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MISSION STATEMENT |
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The Air Care Alliance
promotes, supports, and represents public benefit
flying through communication and cooperation among
organizations facilitating flights for health,
compassion, and community service. |
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MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL |
RENEW TODAY and SUPPORT ACA!
Don't forget to send in your annual renewal today!
The Air Care Alliance needs your
continued support - both financially and with your
updated listing information. 'Thank you" to those
of you who have already sent in your data and your
dues. For those of you who have not done so, please
return your data sheet and your membership renewal
as soon as possible.
sandy.johnson@aircareall.org
Scroll below for a list of our 2012 proud members.
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2012 PUBLIC BENEFIT FLYING AWARDS
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 Winners announced
for the 2012 Public Benefit Flying Awards!
The annual Above and Beyond Ceremony to
celebrate the work of all Public Benefit Flying
volunteers and organizations was held on Thursday,
September 13, 2012, in the United States Capitol
Building in Washington, D C.
A wonderful time was had by all!
The event also provides the opportunity to present the
National Public Benefit Flying Awards by the
National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and the
Air Care Alliance (ACA).
NAA President & CEO Jonathan Gaffney
opened the ceremony with a warm welcome. NAA is a
non-profit membership organization devoted to fostering
opportunities to participate fully in aviation
activities and to promoting public understand of the
importance of aviation and space flight in the United
States.
Rol Murrow, Chairman,
and Lindy Kirkland, President, of the Air Care
Alliance provided a brief history of the Air
Care Alliance. They further shared that the NAA and ACA
have designed these national awards to recognize the
contributions of volunteer-based Public Benefit Flying
and the outstanding work of individuals and groups
engaged in this humanitarian activity.
Acknowledgment and thanks were provided to those whose
efforts made the Above and Beyond ceremony possible,
especially Linda Daschle and our host
legislator Senator Harry Reid.
Then Mr. Gaffney and Mr. Murrow Presented the 2012
Public Benefit Flying Awards:
Distinguished
Volunteer - Debi Boies - Pilots N Paws
- For her intense passion for neglected animals and
creating and nurturing a national organization of
volunteers transporting them from kill shelters to
forever homes.
Distinguished
Volunteer - Larry Scheffler - Miracle Flights For Kids
- For decades of selfless dedication, turning miles
into smiles for sick kids everywhere.
Champion of Public Benefit Flying -
Lightspeed Aviation Foundation - Allan Schrader,
President
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Recognizing Lightspeed's major contributions to all
charitable aviation activities through promoting and
enhancing the work of Public Benefit Flying groups and
their volunteers who fly to help others.
Outstanding
Achievement in Advancement of Public Benefit Flying -
Bob Showalter and Showalter Flying Service
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For outstanding support of public Benefit flying
groups and their many volunteers flying to help others
in times of crisis including the aftermath of
Hurricane Irene and the Haitian earthquake.
Distinguished
Volunteer Pilot - Del Reiff - Wings of Hope
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For decades of dedicated service and more than 3,900
hours of flying to alleviate poverty and isolation;
serving human needs around the world, from the
war-torn Congo the jungles of the Amazon.
Distinguished
Volunteer Pilot- Susan Lapis - SouthWings
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For her outstanding and longtime service generously
using her aviation skills in protecting the natural
heritage, communities, and ecosystems of the
Southeast.
All award recipients were in attendance to accept
their awards and many were accompanied by family
members and close friends to share this very special
time in this very impressive ceremony in our Nation's
Capitol.
In conclusion, Mr. Gaffney congratulated all award
recipients and thanked everyone for attending the
ceremony. He also invited all recipients and their
families to dinner at the Thunder Grill
in Union Station. The recipients and their family
members and guests enjoyed meeting one another and
learning more about the wide variety of missions and
accomplishments that characterize public benefit
flying.
Now it's your turn! Please get the word out to your
organizations and volunteers and submit those
deserving volunteers and supporters for an award next
year! See the procedures at
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
2011-2012
Officers
Rol Murrow
ACA Board Chairman
Emergency Volunteer
Air Corps
Charles (Lindy) Kirkland
ACA President
Angel Flight East
Jim Weaver
ACA Vice President
Angel Flight West
Karen Halverson
ACA Secretary
Lifeline Pilots
Jeff Kahn
ACA Treasurer
Angel Flight East
Directors
Judy Benjamin
Angel Flight Central
Hume Davenport
Southwings
Rick Durden
LightHawk
Sandy Johnson
Angel Flight Soars
Kevin Sell
Volunteer Pilots Association
Christopher St. Peter
Operation Angel Planes &
Angel Flight West
Gary St. Peter
Operation Angel Planes
Bill Worden
ACA President Emeritus
Angel Flight West & EVAC
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ACA MEMBER LIST |
SEE WHO ALREADY FLIES WITH US!
Dozens and dozens of groups serve our communities and
those in need, including international, national,
regional, and statewide groups - and even small local
groups with just a few pilots serving their immediate
area.
The Air Care Alliance lists and makes
referrals to all the groups we can find. If your
volunteer pilot organization is not on the Air
Care Alliance Listings Page at
www.aircareall.org/listings.htm
please send us your information so we can include you!
ACA Member
Groups
Angel Flight Central
Angel Flight East
Angel Flight Northeast
Angel Flight Soars
Angel Flight South Central
aka Grace Flight
Angel Flight West
Angel Flight of Oklahoma
Badger Aviators
Bahamas Habitat
Children's Flight of Hope
Dreams and Wings
Emergency Volunteer Air Corps
Hope Flight Foundation
Houston Ground Angels
LifeLine Pilots
LightHawk
Operation Angel Planes
Patient Airlift Services
Pilots for Patients
South Wings
Veteran's Airlift Command
Vital Flight
Volunteer Pilots Association
Wings Flights of Hope
Wings of Mercy East Michigan
Wings of Mercy - West Michigan
Also in Our
Listings
AeroAngel
Aerobridge
Air Charity Network
Air Mercy
Angel Flight Alberta
Angel Flight Australia
Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic
Angel Flight Southeast
Angel Flight of Vancouver Island
Aviation for Humanity
Cair Flight
Challenge Air for Kids & Friends
Christian Air Ministry
Civil Air Patrol
Cloud Nine Rescue Flights
Corporate Angel Network
EAA Young Eagles
Flights for Life
Flying Paws
Flying Samaritans
Freedom Flight
Grace on Wings
Help Four Paws
His Wings Aviation Ministries
Hope Air of Canada
Hope Wings Foundation
International Shrine Aviation
Assoc.
Kids Wings
Liga - Flying Doctors of Mercy
Los Medicos Voladores
Medflight of Indiana
Mercy Flight Alabama
Mercy Flight Indiana
aka Wings of Mercy-Illiana
Mercy Flight Southeast
Mercy Medical Airlift and its
fully administered subgroups
Mercy Wings Network
Miracle Flights for Kids
Missions Made Possible
NC Baptist Men Aviation Ministry
Northwoods AirLifeLine
One Heart Missions Services
Pilots for Christ International
Pilots N Paws
Remote Area Medical
Volunteer Corps
Servant Air Ministries
Sky Hope Network
SkyArk
Volunteer Mercy Pilots
Wings for Children - SC
Wings of Hope
Wings of Mercy - MN
Be a Member of
ACA today!
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JOIN OUR LIST
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Official Newsletter of the
Air Care Alliance
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October 2012 |
Greetings!
Emergency Preparedness
and You
Rol Murrow,
Chairman of the Board
Ever since our first conference at
AOPA headquarters in 1990 we
have enjoyed numerous presentations and
panels concerning the involvement of
volunteer pilots in disaster relief
efforts. As founder of EVAC,
the Emergency Volunteer Air Corps,
in 1987 I have enjoyed moderating and
participating in those sessions, and am
truly astounded and pleased how this
kind of work has grown.
Pilots have served in many relief
efforts, including the Loma
Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and
the later Northridge Earthquake;
various hurricanes including
Hugo, Andrew,
Katrina, and
Rita; flying blood test kits,
relief managers, and rescue dogs
following the attacks of 9/11/11; and
even taking on international flights to
help out after the Haiti
Earthquake.
Recently EVAC was contacted by a
national interagency preparedness team
responsible for patient transport
efforts following disasters and we put
together a team to go talk with them in
Washington DC about
their needs. The bottom line is that
they now understand how there are many
groups and volunteer pilots ready to
serve when needed, and they see a great
collaboration for all of us in the
future.
Please continue building your own
group's emergency preparedness planning
and capabilities so you and your
volunteers are ready to serve in a
little bit different way when
circumstances dictate that we all are
called to help out following a major
disaster. Planning is the key to being
of great help versus being in the way!
More news soon...
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AOPA-ACA Safety Course
Charles
Kirkland (Lindy), President of the Board
Well, we have some exciting news from
the AOPA Summit this
year. We took the opportunity that Palm
Springs provided to launch the
AOPA-ACA Volunteer Pilot Safety Course
that has been in the works for the last
three years. Go to the site and
take a look at the new course
www.airsafetyinstitute.org/volunteerpilots.
We would very much appreciate any
feedback you or your pilots may have on
the course so if you have comments,
please send them to me at
lindy.kirkland@aircareall.org.
Additionally, the Fuel
Reimbursement Committee had a
very productive meeting with
AFS-800 on the path forward for
the fuel reimbursement implementation.
The next step will be a formal briefing
in the January 2013 timeframe from
ACA to the FAA
with our recommendations and concerns.
At that time, we will also know if the
FAA intends to have a formal comment
period on this proposed rulemaking
effort. We appreciate all the comments
that were received on this important
issue and we are making every effort to
represent all concerns in this area.
Lastly, we had the opportunity to speak
to the audience at Summit about the
great work that each of your groups are
doing. The 45 minute presentation
included me, Rol,
Rick Durden,
Alan Dias and Cheri
Cimmarusti (AFW), and
Cody Welch of Wings of
Mercy each speaking about a
facet of volunteer flying. The
highlight was a letter read by Cheri
from a family that had been helped
extensively by Angel Flight West and it
spoke of how the many, many flights the
family took helped preserve the sense of
normalcy for the family and their small
children throughout the illness of the
father. It was a very moving letter and
really spoke to the heart of why we do
what we do. The overall presentation
was very well received and we
entertained many questions about public
benefit flying throughout the three days
of Summit.
Last month we enjoyed a wonderful
Public Benefit Flying
awards program at the United
States Capitol. We had a very
deserving group of recipients that
represented a broad spectrum of the
Public Benefit Flying community. They
were but a small sample of the thousands
of volunteer pilots and ground
volunteers like each of you that are out
there every day serving their
communities. Thank you all for the great
work you are doing.
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2012 Public Benefit Flying Award Winners |
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Distinguished Volunteer, Debi Boies
Pilots N Paws |
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Distinguished Volunteer, Larry Scheffler Miracle
Flights For Kids |
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Champion of Public Benefit Flying - Lightspeed
Aviation Foundation
Allan
Schrader, President |
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Outstanding Achievement in Advancement of Public
Benefit Flying - Bob Showalter and Showalter Flying
Service |
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Distinguished Volunteer Pilot, Del Reiff
Wings
of Hope |
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Distinguished Volunteer Pilot, Susan Lapis
SouthWings |
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In the Media |
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Pilots
make good stories great!
September is off to a great
start with press coverage! Here are two stories that
Barton Gilanelli got covered about two very special
pilots.
The first
story is about pilot Michael Lawless
who flies for both Angel Flight Northeast and
Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic. On a recent Angel
Flight Northeast mission, Michael took along a reporter
from Jersey Man Magazine " that
resulted in "Angels in Flight" click
here
Although
not in the online version, there was also a full page Q
& A where Michael did the Angel Flight organizations
proud. Here are a few of the questions with abbreviated
answers.
Q. How did you get involved with Angel Flight?
A.
Angel Flight is a very well known organization . . . It
turned out to be great flying for a great cause.
Q. Why do you do what you do for Angel Flight and what
makes it personally rewarding for you?
A.
We take a lot of children as passengers and that gets to
be tough after a while. There was a period of about 6 -
12 months where I was considering not being active
because you see a lot of kids with tough lives. You
know you are helping but it still leaves you with some
emotion after the flight. I am past that and try to
make every flight as much fun as possible for those
guys. They are some of the toughest people in the world
and I am just glad I have a chance to have some impact
on their lives. That feels good.
Q. Anything else people should know about Angel Flight?
A. Angel Flight has a staff and office that
coordinates all these flights. You would be amazed at
how much coordination goes on to get these flights off
the ground. . . They are constantly talking to
passengers about changing schedules and lining up
logistics to meet those needs . . . It really is a
complicated network and managed very well . . .
What a great spokesman for charitable flying!
Now let's
head out to the middle of the country and the
Wichita (KS) Eagle. Angel Flight
Central pilot Charles Lloyd
was recently featured in a profile on the first page of
the business section. While "A Conversation
With Charles Lloyd" was mostly about business,
Charles wrapped it up with the focus on general aviation
and Angel Flight Central. Click
here
Again, an
amazing spokesperson for Angel Flight Central and
general aviation. We loved that he brought up the need
for more pilots and more donations!
Do you
have a pilot who would be a good spokesperson and
willing to be interviewed by the media? Call
Barton Gilanelli & Associates at 215-592-8601
and ask for Judith Eckles. |
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SAVE THE DATE |
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Air Care
Alliance Conference
April 26-27, 2013
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The
Land of Enchantment will be the venue
for the 2013 Air Care Alliance Conference.
Grab your calendars now and ink in the dates of
Friday and
Saturday, April 26-27, 2013, for two great days
with your charitable aviation friends and colleagues in
the magical town of Albuquerque. For
those of you who attended the 2007 conference in
Albuquerque you will remember our stay in Old
Town Albuquerque at the Hotel
Albuquerque. We are returning to this same
beautiful hotel at the inviting rate of $102, plus tax,
per night, a price lower than we paid in 2007. They
loved having this distinguished group then and are
inviting us back with open arms. Check out the hotel at
www.hotelabq.com.
This
rate will be available from Thursday night the 25th
through Sunday night the 28th for those who may want
to enjoy the New Mexico experience a bit longer. You
may actually make your room reservations now. Call
either (800) 237-2133 or (505) 843-6300. Reference the
Air Care Alliance Annual Meeting or Block Code
1304AIRCAR.
In
addition to a magnificent hotel, you'll experience the
magic of Old Town Albuquerque and the enchantment of
New Mexico. Of course you will also enjoy the
camaraderie of your public benefit flying friends from
across the country as we experience together the fun
activities planned and the sessions that will deal
with the issues you confront in providing leadership
for your charitable aviation organization, as well as
current aviation matters that impact your daily
operations. Many more details to come later.
See you in Albuquerque in 2013! Save the dates
now!
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General email:
mail@aircareall.org
Office Phone and Patient Transport Help Line:
Toll Free: 888-260-9707
Office Fax: 815-572-9192
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