The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by interim chairman Dave Martin. Present were: Andy & Connie Andersen, Ken Hardwick, Rob Matthew, Al Cleveland, John Wilson, Deborah Plymate, Matt McLaughlin, and Harvey James. Mark Matthews and Bob Zafron arrived later.
Dave said he wasn’t representing any group this year as he no longer sits on the board of the local OPA chapter. He mentioned that Dan Jaffer, the chairman for last year’s Pilot Memorial, intends to be in town for this year’s event and said he would be glad to be the Master of Ceremonies. Dave also said he hoped that the Committee would be able to use email to transmit information back and forth so the number of meetings can be reduced.
The first step was to nominate a chairman and also the recording & corresponding secretary for this year’s planning meetings. Andy Andersen nominated Robert English to be the recording secretary and also Dave Martin as the chairman, while Dave nominated Andy to be the corresponding secretary. Ken Hardwick seconded the nominations. All approved by voice vote.
AGENDA: Dave checked with the ODA about whether it would be OK with them if the event is held this year, and the representatives present stated that there would be no objection. When asked about what kind of paper was needed to make this official, Matt said that an email or letter simply requesting to hold the function again is all that is necessary.
Andy had an example of the program from last year, and there wasn’t any expectation that there would be much difference in layout. Lois Martin has volunteered to put the program together as she has done in the past. There is a photo of Jim Ashford in front of a BT-13 that will be used for the cover. The printing will likely be done by Farnstrom’s, along with the promotional poster.
The National Anthem will be likely sung by Suzanne Bladow this year as she did last year, as Dave has already asked her about it and she said she would like to. The Civil Air Patrol has some cadets that are eager to help out with various tasks, and the EAA has agreed that their hangar can be used as an alternative location if there is rain that day.
The memorial wreath will be provided by the 99s again. The flags came from the Congressional office last year, and an official request needs to be made. Andy and Dave agreed to do that. Dennis Krummel has led the “missing man formation” when he’s available to do so, and Dave has left him a message to find out if he can do it again this year.
Steve Springer has volunteered to provide a PA system as he did last year, and Andy said he would finalize the details with him including the wartime tunes medley toward the end. The static display of aircraft on the ramp will be handled by Al Cleveland as it was last year, and his stand-in was Doug Davis so he will be contacted to see if he will do that again. The EAA has flags and stanchions that have been used for traffic control. The safety officer post was discussed, and it was decided that there should be a committee of three people so there is a backup if one person cannot be there. Jim Davis has been involved with this in the past, and it was suggested to contact him to get this process started.
Organizing the light-plane Fly-By has been done by Dave Martin in the past, and since Dave probably won’t have the time he asked Lynn McDonald to perform this function. Dave has written up the job so it can be done the same as it has been done in the past.
The OPA chapter has agreed to do the lunch and Mark Matthews, the president of the chapter, said he would request the money for the flags that are used in the ceremony. The AmVets have a number of new flags available, so it was decided to get one of these.
The Coast Guard has not been contacted yet, and last year it took quite a bit of work to get a positive contact since the Guard tends to be pretty busy. The picture display needs someone who can put together a good presentation, and John Brunning was the guy who used to do this. Dave Martin said he would get in touch with him to see if he could do this again. The Open House display in the EAA hangar is up to the aforementioned organization as far as what interesting exhibit they might want to put together.
Marquis Spa has let us use its parking lot for the event consistently, and Andy said he would contact the company to confirm that for this year. The shuttle bus from the Baptist Church had a flat tire last year and Wayne Nutsch’s bus filled the need while that was being repaired. Deborah said she was sure that Wayne would want to make this available for us again, though they need someone to drive it.
The barricade along the ditch needs some help from the City, specifically the bigger barricades since the smaller cones we had available last year were not enough. Al said he would coordinate with the City to arrange this. Organizing the parking, both of aircraft and cars (for restaurant traffic), will be organized by Al Cleveland. The junction of Airport Way and Hoffman Road needs to be guarded for traffic to the restaurant to pass but other cars should be directed to park at the Marquis Spa lot. The Boy Scouts have done duties like this before, and can again if we contact them soon. The Medallion cabinet factory has barricaded their lot from parking during our Memorial Day event, and Dave said he will contact them to let them know we will be holding the event.
The trash dumpster from Brandt’s was a good deal last year, and Deborah said she would call them to find out if we can use their services at the special price again. Dave had left a message for Marci Reed regarding the port-o-potty facilities again this year but he has not received a callback yet. Andy said he would talk with Fire Chief Cain about the ambulance and fire engine availability on-site as we have had in years past.
The rest of the evening was taken up with discussions about departed pilots that can be honored at this year’s event, and the recent Town Hall meeting held by Senator Wyden at the Independence City Hall. Dave suggested the next meeting be on March 26 at 7:00 PM, held at the Library, and updates on details discussed tonight be done by email.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 PM. Respectfully submitted by Robert English, secretary, as transcribed from recording made by Dave Martin.