POSITION REPORT
Tom Poberezny
President, EAA
The “Oshkosh” Template
Continuing our discussion
Over the past couple of months, I’ve talked about EAA and its future. I’ve referred to the
fact that EAA is aviation’s “big tent,”
which is one of our strengths…diver-sity has become an important part
of EAA. EAA members are passionate
about aviation, with their interests
spanning a wide spectrum of the
aviation community.
I also introduced the concept of the
“Oshkosh template.” The magnitude
and breadth of Oshkosh, both from
a perception and reality standpoint,
is broader and deeper than the manner in which EAA is viewed. EAA’s
future is making “Oshkosh” available 365 days a year in terms of our
publications (print and electronic),
programs, services, and activities.
The success of AirVenture Oshkosh
is well-documented. It represents
who we have become and who we
will be in the future. As I think about
EAA’s future, it’s not so much changing who we are, but rather embracing
who we have become.
There are many ways that we com-municate…Sport Aviation and EAA’s
many print publications are at the
core. EAA chapters are outstanding venues for sharing information
and interaction, in other words, the
essence of social community on a
local basis. “Oshkosh” brings members and enthusiasts from all over the
world together to share knowledge
and build relationships.
In today’s world, electronic communications have become increasingly important to the way that EAA
provides service to members. In 2008,
there were more than 15 million vis-
its to EAA’s websites, and more than
3 million videos were viewed through
our online offerings.
But the best is yet to come.
Beginning next month, and continuing through 2009, we will be introducing an exciting and new Internet
experience called Oshkosh365. In
simple terms, this will provide an
online community for EAA members.
Beginning next month,
and continuing through
2009, we will be
introducing an exciting
and new Internet
experience called
Oshkosh365.
EAA has always been a social organization with members willing to share
their passion, knowledge, and experience with others. Tens of thousands
of friendships have been formed
through the different methods we’ve
had available such as chapters, divisions, AirVenture Oshkosh, and fly-ins. Our goal with Oshkosh365 is to
capture this spirit and camaraderie in
a year-round, online environment.
So what can you expect to receive
from this new member benefit? There
will be aviation message boards where
members can discuss and debate the
latest news and events, ask questions,
and share information. You will be
able to build a “social network” of
the friends you have made through
aviation and the aircraft you have
built, flown, or in some way encoun-
tered. It will be possible to create
groups around common interests in
aviation, such as type clubs, builders
groups, flying clubs, and of course,
EAA chapters. The opportunities and
boundaries are unlimited.
