Somewhere around the middle of
August, 1995, I received a phone call from Mike Hellmund,
and he said “Congratulations”. I thought for a moment,
and not remembering winning the NAR “C” Division National
Championship, I inquired “What For?”.
It was then that I learned that
“C.R.A.S.H. Landings” had won the NAR’s 1995 L.A.C. Award
for the year’s best newsletter. This was totally
unexpected (for me, anyway), as there are many fine
newsletters published by rocketry groups around the
country. We had been runner-up in 1993, but I had felt
that winning the top honors unlikely. Still, that moment
has arrived, and It makes the efforts of all that
contributed that much more worthwhile.
There are many who deserve credit for
this award, beginning with Larry Weber, who started the
whole thing in 1988. Dave Nauer was a great help with his
updates on COSROCS events, and Kevin Kuczek’s technical
and Presidential articles were both entertaining and
educational, as were Ed O’Neill’s Kit reviews. Others
that have contributed to the year’s efforts were Dario
Brisighella, Pat Michl, and Dave Gianakos, and there were
many more in the preceding years that made this
possible.
You’re probably asking by now “What
did we win, anyway?” Along with the prestige and
recognition the award brings, we were the caretakers of a
rather large traveling trophy, and a mysterious box that
contains memorabilia from every section that has won the
award before. The trophy Is labeled the “North American
Rockwell Trophy”, but the origin of this eludes me. This
award began in 1969 by the NAR’s Leader Administrative
Council or L.A.C. (and donated by the Rockwell company),
which was responsible for developing a number of
educational and technical rocketry related programs.
The LAC award, as it’s now called,
has some rules that accompany it. Only members of the
winning section may learn what items accompany the
trophy, and (I assumed) we couldn’t keep any of them! We
were entrusted with its care for the next year and passed
it on to the 1996 winner. Being passed along for 26 years
has taken its toll on the trophy, and I think only the
traditions involved (of which I’m not totally familiar)
have saved it from being replaced by a newer one. In
spite of its used appearance, it’s a great honor our
section can be proud of!
By Bruce