Foundation Executive Director
Hello, fellow Academy of Model Aeronautics aviators!
My name is Steve Haston, and I have the privilege of being your Foundation executive director. That’s correct; the AMA Foundation is yours. I am here to be a good steward representing our valued community of members.
Allow me to provide a brief introduction so we can get to know each other.
I have been married for 37 years. I have two sons and four grandchildren.
I am a licensed single-engine private pilot, a second-degree black belt in Okinawan karate, I play tennis and chess, and most importantly, I am a model aviator. I fly non-competition fixed-wing aircraft, RC helicopters, Free Flight models, and rockets.
My dad started my brothers and me in modeling. He built very detailed cars. We quickly moved to things that fly. From paper airplanes to rubber-powered models to Control Line. As my brothers and I got older, we were able to get started with RC. This was expensive for my parents, so if and when we crashed, we rebuilt and flew again, or if unrepairable, we had to save our money to get another aircraft.
I wish we had known about the AMA back then. I wonder how many of you, our members, were in my area and would have helped my brothers and me learn the hobby and sport.
This is among many reasons why the Torchbearer program is vital to the AMA Foundation.
In 1987, I became a firefighter for the city of Noblesville, Indiana. I spent 28 years there. I held the positions of hazardous materials coordinator, operations chief, ladder engineer, and grant coordinator. I also was a founding member of a 501c3 at the fire department. By the way, my wife was a 911 dispatcher for 24 years. She always knew what I was doing.
After being injured while fighting a two-story structure fire, I retired and took a position as the grant and volunteer coordinator and the UAS program manager for Hamilton County Emergency Management. I spent six years there serving the public and building programs that gave back to the community and saved lives. I had the opportunity to personally operate a quadcopter for 10 hours and send video directly to the U.S. Secret Service during a presidential visit.
I am very excited to be here at the AMA Foundation, joining you in preserving and promoting the hobby and community we are so passionate about. We all want to pass on our legacy and see our youth have the same modeling opportunities we had. They are the future of our beloved sport.
Would you consider joining the Torchbearer program today? Your contribution will support the Foundation and help model aeronautics flourish and support our youth, our museum, our scholarships, club support, and many other deserving and worthwhile programs.
Without your support, our programs would not exist.
