founders in 1939. The world has
changed in the past 75 years and, with the exponential
growth of information and technology, it will change
far more in the next 75. But as long as people dream of
flying, AOPA will be around to protect and promote
GA-not only for ourselves but for the countless generations of pilots yet to come.
AOPA
EMAIL mark@aopa.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013

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