Air
Academy campers, grads thank James Ray for support
By Barbara A. Schmitz
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James Ray
recognition. Photo by Jim Labre |
James Ray’s vision and
support helped to create the EAA Air Academy of today, and campers and
graduates of the academy thanked the EAA supporter for his longtime
commitment to the program.
Campers in the current
class, as well as nine alumni of the program, thanked Ray during a
surprise presentation Monday morning at the EAA Air Academy Lodge.
Ray provided financial
support for construction of the lodge, which allows participants to be
immersed in aviation around the clock, as well as an endowment to
maintain it. He also provides scholarship support.
The academy’s Scott
Cameron said Ray often asked what happened to the campers once they left
the Air Academy. That’s why they asked alumni back to tell their
stories.
Chris Kucera, of Colorado
Springs, said he attended the camp in 1995, before the lodge opened.
"We lived in the dorms (at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) and
rode around in buses. We would eat in the volunteer kitchen and I
remember being so tired that once I fell asleep and my head fell into my
plate of spaghetti."
But it was at the Air
Academy where he caught his passion for aviation, he said. Today, he is
an aerospace engineer, working with analytical graphics supporting
satellite operations with aerospace software.
Others who couldn’t
attend the presentation sent letters giving their thanks and telling Ray
how the academy helped them to find careers and success.
Joe Shonk attended the
EAA Air Academy for two years and earned his pilot’s certificate. Eric
Whyte, from the 1990 class, is a professional pilot rated in four
different jet aircraft and nearing 6,000 hours of flight time. He’s
also the first Young Eagle to become a Young Eagles pilot.
Frederick D.P. Strathearn
attended two years and soloed on his 16th birthday; today he holds a
commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating. Jenny Walton
graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and works at the
Boeing Company in St. Louis as a conceptual designer for advanced
programs. Emily Taylor attended the academy in 2003, and wrote that she
is building an RV-9A with her father and excited to begin flying
lessons.
Megan Simoneaux, who
worked eight summers for the Air Academy, wrote that the lodge is more
than a beautiful building.
"It is a place where
the spirit of youth collides with the spirit of flight. It is a home
where young people can explore their roles in the limitless world of
aviation. It is a haven for the shared excitement that abounds after
every airplane ride, after every carefully completed workshop project,
and after every thoughtful answer in the classroom. It is a gathering
place for friends and a display of the pride in quality that I find
closely associated with the EAA."
EAA President Tom
Poberezny said the comments show the difference Ray has made in the
lives of many young people. "It’s one thing for me to say thank
you, but quite another to hear it from the hearts and minds of these
young men and women."
