Happy 2014, everyone!
Wow.... What a year it's been. I cannot believe that 2013 has flown by as quickly as it has, and cannot believe that I'm coming up on 11 months as your Division Director. The New Year is a great time for personal and professional introspection, and, usually as a result, those darned New Year's Resolutions. Just about 11 months ago, Bob and I were ripped from our easy chairs while watching the Superbowl to talk to the VATNA Region folks about leading one of VATSIM's largest and most vibrant Divisions, VATUSA. They probably figured it was their only chance -- a few beers into each of us and some good old-fashioned Superbowl testosterone were in play.
In any case, it was pretty important that VATUSA be focused on maintaining, and growing, it's skill and ability as a Division to support VATSIM as a whole, primarily through keeping this hobby worthwhile and fun for our members. I already knew, but got to know 100 times better, that the VATSIM network (and VATUSA) cannot at all times be all things for everyone. We come from all walks of life, all ages, all experience levels, some like flying more, some like ATC more, and some love each equally. Just like in any community that survives as long as VATUSA and VATSIM does, there is pretty much a normal distribution of folks. Most are good, fun-loving, hobby loving folks that enjoy participating in the community, some go over and above by giving an extraordinary amount of themselves to help others succeed in this hobby, and there are a few rotten apples out there. And various things have come together to morph VATSIM over the years. When I first joined VATSIM in 2007, I was attracted due to the much higher quality, realism, and quantity of ATC and pilots on the network than existed on any other online network. It seems soon thereafter, the Zone went away and we got a lot more folks. Many of those couldn't even spell ATC, never mind know how to do or use it. The resultant drop in quality drove a lot of our good folks away, which is a real shame. But many stayed, and continue to fight, every day, to walk the razor blade between realism and fun. And we attracted hundreds, if not thousands, of new, well-qualified members that align very well with VATSIM's goals and ideals. It's a delicate balance; never perfect for everyone at all times, but generally good enough for most. That balance is what we strive to achieve, every day.
With that backdrop in mind, Bob and I were aligned coming out of the gate, and still are, on our vision for the Division:
- Instituting a staff that will help move the Division forward
- Focus on an innovative and more-standardized training program
- Retaining talent at all levels
- Growth
We've had mixed results in 2013. We quickly instituted a full VATUSA staff that is running and functioning on all cylinders. Yes, life does creep in and throw us for a loop sometimes, but those have, thankfully, been temporary speedbumps on the road to success. I pride myself on generally quick response to folks' needs, issues, queries, etc., and set this bar high for the staff as well. I think we do a pretty good job. Sometimes, though, we get reminded that this is a hobby. Family needs take precedence. Work/school take precedence. We've had staff members move halfway across the country and need a week to get internet back up. We had a staff member take a new job that required significantly more time and energy than before, and as a result, he had to step down from VATUSA HQ. And, just like work/school, sometimes we need a well-deserved vacation to recharge our batteries and let us hit the street running when we get back. Life happens, and we do the best we can. But I am proud of this staff and how it functions. We back each other up when we are temporarily sidelined. And I'm glad that the pencil and notepad theft has diminished to almost nothing (though I think that comes at a cost -- the raids on my liquor cabinet have been much more frequent and severe lately -- don't think I haven't noticed, guys!) .
Kent just came on board five weeks ago as VATUSA's newest Training Director. He has some great projects in the initial design phase that are aligned with the Division's goals of a more innovative and standardized training program, retaining talent, and growth. This is key, but it is also a HUGE undertaking, that will require significant open-mindedness, acceptance and SUPPORT from every ARTCC. 2014 will be a huge year in terms of further developing, testing and rolling out these projects. As preliminary designs are matured, more information will come, but major goals associated with these projects include overhauling our VATUSA training materials, standardizing basic GRP training enough that Instructors can effectively be shared as a Division-wide resource (this will help those ARTCCs with less-than-optimal training capacity), and speeding the time for new ATC students to obtain initial qualifications. Getting 22 ARTCCs aligned is like herding cats, so it's important that a lot of time, planning, input, corroboration and collaboration occur to ensure that this is a successful, aligned venture. As a result, and as I'm sure you can imagine, this will not be an overnight process. Nor will it be complete in 2014. But we look forward to moving forward, as it's the most important thing I believe VATUSA needs to do in 2014.
Events keep on trucking (never enough of them, in my mind, as the big ones are really awesome, and the smaller ones provide great opportunities for training and certification, seeing lesser-known airports, and are just plain fun). Matt Bartels does a great job of trying to facilitate fair events policies that promote as many events as possible, while not stealing traffic from other, existing, events. FNOs continue to be great fun, and one thing that I personally look forward to every week. I'm also happy to see more ARTCCs reaching out and asking for division-wide help early if their home staff can't bring enough quantity controllers to ensure a successful FNO. Many hands make light work. And the best FNOs are a careful balance of not overworking a few poor controllers to the point of burnout while at the same time not watering down ATC such that people aren't engaged enough to enjoy it. Having enough controllers on to keep facilities open for a long enough duration (one of my pet peeves) without controllers losing quality, going down the tubes, and burning out/logging off is important and benefits not only the morale of the hosting FNO, but improves the VATUSA FNO program as a whole. 2014 will see some more international FNOs and events, starting with the January 10th FNO, which is being hosted by VATPAC and features FNO in Australia! I don't know about you, but I'm already sick of all the cold, snow, and power outages, and am excited to be heading down under to Melbourne (YMML), Canberra (YSCB), Sydney (YSSY), Gold Coast (YBCG), and Brisbane (YBBN), where warm, summer temperatures, beaches, beautiful [scenery] and summer flying are going to be awesome.
Michael Martin continues to do yeoman's work supporting, fixing and improving VATUSA's ancient web infrastructure. It seems like every time we fix or improve something, we break something else that we didn't expect, so I apologize to those who've been affected by the bugs and gremlins in our code. The existing code has a lot of tentacles into VATSIM's code, and as they (and we) have made fixes and upgrades, the tentacles reach farther and sometimes get tangled. Michael does a great job of untangling and getting things back on track pretty quickly. And he has also secretly been working on VATUSA Data Services v2, a project I look forward to. With Michael's skill, I have no doubt that the code will work near-flawlessly. And, if it's broke, he can't blame anyone else! (just kidding!)
Ric Ruminski continues to provide effective and important communications support, though I wish the ATMs would use him more. He also continues to help me try to herd cats (the USA HQ staff) and keep me in line, all of which I appreciate.
I said before that many hands make light work, and thank goodness for the Air Traffic Directors, Tom Seeley, Mark Hubbert and Kevin Copeland. They work tirelessly to ensure alignment within their regions as well as with VATUSA as a whole.
And as they say, last, but certainly not least, Michael McClelland, our DCRM, is one USA staff member you don't ever want to meet. Or at least not unless it's on your own terms..... All kidding aside, Michael does a phenomenal job of being fair and just as our Conflict Resolution Manager. He walks a particularly sharp razor blade, ensuring a fair and impartial application of VATSIM's rules, helping to weed out those that are fundamentally incompatible with our community, and helping to keep this a fun place to be, work, and enjoy our hobby. I can't say enough about how good a job Michael does, and he is widely recognized across all of VATSIM as one of the best, if not the best, DCRM in all of VATSIM. We are all lucky to have him.
We are all lucky to have all the staff, at all levels, who put in just a bit (and in many cases, a lot) more to help new folks get acclimated and succeed, and to keep this hobby fun and enjoyable for all of us. Thank you for what you continue to do for VATUSA and all of VATSIM.
I know this is a long post, but I feel it's important for everyone to be able to see the landscape from this perspective once in a while, to know what's going on in the background, to help ensure alignment, and to know how hard so many work to make things better for all of us. We will continue to have challenges, both personal, professional and with the hobby. It's through the skill and grace of many, though, that we overcome these challenges, grow and improve. I wish you all the best for a safe, fun and enjoyable 2014!
