AKA Leadership
Is composed of Elected Officers and Regional Directors, Elected Committees, which are established by the association by-laws and elected by the members attending the Annual Meeting, Standing Committees, which are established by the association by-laws and appointed by the President with the advice of the Directors and/or members, and Special Committees, which are established at the discretion of the President or by majority vote of the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, or the membership.
Executive Committee
| Office | Name | Phone | |
| President | Mike Dertien | (616)460-3983 | president@aka.kite.org |
| 1st Vice-President | |||
| 2nd Vice-President | Craig Rodgerson | (810) 240-1325 | vp2@aka.kite.org |
| Treasurer | Cecilia Dallmer(PA) | (215) 722-4092 | treasurer@aka.kite.org |
| Secretary | Ronda Brewer (OR) | (541) 992-2890 | secretary@aka.kite.org |
| Director At Large | Geoff Bland | (757) 894-8345 | dal3@aka.kite.org |
| Director At Large | Rich Cairncross | (610) 717-6720 | dal4@aka.kite.org |
| Director At Large | Lindsey Johnson (OR) | (541) 992-2886 | dal5@aka.kite.org |
Regional Directors
| Office | Name | Phone | |
| Gary Engvall (RI) | (401) 942-3606 | rd1 @aka.kite.org | |
| Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Upstate New York, Rhode Island, Vermont) |
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| Region 2 (New Jersey, Downstate New York, Pennsylvania) |
Ben Huggett (PA) |
(267)690-3589 | rd2@aka.kite.org |
| Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia) |
Jon Burkhardt | (240)481-3309 | rd3 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico) |
Russell Schwarz | (704) 560-1316 | rd4 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 5 (Michigan, Ohio) |
Lee Ann Pickens | (937) 987-9591 | rd5 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 6 (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin) |
Dale Bowden (WI) | (715) 325-2826 | rd6 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 7 (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah) |
Sherman Myers (UT) | (801) 216-4722 | rd7 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 8 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) |
Jamie Hawkins | (713) 305-6777 | rd8 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 9 (Idaho, Montana, Oregon) |
Glen Rothstein (OR) | (213) 407-3515 | rd9 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 10 (Alaska, Washington) |
Pamela Knight (WA) | (253) 841-7104 | rd10 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 11 (N. California, Nevada) |
Paul Woodard | (707) 298-9210 | rd11 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 12 (Arizona, S. California, Guam, Hawaii) |
Don Fox (CA) | (619) 200-1206 | rd12 @aka.kite.org |
| Region 13 (International) |
Gary Mark (ON) | (647) 299-0822 | rd13 @aka.kite.org |
| Executive Director | Daniel Prentice | (609) 755-5483 | xd@aka.kite.org |
| Kiting Editor | John Lutter | (321) 222-0711 | kitingmagazine@gmail.com |
| Webmaster | John Lutter | (321) 222-0711 | webmaster@aka.kite.org |
AKA Committees
Elected, Standing, and Special Committees assist AKA in its regular operations. All committee members must be members of the Association.
ELECTED COMMITTEES
Established by the Association’s by-laws and elected by the members attending the Annual Meeting.
Nominations: nominations@aka.kite.org
Chair: Mike Dertien
Elections: election@aka.kite.org
Chair: Lindsey Johnson
STANDING COMMITTEES
Established by the Association’s by-laws. Members are appointed by the President with the advice of the Directors and/or members.
Ways and Means: waysandmeans@aka.kite.org
Chair: Cel Dallmer
Promotion and Membership: xd@aka.kite.org
Chair: Daniel Prentice
Industry Liaison:
Chair: Mary Ann McVay
Club Liaison: mikedallmer@verizon.net
Chair: Mike Dallmer
International: region13@aka.kite.org
Gary Mark (Canada)
Festivals and Competitions:
- Kitemakers’ Competition (subcommittee): kitemaking@aka.kite.org
Co-chairs: Jon Burkhardt, Karen Burkhardt - Fighter Kite Committee (subcommittee):Chuck Jones, Co-Chair:cjonesfly@mac.com
Cat Gabrel, Co-Chair: kitekits.com
Dave Young, Co-Chair: fighterkitedave@icloud.com - Sport Kite Competition (subcommittee): sportkite@aka.kite.org
Chair: Jesse Kapsten - Annual Meeting (subcommittee): convention@aka.kite.org
Chair: Phillip Whitaker
Archives and Records: archive@aka.kite.org
Chair: Daniel Prentice
Education and Public Service:
Chair: Geoff Bland
SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Are established at the discretion of the President or by the majority vote of the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, or the membership.
By-Laws: bylaws@aka.kite.org
Chair: Ted Manekin
Fli-Tech:
Chair: Geoff Bland
Kite Aerial Photography:
Chair: Jim Powers
Kites for Kids: Kitesforkids@aka.kite.org
Chair: Daniel Prentice
Webmaster: webmaster@aka.kite.org
Chair: John Lutter
Website Committee: websitefeedback@kite.org
Chair: Jon Burkhardt
More on Leadership
What is a Region?
There are thirteen geographical regions represented on the Board of Directors. The United States and its territories are divided into twelve Regions approximately equal in voting population. Members residing outside of the United States and its territories shall constitute an International Region. (Region 13) Each Region is represented on the AKA Board by one elected Regional Director.
What is a Regional Director?
Regional Directors represent the members in their geographical area. They vote on Association policy issues, attend local events, chair AKA committees, and prepare reports for the Kiting newsletter. Four of the twelve Directors are elected each year so that terms overlap.
How to run for AKA Office?
All officers of the Association shall be members of the Association, twenty-one (21) years of age, and shall be bonded.Elections are held by mail each fall, and the results are announced at the Annual Meeting.
the president is elected annually by the general membership to a one-year term.
Regional Directors, who must live in the region they represent, are elected to three-year terms by members from those regions.
Elections for Directors from regions:
- 1, 2, 3, and 4are held in years divisible by 3 with no remainder(2019)
- 5, 6, 7, and 8are held in years divisible by 3 with a remainder of 1(2020)
- 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13are held in years divisible by 3 with a remainder of 2(2018)
The Executive Committee is nominated and elected by the members attending the Annual Meeting.
Nominations for President and Regional Directors must be submitted to the Nominations Committee no less than 60 days before the Annual Meeting.