2021 NAMBA Nats Race Program

insurance, paid the bills, and had complete control of the NAMBA bank accounts. Myrtle Coad was the first NAMBA Secretary/Treasurer and kept all of the records. District Directors demanded to know how much money NAMBA had in the bank, how the money was spent, and who was the insurance company covering the organization. The Coads refused to provide financial reports or to divulge the insurance coverage they bought. Instead, the Coad’s felt that their word should be all that was necessary. Arguments between NAMBA Presidents, District Directors and the Coads became difficult. NAMBA leadership could not accept that there would be no financial information made available to the leadership. Don Coad began saying that he owned NAMBA and that he did not have to make any financial reports. Leaders like Stuart Russell and Wally Stewart, both NAMBA Presidents, and other NAMBA leaders such as Judy Prigley, Jerry Dunlap, and Rod Geraghty looked for another organization to serve the NAMBA members. They convinced the American Power Boat Association, APBA, to establish a new division for Radio Control model boaters. Soon, District 7, District 8, District 9, District 16, District 19, and District 20 joined APBA. Richard Hazelwood called me from his home in California. He told to not give up on NAMBA and asked me to renew my NAMBA membership. Like many other model boaters, I was a member of both organizations. There were hard feelings between NAMBA diehards and those supporting APBA. Friendships suffered and some boaters gave up supporting the hobby. Something had to be done bring us back together. As then NAMBA President, Wally Stewart, stepped away from NAMBA, Gary Johnson filled in to be the temporary president. APBA was a huge organization, financially strong, but model boaters were a minor part of the organization. NAMBA was entirely made up of model boaters, but the leadership could not get any information as to the insurance coverage or financial positions. As Gary Johnson was a temporary NAMBA President, he was followed by Presidents Jim Henry and Doug Twaits. They all supported the Coads. They also tried to move NAMBA into a more open organization. Don Coad continued to say he owned NAMBA and he did not have to report anything to the NAMBA membership. At that time I was appointed to be the NAMBA District 8 Director District 8 was predominantly APBA, so there were few members for me to lead. After Jim Henry finished his term as NAMBA President, Doug Twaits ran for the office and won. Doug was a true supporter for the Coads. He did realize that something should be done, but, nothing really changed. At that time APBA required that members sign liability waivers before they could race. This was a point many boaters opposed. Fortunately for me, I got into R/C model boats in the early1970’s and joined NAMBA early enough in its history to meet most of the founders. During the 1960’s, model boat racers on the West Coast either joined IMPBA, WAM or both. As the popularity and number of model boaters grew, some people saw the need for a new organization. Boat racers like Jim Whitlatch and WAM President Steve Muck were driving up and down the length of California from one race to another and had time to talk on those long drives. Don Coad and John Brodbeck registered the name, North American Model Boat Association and got it off the ground in the early 1970’s. Coad advertised the organization, took membership payments and arranged insurance coverage. With the new organization, NAMBA, as it was and has been called since, grew quickly. First in California, membership soon grew northward into Washington, and then began to spread east. The first NAMBA President, Gary Johnson, was an energetic leader, promoting the hobby and the organization. He had a ready laugh and a personable manner. Companies such as K&B, Octura, Futaba, Dumas and others brought out new products designed for the model boater. While my first proportional radio was a Heathkit that you had to put together using hundreds of pieces; I soon was using a brown box Futaba with the water resistant S-7 servos. That was the best in model boating technology at the time. By the time I joined NAMBA, in late 1976, my membership number was 1260. This showed that there had been a need for the new organization. I then moved to District 7, where racing was heavy. Back in the 1970’s Tulsa, Oklahoma hosted a NAMBA Nats. In 1981, Amarillo, Texas hosed the tenth NAMBA Nats. Amarillo was my first NAMBA Nats. It was there that I met Cathie Galbraith, Joe Monohan, the Hazelwood family, Jack Garcia, the Prigleys, Howard and Beverly Powers, and Tom Prezentka of Octura. Tom Prezentka was introducing his new propeller designs and asked me to try an X455 on my OPS 65 powered Steve Muck Streaker. Richard Hazelwood showed me how to read a glow plug. A model boater from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Garry Jeffery introduced me to single malt scotch whiskey. It was at the Amarillo Awards Banquet when NAMBA announced the NAMBA Hall of Fame and inducted the first members. Everything seemed to be going well for NAMBA in the early 1980’s. Membership was growing across the USA. However, there were some problems. Some of the District Directors began to question why the members’ funds weren’t being reported. Don and Myrtle Coad, called Mom and Dad by most of the members, controlled all of NAMBA’s funds. They arranged for NAMBA’s History as I See It - By Alan Hobbs 2021 NAMBA Nationals Page 62