Our Ceiling; Their Floor.
It’s a beautiful thing to take what you have, polish it all up, show the next generation how to do it, then turn them loose to do it themselves, in their own way, but with all the support and foundation we have to help them succeed.
I’ve heard a few “old codger” attitudes that say “I worked hard to earn my success and learn my craft and this generation has no idea what we had to do. They don’t appreciate it or deserve it!” I’ve heard that plenty of times from photographers, who learned the “hard way” on film, only to see this generation [cluelessly] get good images because of the immediate results of digital cameras.
No, they wont ever have to ‘pay the price’ to learn the craft like we did.
-Suzette Allen
What a wonderful era to be a photographer! Technology has changed everything, largely for the better! And its no reason to get Bitter!
So tonight I was proud to be a part of an amazing organization with a visionary leader who has launched a Youth-Empowered Radio Control Airplane club, completely supported by our RC organization with a well-developed field, strong membership and a robust community connection. We are not handing over our reins to the kids, we are encouraging them to ride their own horse alongside us and we will help guide and show them the ropes as they ride. We started with 8 members about a year ago and we now have 56 members, ages 8-18.
At tonight’s Launch Dinner with the kids and parents and any AMOSRC members who wanted to come, we talked of parallel paths and independence and mentors alongside and it thrilled my heart to see the first 13 kids rush to the stage to sign up for the board roles — like secretary, event planner, safety officer, etc. Some of them were 9-10 years old! The existing board (adults) all showed up to partner with and mentor their youth equivalents in similar roles.
Every adult who spoke tonight raved about how amazing it would have been for them if there was an organization like this when they were kids…. yeah, we would have all been farther along if things were. like they are now! Some will say they will be ‘spoiled’ from everything being given to them instead of having to work hard for it….right?
OR maybe they will go so much farther and discover more that anyone in history because of the big first boost they got from us!
We’ll have to wait and see, as we help and encourage along the way. It’s likely to be messy at times (isnt it always with kids?) but the potential for exponential growth and maturity and leadership is huge! I can’t wait to see what they do.
And here is the video we showed tonight – footage from their first official gathering, just 4 months ago. it clearly shows the potential for leadership, mentoring and skill-building as they have fun and fly!
Im so thankful to be a part of this group, mentoring the kids, and modeling the spirit of excellence.
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