WORLD WIDE WEB — I am honored and humbled to be the eighth President of the organization that has been such an important part of my life for so long. I have been a member of our National Association of Rocketry and an active rocket flier continuously for over 45 years and I count among you its members many of my closest friends.

My NAR experiences have given me skills that have served me well in my professional career with the U.S. Navy, and they have taken me to places and events that are among my best memories. I feel a deep obligation to this organization to take my turn doing the work of “paying forward” to ensure this kind of opportunity remains available to all of you and to future members of the NAR. I will always give the NAR and you its members my best effort.

My years in the NAR and especially my last 14 years as its Vice President have made me appreciate how diverse the interests and personalities of its members really are. You range from youth group leaders and members to hard-core model rocket competitors to Level 3 high-power fliers. It’s all good, and it all belongs in our NAR. As NAR members, we share a fascination with all things that fly vertically on a roaring rocket motor. Regardless of the size or power of the rocket, every flight fascinates us. We are all rocketeers together, and proud of it.

As your President I will be guided, and will lead the organization, by three principles that I believe represent the core of what the world’s first and best sport rocketry organization is all about.

First, BE SAFE. Our hobby is inaccurately perceived by the public as “dangerous” despite over 500 million flights that have proved exactly the opposite. We battle this perception almost every time we try to get a new launch site or start a new youth rocketry activity. The NAR’s superb 50-year safety-leadership reputation with public safety officials is the most powerful single tool we have for sustaining the hobby’s future. One bad accident or irresponsible action could reverse the hard work of generations of NAR volunteers and jeopardize the reputation and insurance that is critical to our launch site access. Our Safety Codes are based on excellent engineering analysis and lots of experience. We must all live by them, every flight. We must simply not fly any rocket whose flight might present a safety hazard to people or property. The desire to fly must never supersede the obligation to do so safely.

Second, HAVE FUN. This is a hobby, a discretionary activity that we pursue for recreation and friendship. If you let a difference of opinion about some aspect of this fun activity become a basis for anger directed at a fellow rocketeer in person or online, lighten up! If you cannot, you should think about finding another hobby so the rest of us can enjoy this one. And if you see a fellow NAR member doing all the hard work in running a section or a launch and not having the opportunity to fly, lend him (or her) a hand so they can have a chance to have some of the fun that sustains us all in this hobby.

Third, PAY FORWARD. This is what our late founder, G. Harry Stine, used to tell those of us who asked how we could ever repay him for all he had done to make such a difference in our lives. Rocketry is a craftsmanship hobby in a society where such hobbies are increasingly rare. Yet as every public launch we do demonstrates, our hobby still has magical appeal to those who experience it. Each of us should feel an obligation to spread the word about the rewards of rocketry and the benefits and camaraderie of the NAR, and to spend at least a little of our rocketry time helping or teaching others who want to try the hobby. If we do not do this, where will the next generation of rocketeers and NAR members come from?

I will do my best to ensure that this Association effectively and efficiently delivers the services that you most value, within these guiding principles and within the limits of the resources of the dues and volunteer labor that you, our members, provide. I value your suggestions on what we should do in the future and your feedback on how we are doing in the present. Please contact me at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it if you have either. I particularly want to collect both feedback and suggestions widely and systematically here at the beginning of my tenure, so I ask every NAR member to help me by taking a new online survey on how we are doing and what is important to you. The survey is at: http://www.nar.org/membersurvey.

Finally, I want to recognize and thank Mark Bundick for his extraordinary service and contributions to the NAR. Mark has spent a record 32 years as a member of the NAR Board of Trustees, including 14 years as your President. With his business management skill he has built a fully solvent and soundly managed organization, and the hobby’s best magazine. He has been the driving force in our hobby’s long legal battle against the unjust regulation of the BATFE. Service to the NAR and to its members has been his passion for his whole adult life. Next time you see him at an NAR event, please shake his hand and thank him for what he has done for all of us.

Trip Barber, NAR 4322

07-29-2008 01:34 AM  #1
UncleVanya If pigs had fins...   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 4072	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber Nice survey, it was comprehensive and touched most contention points. The survey had good options for leaving comments and a free form option at the end. Well done NAR! Now execute on my responses before anyone else takes the survey and my voice is lost in the crowd!

07-29-2008 02:13 AM  #2
Just Jerry Freeform rockets advocate   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 1419	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber Quote: Nice survey, it was comprehensive and touched most contention points. The survey had good options for leaving comments and a free form option at the end. Well done NAR! Now execute on my responses before anyone else takes the survey and my voice is lost in the crowd! Ditto. I have flown rockets with Trip Barber. He is a good man and has the capacity to be the most well respected NAR President in history. He is already the most effective NAR administrator. Outreach matters. I for one hope he treats the BATFE as if they are the Soviets. They are. Jerry

07-29-2008 02:47 PM  #3
ksaves2 Certified Level Two   Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 31	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber Quote: Ditto. I for one hope he treats the BATFE as if they are the Soviets. They are. Jerry Amen brother. Kurt

07-29-2008 08:00 PM  #4
FredT New Member   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 2	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber Quote: I have flown rockets with Trip Barber. He is a good man and has the capacity to be the most well respected NAR President in history. He is already the most effective NAR administrator. Jerry NAR members everywhere rejoice; Jerry approves our new president! ...Fred

07-29-2008 08:08 PM  #5
Just Jerry Freeform rockets advocate   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 1419	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber It's something of a leading indicator. People usually don't find out or agree I am right until much later. Literally. Jerry

07-29-2008 10:01 PM  #6
mrbusdriver Certified Level One   Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 28	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber Best wishes, and fair skies, to both Mark and Trip.

07-30-2008 01:15 PM  #7
kjgood15 New Member   Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 8	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber As one who recalls the tough early days of tension and conflict between TRA (back to when it was just the Tripoli Rocket Club) and NAR, I can attest to how infinitely better it has been to be able to work cooperatively across our organizations for the better interests of the rocketry community. Since I became president of TRA a few years back, I had the opportunity to work directly with Mark Bundick on many issues, and those interactions were effective, professional, and friendly, even if we disagreed (and those occasions were rare). I have had fewer opportunities to work with Trip so far, but I know him, like him, and highly respect him. He and I had a chance to talk this week, after his first day as NAR president, and I have high confidence we will continue the positive interaction that Mark and I enjoyed. TRA and NAR are distinct organizations with their own different aspects, but we both serve the interests of rocketry enthusiasts. We should always strive to use our combined strength and common interests to achieve common goals. Mark should be thanked for his years of hard work and tireless service as president of NAR. And congrats to Trip on his new job! Ken Good

07-30-2008 01:59 PM  #8
UncleVanya If pigs had fins...   Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 4072	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber RE: Ken Good - Thank you for taking the time to post here. It is a rare treat to see NAR or TRA officials post in this forum. RE: Trip and Mark - Mark served NAR well and I wish him the best. I have been publicly critical at times but there are no perfect people and Mark leaves a good legacy. Trip was quite approachable at NSL 2008 and I hope that he will improve on the good job that Mark did. It is much easier to build from a good foundation and so Trip has a head start over where Mark was in his first year. I hope that given Trip's long tenure as VP there will be little stumbling during the transition - however large Mark's shoes are to fill.

07-30-2008 06:51 PM  #9
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 4557	Re: Message from new NAR president Trip Barber Quote: RE: Ken Good - Thank you for taking the time to post here. It is a rare treat to see NAR or TRA officials post in this forum. Aye, it is a rare treat and one that I will work to insure continues. I want to work toward an environment where our organizational leadership feels comfortable contributing here, as I know the readership will greatly appreciate it. It will require some work on our part, as system moderators, and your part, as users, to make them feel welcome. Some of it will be overcoming past bahavior and practices that may have discouraged them from participating, but it needs to be done as we all will benefit. My hat is off to Mark for so many years of dedicated service and I congratulate Trip as his successor and wish him many years of greatness. Good luck to all.