One of the 177 AOPA members who turned up for the Board of Trustees annual meeting in Frederick, Maryland, on Tuesday (May 12) was former CEO Mark Baker, who says the organization’s best years are ahead of it. Declining membership, financial issues, and the firing of his successor Darren Pleasance were all topics discussed at the meeting, which went longer than scheduled after incoming Chairman Luke Wippler abandoned restrictions on the number of speakers and their time to speak. Baker said he thought it was a “great meeting” in this interview with Warren Morningstar for AvBrief.
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On the way up?
Show the numbers.
It depends on what he means by “on the way up”. In membership numbers? In becoming more responsive to members? In catering to the high-end of GA?
Up in smoke
Why do people in positions of leadership and governance of an organization, government, company, or pretty much anything, who have eroded or destroyed trust always tell their public “Things are fine and are getting better and are going to be better than ever!” and expect their audiences to believe them? Seriously… you have damaged (understatement) your reputations with your members (hence about half have left), refuse to answer basic questions about the state of the organization (membership numbers, which were openly disclosed in the past), and now go on camera telling us everything is fine, do nothing to put your words into action, and expect people to believe you? People in aviation are used to being lied to, but I guess we’d hoped that those who were supposed to be on our side would be different.
It’s good to hear the limits on the number speakers and length of speaking time were removed. But was that because he realized that’s what should have been done from the start, or that there were only 177 members and that most likely not all of them would want to speak, so why not make it look good? Either way, it is at least a move in the right direction. Let’s see if they continue moving forward, or take several steps back in the process.
what a clown.
these are exactly the reasons that i cancelled my membership plus the astounding rise in dues. Be good to see where all the money has gone
He is the very reason I left the AOPA. Wine and cheese club advertising overwhelmed me.
Its mighthy tiring to read all of this bullshit.
Give us your money, we’ll fix it. Promise!
AOPA Leadership has always claimed to know best. The request to members was always nothing more than to keep auto-renewals active or to sign up for a lifetime membership. Don’t forget to leave some cash when you die.
Pay up and shut up. Don’t ask questions.
177 members present at a meeting of such magnitude indicates one of two things: (1) Time and location was intentionally chosen to make it as hard for people to show presence (online, its 2026 folks!) as possible; and/or (2) Forum and other media outlets have shared the absolute minimum of information possible.
AOPA has always been king in squelching members voices. I distinctly remember topics being deleted/ hidden from the member forums. Heck, I launched 3 discussion forums for just such issues.
I would not be surprised if 65-75% of members are completely unaware of the Pleasance saga and/ or this last meeting and the various topics currently moving people. A large percentage of every membership body shows very very limited motivation to engage.
AOPA Brass: Spend a minute to reflect on the fact that every single member that decides to walk out and depart an association they have been part of for 10-20- 30-40 or how many years have made a painful decision. I know I have.
Most aviators are not exactly keen of jumping from airplanes, which they believe to be able to control or crashland themselves. You can huff and puff at all of those who walked away (and those who are about to) or start trying to figure out how to communicate with these peeps. Each single member that quits in todays day and age is a sign. Never before has GA been under more threat and attack than now and in the forseeable next 8-10 years. If people walk out now, something is seriously wrong.
Most of these people are reasonable and can be talked to. That requires respect and open minds, not a top down “let us do our job, we know best” attitude.
Has someone asked Phil Boyer to say that AOPA is headed into its best phase yet?
Hey Kool-Aid! Oh yeah!
I’m a 60 year member of AOPA and a life member of EAA.
Who else is going to look out for us (and now my kids since
it’s about time for me to join the UFOs.
My membership comes due soon, and I’m still on the fence: to renew or not renew. Darren Pleasance, whose summary dismissal sparked the outrage against the current leadership, is on record as saying that he is optimistic that new leadership will make needed changes to the organizational structure. He says we should stick with AOPA, as it remains an important voice for GA’s interests. His sentiments are shared by just about all the YouTube GA-oriented personalities that I watch with some regularity. The implied bottom line for all of them: GA needs organizations to watch out for our interests. We have EAA, but we also need AOPA.
I think I’m talking myself into renewing…
…and I did:
Chase Freedom Unlimited Visa: You made a $79.00 transaction with AIRCRAFT & PILOT ASS on May 15, 2026 at 6:43 PM ET.
My understanding of the firing episode was that the CEO who was canned had met most of the goals set in his employment contract and in fact reflect the “new” directions talked about in the meeting. Every time this is mentioned, the Board leaps behind the “can’t talk about that” wall.
If as I understand it the CEO is fired for doing exactly what he was supposed to do and exactly what the Board claims they will be doing in the future.
Sooooo, why was Pleasance fired and why should the Board be believed about charging going forward?
Since we’re all guessing, here is mine… For a new CEO to be fired within a year after meeting the goals and objectives set out and after charming the majority of customers <Members of AOPA…> there had to be some sort of personality conflict/argument with the old Chairman, who had the power and cronies under the old structure to pull the trigger by himself. So now Pleasance is gone, the old Chairman is gone, and everyone is hiding behind lawyer-speak, so we may never know for sure what they argued over… Meanwhile, the pilot population and member population shrinks, and the reserves are slowly sinking. Calls for more than a couple interim co=presidents…
This guy looks like he’s spent his entire adult life on a golf course.
Dr Evil said it best…
Or if you’re from the south…