A Reminder for PRA Chapters

[Dean_Dolph]

This is just a reminder for the PRA chapters that there will be a chapters representative meeting at Mentone on Thursday 8/2/12 from 5-6:00 p.m.

All chapters should have a member attend.

PRA board member Doug Barker will be the meeting moderator. This gives the chapters some 'face' time with a board member(s) and an opportunity to voice observations, concerns and suggestions.

[Stan V]

Dean, Can a PAR (non chapter) member attend ? I'll understand if there is'nt room.

[jcarleto]

Stan,

You need to join Peach State. I know it is a bit of a hike to Rome, but it is only once a quarter.

[Stan V]

I've thought about it but understood you to be an EAA chapter. I fly from the Monticello airport (GA06) and don't know of a PRA chapter anywhere in the state. I don't really care to rejoin EAA.
Thanks for the invite. Stan

[jcarleto]

Stan,

We are PRA Chapter 56. We share meeting location facilities for our meetings are KRMG with EAA Chapter 709, but are not an EAA Chapter.

We are listed on the PRA website under Georgia and have been for as long as I recall. I am curious as to the source of your misinformation.

[Dean_Dolph]

Originally Posted by Stan V

Dean, Can a PAR (non chapter) member attend ? I'll understand if there is'nt room.

Good question, Stan and I'm not sure I'm the one to answer. But, I don't think anyone is going to be checking credentials. However, there is usually a check to see who is from what chapter so that might prove to be an uncomfortable moment for a non PRA member.

There is a general membership meeting Thursday 8/2/12 at 6:00 p.m. that probably is more appropriate for non members to attend.

Edit: Whoops, (it seems I'm having more of those lately!) I believe you are a PRA member so my comments may or may not apply.

[All_In]

I'll be there for PRA 31!!

[Stan V]

Jon, I had read that you were meeting in an EAA facility and assumed you were an EAA chapter. My mistake, Please bring along an applacation to Mentone and sign me up.

Dues paying PRA member.

[jcarleto]

Stan,

Ahh..thank you. I'll have to work on making that clear in future announcements.

I will not be going to Mentone, but you are welcome at any of our future meetings and get-togethers. We are pretty informal. Shoot me an email address in a PM and I'll set you up with a logon to our website.

[Stan V]

Jon, PM is on it's way, Thanks.

[PW_Plack]

Originally Posted by jcarleto

Ahh..thank you. I'll have to work on making that clear in future announcements...

Jon, it might also dispell some confusion if you promoted your chapter status and the PRA logo on your site with a link to pra.org. I finally found a little PRA logo on the "Events" page, linked directly to convention info, but it would be easy to miss the fact that you're even affiliated. It was the second or third look before I saw the PRA note in the bottom of your logo, due to its small size.

The news and announcements mention EAA several times (including that an EAA chapter sponsors Wrens) but PRA not once.

PRA provides links to all its chapters if they're known to still exist. (Sometimes, even if they're not!) A reciprocal link in a prominent place is good form.

[jcarleto]

Originally Posted by PW_Plack

PRA provides links to all its chapters if they're known to still exist. (Sometimes, even if they're not!) A reciprocal link in a prominent place is good form.

I think my best reply comes from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: "I finally found the plans in the back of a locked filing cabinet in the basement in a disused lavatory that had a sign on the door saying: Beware of the Leopard." ...by comparison, I believe the PRA links on peach state, while admittedly understated, are at least as visible as the chapter links on the PRA site, if not more so. You will recall that Stans original assertion of no knowledge of a PRA Chapter in Georgia was despite the listing on the PRA site.

There is a link to the PRA with the PRA logo at the bottom of the page on Home->Useful Links (http://peachstaterotorcraft.org/home_link.shtml). There is also a link describing the Mentone event with the PRA logo at the bottom of the the Gyro Events page (http://peachstaterotorcraft.org/event.shtml). In addition, our local chapter logo, presented on our Home page displays "PRA CHAPTER 56," though it is admittedly small. The site SEO configuration is also structured to direct Popular Rotorcraft Association related queries to the site where practical. The peach state site does not mention any association with the EAA other than our sharing of a meeting place. There are no links to the EAA national site and there are no plans to link to the Oshkosh event or "Sun 'n Fun." The Wrens (formerly Rotors Over Carolina) event, while a Chapter 13 gyro event, is an EAA sponsored even in much the same way as Bensen Days was for many years, for insurance purposes. While that may be uncomfortable from a PRA prospective, it is factual.

My original design for the peach state site included a dedicated PRA section with links to a variety of features and information housed on the PRA site. Unfortunately, the current state of the PRA site and problems with some data quality therein made that an impractical goal at the moment.

The intent of the site is a focus on local and regional events. We link to a lot of EAA sites because a lot of local EAA chapters have breakfast fly-ins here on weekends. They are good short-range gyro destinations. The PRA Chapters tend to be out of normal gyro flight range. We do link to the Louisiana and Carolina chapter sites and will link to Florida if Sunstate puts another site together. I believe linking to sites out of our immediate area is the function of a national site rather than a regional site.

[jcarleto]

Incidentally, Ron Iaconis will be representing Chapter 56 at the Mentone Chapter meeting.

[jcarleto]

Well, I must amend my previous statement with my apology, Paul. Clearly, I am not up to date.

I have looked at the current (as of July 22, 2012) iteration of the pra.org site and find that the listing of PRA chapters has now been "un-hid" and appears on one first level menu as well as at other various menu depths. It also no longer has the formatting of a ransom note cut out of magazine letters. The formatting is now completely gone in the listing along with all the hrefs and mailto links. But, it is at least consistent. It is unfortunate that some of the line feeds also disappeared, making some listings (like Peach State) difficult to decipher, but it is more visible now, and my Hitchhiker's Guide analogy is no longer appropriate.

I apologize.

[PW_Plack]

Jon, no apology needed. It wasn't so much about the links as the visuals anyway. I just felt it would be easy to miss the connection, and make the mistake Stan made. (He didn't even say whether he saw your site.)

Back on track, Doug Barker, who's hosting the meeting, is Chapter 2's president. If another representative from our chapter is wanted to free him to be the moderator, I'll be there.