Poberezny
to present EAA President's
Awards tonight
By Barbara A. Schmitz
John "Jack"
Hastings, Stan Shannon, and Dennis and Linda Carney are very different
people, with one big similarity—a love of aviation and EAA.
And by tonight, they’ll
have one more thing in common—they will all receive EAA’s President’s
Award during a Theater in the Woods presentation. Awarded since 1980,
the President’s Awards provide Tom Poberezny an opportunity to
personally acknowledge members whose participation and contributions
represent the "essence" of EAA.
Whether they help pilots
earn special issuance medical certification, help a regional fly-in
expand, or help to get more people interested in aviation through
outreach programs, all four have had a profound impact on EAA and its
members.
John "Jack"
Hastings
Hastings is chairman of
EAA’s Aeromedical Advisory Council and 2007 president-elect of the
Aerospace Medicine Association or AsMA. Besides helping pilots obtain
special issuance medical certification, Hastings has proposed solutions
to the special issuance medical certificate backlog and been
indispensable in the effort to obtain the sport pilot driver’s license
medical.
"I became a doctor
because my father and my grandfather were doctors and I was told I would
become a doctor," Hastings says. But after getting his boards in
aerospace medicine in 1999 at the age of 56, he said he was finally able
to combine his real love—aviation—with work.
"I have been able to
marry aviation and medicine, and that has been a wonderful
blessing," he says. "Aviation has allowed me to go back and
enjoy medicine more."
But it has also allowed
him to give back to something that has given him so much. "Aviation
is the endeavor that sometimes allows us to transcend cultural
boundaries and communicate with other people in the world without
political deterrent and without squabbles."
That doesn’t mean
Hastings hasn’t gotten frustrated at times. "The most frustrating
thing is dealing with the delays in communication with the aeromedical
certification division that compromises and causes certification
delays," he says.
Still, there are
benefits. "The most rewarding part for me is when I hear from a
pilot, by e-mail or a telephone call, that they got their ticket back.
To hear an EAA member who was so frightened that his or her flying
privileges would be taken away say that their privilege restored is
worth its weight in gold. That’s why I do this."
And he’s not done yet,
Hastings says, noting that there are things he still hopes to
accomplish.
"We need to continue
to work harder with the new federal air surgeon and deputy air surgeon
to move toward what we think are attainable goals of timely aeromedical
certification," Hastings says. "With the new initiatives put
forth by the FAA, we have the brightest hope for significant improvement
in the process that I’ve seen in 30 years."
Stan Shannon
Shannon, president of the
Southwestern EAA Regional Fly-In, has built a leadership team and
established outstanding community relations in Hondo, Texas, as the
current and future home of the southwest regional fly-in.
Over recent years, they moved the fly-in
several times before coming to its current destination in the Hill
Country. They looked for an airport that would have enough space, and a
city that would welcome them. When a new city manager came to Hondo,
they found their spot. In two years, the fly-in has grown. By every
measure, the 42nd annual fly-in, held in June 2006, was bigger and
better than at any other time since 1996:
-
Attendance was 6,100,
a 35-percent increase over 2005 and a 52-percent increase over 2004.
-
About 760 aircraft
flew to Hondo, a 46-percent gain from 2005 as well as the greatest
number in 10 years.
The most frustrating part
of the fly-in has become getting enough volunteers. About 200 people
volunteer to make the fly-in a reality, but Shannon estimates 100 more
are needed.
"Everyone who
volunteers is over 40, most are over 50, and a lot are over 70,"
Shannon says. "Our goal is to get more young people involved."
They are trying to do
just that. A boot camp for troubled kids helps set up and tear down, and
then those who help can come to the fly-in under supervision. They also
involve Civil Air Patrol, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts.
For the future, Shannon
hopes to concentrate on raising money to pay for infrastructure needed
to support the fly-in. Already one shower house has been added, but
another one needs to be built. A headquarters building where people
could gather out of the sun is also needed.
"We could build this
into a major event," Shannon says. "If we do good, we know it’s
good for the mother organization and vice versa."
Dennis and Linda
Carney
Dennis and Linda Carney
received the award for their outreach in the Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania-area aviation community. They not only volunteer their time
and efforts for Young Eagles, but they work for EAA aircraft outreach
efforts like the B-17 and Ford Tri-Motor tours. And they do it all with
passion, enthusiasm and leadership.
The Carneys says they do
it because they like to see people smile. They are key in providing
Young Eagles flights to special needs children and their families. But
they don’t just give them an airplane ride and feed their souls; they
feed their bodies, too. In fact, at this year’s rally they fed 1,200
people.
Denny was born with spina
bifida, and his parents were told that he would never walk, so he knows
his overcoming of challenges gives hope to parents and children
attending the flight rallies.
They also do it for those
who have special memories or connections to the vintage planes EAA
brings in during tours. "When the B-17 was here, one woman said her
dad was killed in a B-17 prior to her being born," Denny said.
"She flew in the B-17 with a photo of her dad, and there wasn’t a
dry eye when we got off."
Denny said he couldn’t
do all he does without his wife, Linda. "Linda has been a real
partner; none of this could happen without her simply because there are
some things I can’t do."
Linda has probably cooked
about 12,000 hot dogs in the last 13 years they’ve done the Young
Eagles rides for special needs children. It’s not the planes that
keeps her volunteering, but rather the people.
"People are just
wonderful; that’s what makes it fun," she says.
Was she surprised to get
the President’s Award?
"Yes, I had to sit
down," Linda says. "I couldn’t believe it since we’re just
ordinary folks who feel that this is our purpose in life. We’re simply
doing what the good Lord wants us to do."
