President’s Corner

by Scott Thompson
Chapter President

Summer is drawing to a close and as we prepare to move into this next season it is worth a few minutes to look back on the past few months.

We started our summer season in a terrible way with the tragic loss of Richard and Sue Bristow back on Memorial Day weekend. Now, almost four months later, their loss remains as a heavy backdrop to our aviation activities. No official word has come forth from the accident investigation yet, but most pilots I have talked with have taken some important reminders away from the known details.

After that sad beginning, our chapter enjoyed a steady stream of activities, BBQ lunches, pancake breakfasts, and various flying activities. I did sense that some of the momentum established in the spring slowed during the summer, I guess not surprising given how the summer started and the nature of the season.

As summer turns to fall, though, I hope we can move toward some of the goals we have set. Among these: get the hangar upgrades completed, firmly establish our scholarship/sponsorship program, and do a bit of strategic planning for the future.

I encourage all the chapter members to consider why we exist as a chapter and what part you have in that. Our volunteer pool is smaller than you might think and as a chapter we are going to have to broaden that out a bit to enable us to continue to grow.

So, as you hear about opportunities to participate, whether it be for just an hour here or there, or coming on to as part of a group taking on a larger project, please consider joining in. It’s not much work, it’s around aviation, and it is with some nice folks with a similar vision.