Dear Volunteer, Leader, or Friend of Public
Benefit Flying,
Here is your event and hotel registration
information for the Air Care Alliance's sixteenth annual public benefit flying
national conference:
When: Friday evening and
Saturday all day, April 29 and 30, 2005
Where: Lake Logan
Conference Center,
in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina
What: Friday "Meet the Board" event, reception, and dinner with speaker
Saturday all day seminars and workshops
- see description and agenda below
Saturday night informal dinner and socializing
And a wonderful weekend at a beautiful facility!
Join us for a "Meet the Board" session,
a reception, and then a kickoff dinner with presentation Friday night, followed by a full
day of informative seminars, speakers, brainstorming, and socializing with fellow volunteers and group leaders.
Saturday's events will conclude with an open membership and board meetings
followed by an
informal dinner.
Who: All
leaders and supporters in public benefit flying are welcome, including staff
members and non-flying volunteers such as mission coordinators.
Why attend?
Attendees represent the leadership and
staff members of many public benefit flying groups who believe that we all
benefit from the goodwill and mutual support gained from working together and
learning from one another. And we have fun doing it!
At past conferences we developed goals for
improved understanding of volunteer pilot operations by the public, initiated
appropriate treatment of our activities by FAA and other regulatory agencies,
discussed how to improve our scheduling systems, completed a campaign for an
international call sign, worked with the AOPA Air Safety Foundation for a
guidebook and video improving safety of our pilots' flight operations, clarified
liability and insurance issues, shared information on how to best conduct media
and public information campaigns, and learned about how each group helps those in need.
We also joined with the National Aeronautic
Association to create the first ever National awards for public benefit flying
groups and volunteers.
Conference Events and Details
Each year the Air Care Alliance holds its AIR CARE national conference to
bring leaders in public benefit flying together to enjoy sharing 
information and
learning about their groups' recent work. This year the conference will be held
near Asheville, North Carolina at the beautiful and historic Lake Logan Center.
Our host volunteer pilot organization this year will be SouthWings, http://www.southwings.org
Visit the Lake Logan Center website at http://www.lakelogan.org
to see the incredible venue for our meetings.
Air Care 2005 National Conference Schedule
Pre-Conference Events:
Friday, April 29, 2005
3:00 - 5:00 PM Meet the Air Care Alliance Board
Informal discussion of the ACA mission; trends in public benefit flying; current
and future events
5:00 - 7:00 PM Informal reception - meet and greet your fellow leaders in public
benefit flying
7:30 PM Welcome Dinner and Opening Presentation
Dinner Speaker: Lt. Col. "Lindy" Kirkland, Pilot, Marine 1
Topic: "When your Passenger is the President of the United States"
(Note: Room fees include all meals)
Annual Conference Events:
Saturday, April 30, 2005
7:00 - 8:00 AM Registration and Breakfast Buffet
8:00 - 8:30 AM Welcome and Introductions
Rol Murrow, Chairman, Air Care Alliance
Rol is the Executive Director of the Wolf Aviation Fund
8:30- 9:30 AM Organizational Liability and Insurance Issues
Rick Durden, Chairman of LightHawk
Rick is an Aviation Attorney and a regular contributor to AOPA Pilot Magazine
and AVWEB.
9:30-10:00 AM BREAK
10:00-11:00 AM "Update on Legal and Regulatory Matters Effecting
Volunteer Pilot Organizations"
Jeff Kahn, Vice President and General Counsel, Angel Flight East.
Jeff is an attorney in Philadelphia. His private law practice includes aviation
law. He is a member of the AOPA legal services plan panel and also serves on the ACA Board
11:00-12:00 Noon - "Ethics and the Public Benefit Flying Community"
Presentation and Discussion
Ken McAlear, President and CEO, Mercy MedFlight.
Ken is a retired Air Force colonel, and one of the founders of Mercy MedFlight,
the nation's only national scale charitable volunteer-flown air ambulance service. He also
serves on the ACA Board.
12:00 to 1:00 Lunch with presentation
(Note: room fees include all meals)
Afternoon sessions will follow two tracks:
TRACK ONE: General Public Benefit Flying Issues and Medical and Emergency
Relief Missions
TRACK TWO: Environmental Flying Missions, Procedures, and Inter-group Relations
1:00-2:00 PM
TRACK ONE: Publicity, Public Relations, Recruiting & Fund Raising -
Keith Laken, Executive Director, LifeLine Pilots and member of ACA Board
Keith is COO of Interact Communications, and CEO of Mugby Junction. Primary
interests are business and product development with major focus on human capital
and systems.
TRACK TWO: Low, Slow and Safe - Getting Great Aerial Photos for Environmental
Support
Cameron Davidson, photographer.
Cameron has published several books of his
aerial images (www.camerondavidson.com)
2:00-3:00 PM
TRACK ONE: Coordinating Missions, Improving Operations
Keith Laken (introduced above) and Tami Bream, former Executive Director, Angel Flight
East
Tami is a corporate consultant with significant expertise in enterprise management and
serves as an ACA Director
TRACK TWO: Cooperative Environmental Missions - Groups Working Together
Susan Lapis, Volunteer Pilot, SouthWings
Susan Lapis is a PhD. trained biochemist. She has flown over 300 hours of
missions including taking 200 persons over mountain top removal and pollution
sites in the Southern Appalachians
3:00-3:30 PM REFRESHMENT BREAK
3:30 - 4:30 PM Annual Membership Meeting and Elections of Directors followed by Annual Board meeting and election of
Officers . All attendees are invited to these open sessions.
6:00 PM Informal dinner and social event
Post-Conference Activities
Sunday, May 1, 2005
Stay and enjoy this beautiful historic area, continue discussions with
conference attendees, or simply sit back and relax! See the list of local
attractions below.
Register Now in Two Steps For the AIR CARE 2005
Conference:
Step 1) Housing and Meal Registration:
LATE
BREAKING NEWS:
LAKE LOGAN
HOUSING IS SOLD OUT. SEE NOTE BELOW
Lake Logan Center 800-616-0095
during weekday business hours.
Deadline: April 19, 2005. When rooms are gone you will be
referred to alternatives.
Contact Name: Linda Hammer email address: linda@lakelogan.org
Rooms: Double occupancy - $86.71 per person per night, includes meals
& taxes
Single occupancy - $107.31 per person per night, includes meals and
taxes.
ON -SITE HOUSING HAS SOLD OUT - PLEASE ARRANGE ALTERNATIVE
HOUSING IN AREA HOTELS:
Note: The Waynesville, NC listings at the bottom of this page
will be the closest facilities:
Area Bed and Breakfasts list: http://www.bbonline.com/nc/ncbbi/region1.html
Also try Pisgah Inn:
http://www.pisgahinn.com/
If you are registered for housing
off-site, please indicate the meals
you will be having with us on the conference registration form described next.
A separate meal charge will apply as follows Breakfast: $7.00 Lunch: $8.50
Dinner $12.50 2 & under No Charge
The SouthWings staff is also working to identify housing. If you need
further help please call John Milner or Taylor Barnhill at 828-225-5949 direct
(or 800-640-1131).
Note: Alcoholic beverages are not served at Lake Logan but visitors
and guests may bring their own beer and wine to enjoy with meals.
YOU AREN'T FINISHED!
PLEASE COMPLETE STEP TWO NOW!
If you do not register for the conference we may not have a seat for you.
Step 2) Conference
Registration: Click here
to print and complete the Air Care 2005 Event Registration Form and send
it to us at the address or fax number given. FAX is BEST.
Note: as of April 15 the event is filling up rapidly and we
may have to terminate registrations soon. Please do not delay
registering.
Transportation From Commercial Airport:
Lake Logan is in the mountains, some 40 minutes west of the Asheville Airport
NC (AVL) by car.
Also Greenville/Spartanburg SC (GSP) is an alternative destination served by a number of
airlines. It would be a somewhat longer drive - about 2 hours. But it is
served by lower cost carriers including Independence Air www.flyi.com
which flies to many destinations in the Eastern U.S., with its hub at Dulles DCA).
Note: their club members receive email notices with special extra-low fare
sales.
The regular route from either airport is beautiful and the drive is especially spectacular if you have
time to take the longer Blue Ridge Highway route. See the map and driving
directions below and at
the Lake Logan Conference Center Website at http://www.lakelogan.org
.
Shuttle service is available, at $25 each way per person, from Asheville Airport. Notify the conference
center of your arrival time. (If for some reason the shuttle is unavailable,
call SouthWings to see if someone would be available to pick you up. They'll
need several days notice to see whether this will work for you ( SouthWings:
828-225-5949 ).
The following car rental agencies are available at the Asheville airport:
Avis 800-331-1212
Budget 800-527-0700
Enterprise 800-261-7331
Hertz 800-654-3131
AIR TRAVEL TIP:
If you plan to rent a car, check fares for both Asheville (AVL) and
Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP). The driving distance is greater from GSP, but the
lower airfare cost could make it worthwhile.
Flying in via General Aviation
The closest airports to the conference center that have good GA services are the Asheville Regional
Airport (KAVL - Class C) and the Transylvania County Airport (22W; 100LL - tie
downs available).
Million Air in Asheville will have no trouble arraigning
rental cars, and the Lake Logan Conference center will provided a shuttle for
$25/person as described above. SouthWings on prior notice may be able to assist with rides
to the conference center.
Transylvania County Airport is a great airport with an extremely helpful
staff. This is where SouthWings' aircraft is based. Arrangements for a rental
car can be made through the local Ford dealer (Susanne Mathers 828.884.4151).
They have a good reputation and usually have the vehicle and paperwork at the
field the day before your arrival. On a side note this would be the most scenic
drive to the conference center, with no major highway involved. SouthWings may
be able to provide rides from this airport too.
Area Activities:
Asheville has many fine restaurants, art galleries, and craft shops. In
addition, popular tourist attractions include:
The Vanderbilt Estate and Winery Tours http://www.biltmore.com/
Blue Ridge Parkway http://www.nps.gov/blri/
Cherokee Reservation and Casino http://www.harrahs.com
Cold Mountain of movie fame, view from parkway or a 10.5 mile hike
Cradle of
Forestry http://www.cradleofforestry.com
Great Smoky Mountain National Park http://www.nps.gov/grsm/
Grove Park Inn and Spa http://www.groveparkinn.com/
Pisgah National Forest, hiking and beautiful scenic drives on US 176, Thomas
Wolfe's Home, and many other attractions.
Activities at Lake Logan Center
The center grounds are excellent for contemplative walks along pristine
trails. The Pigeon River is nationally famous for its rainbow and brown trout,
and 87 acre Lake Logan is home to trophy class largemouth and small-mouth bass,
crappie, trout and walleye. They also offer boating and canoeing, and five
scenic golf courses are within a 30-minute drive. The proximity to Asheville,
Waynesville, Maggie Valley and Brevard make shopping and sightseeing an
attractive alternative. Visit the Lake Logan Center website at http://www.lakelogan.org
.
Driving Directions to Lake Logan:
FROM THE WEST (KNOXVILLE, ATLANTA)
Travel east on Hwy 23/74 to Exit #98 (West Waynesville). Exit here. Turn
right at bottom of ramp. Travel 1/10 of a mile. Turn left onto Hwy Business 23.
Travel 2.0 miles into Waynesville. Turn right onto Hwy. 276 South. Travel 5.7
miles. Turn right onto Lake Logan Road. Travel 5.8 miles to Lake Logan Episcopal
Center
FROM THE EAST (ASHEVILLE)
Travel on I-40 West to Exit #37 (East Canton). Exit here. Turn left at bottom
of ramp. At red light turn right on Hwy 19/23 South Travel 4.8 miles to 2nd
traffic light in downtown Canton. Veer right across intersection to remain on
19/23 South Travel only 2/10 mile (about 5 blocks) Turn left on Hwy 110 South (Sorrells
St.) just before bridge. Travel 5.4 miles to a traffic light. Go straight onto
Hwy. 215 South Travel 2.8 miles to Lake Logan Road. Turn left. Travel 3.6 Miles
to Lake Logan Episcopal Center
FROM THE SOUTH (GREENVILLE/SPARTANBURG AIRPORT)
Travel Southwest on GSP Drive toward Aviation Drive (0.32 miles). Turn left
onto Aviation Drive (0.80 miles). Merge onto I-85 N toward Spartanburg (13.90
miles). Merge onto I-26 W via Exit 70 toward Asheville (58.02
miles). Merge onto I-40 W / US-74 W via Exit 32B on the Left toward Canton
Knoxville (8.53 miles). Continue with the instructions above FROM THE EAST.
REGISTER NOW! We expect this conference to fill up very rapidly!
