The
meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman Dave Martin. Present were:
John Wilson (ODA), Andy Andersen (OFF), Ron Hanna (OPA), John Wilson (ODA), Bob
Zafran (FRA), Al Cleveland (EAA), Paul Gilman (CAP), Harvey James (AMVETS), Ken
Hardwick (ISAS), Matthew Maass (ODA), Danny Jaffer, and Mark & Kelly
Matthews.
LIST
OF TASKS: Matt and John had filled out an application for the F-15 flyover, and
it was going to be handed in Tuesday.
Dave said he had filled out the forms at the ODA for permission to hold
the event and permission had been granted by Mitch Swecker. Bob said that the form to request the Coast
Guard helicopter has been handed in to the ODA and forwarded to the FAA.
Lois
Martin has agreed to put together the poster and program for the event, and the
photo has been taken for the program cover.
The flag ceremony is being handled by the AmVets and the CAP, and Harvey
said his crew would be there to handle whatever was necessary. The flag request to Kurt Schrader has been
made, and 18 flags will be sent to Dave's house after which the Boy Scouts will
be the ones to handle the folding before the official presentation. Steve Springer has been contacted about the
PA system, and Suzanne Bladow has also been contacted regarding the National
Anthem. If Suzanne cannot sing for any
reason then Steve will sing it. Staff
Sergeant Dannielle Ritacco has agreed to play "Taps" this year.
Aircraft
parking has been mapped out by Al as well as approaches for 16 and 34. Further plans are contingent on whether the
Coast Guard helicopter will be on the program or not. All indications are at this point that they will be there. Al went on to say that he is putting a crew
together to handle the parking for aircraft which includes monitors policing
for smokers as well as aircraft in the wrong place. There was a question about free lunches, and the answer was that
everyone would pay except for the Coast Guard crew who would get free
lunches. Lynn McDonald is recruiting
pilots to participate in the Light Plane Fly-By.
Dave
said he had tried several times to contact John Bruning, so he has asked Joe
Smith to revise and expand his talk about the history of Memorial Day to fill
out the program. Parking for cars over
at the Marquis Spa lot has been requested by Andy and approved. The purchase of smaller flags has been
accomplished; they are currently being held by Andy. Some hand-held flags (approximately 3" by 4" with a
wooden handle) can be ordered, as we had done for this event a couple of years
ago, and the amount for that would be approximately $80.00. There was some discussion about
"passing the hat" to cover that cost.
The
restaurant parking lot will be guarded from unauthorized cars parking there;
the exceptions will be for handicapped, those who are eating at the restaurant,
and people getting in and out of their hangars.
There
was some discussion about whether Congressman Schrader could be invited to
speak. Dave said he would contact the Congressman's office to see if he can
attend. There was also a suggestion
that either Merkley or Wyden could be invited if Schrader is busy. That way we would have two speakers on the
program as originally planned. A
military chaplain to give the invocation has been secured, and another local
minister has expressed interest: Jean Mosier.
She can be kept as an alternate for next year.
The
latest draft of the press release was prepared by Bob, and Dave said he wanted
to go over that so it could be sent out to the newspapers. The Rieds have agreed to provide the
port-o-potties again this year as they have in the past. Brandts Waste Disposal may provide the
dumpster for the event; this has to be confirmed. The EAA has agreed to host the event in case of inclement weather.
ADDITIONAL
ITEMS: The fire station has been contacted by email regarding the fire truck
being able to park a truck at the event.
When the reply is received a copy of that can be forwarded to the ODA. There is room to park the fire engine in
front of the FBO so they could leave in case of an emergency, or west of the
EAA hangar. A handheld radio for communication is planned to be provided to
them.
There
was some discussion about who else besides military pilots should be
memorialized at this event. Civilian
general aviation pilots and residents who have lived here (such as Gloria
Beecroft) were discussed; in years past the 99s have made up plaques and/or
glass vases for memorials to non-military personnel. Dave reminded everyone that this is not really an "airpark
event" but rather was originally limited to military aircrew, military
pilots and general aviation pilots who were in the military at some point. This year there are only three pilots on the
list who were not military, so it is not that big an issue this time around,
but how best to handle Gloria Beecroft's memorial was the focus of
discussion. Danny suggested a suitable
mention during his speech as emcee about her contribution to the airpark community,
and those present found that acceptable.
The
next meeting date was set to be the 30th of April, 7PM at the Independence
Library meeting room, with an update of Dave's to-do list being sent out
beforehand. There would be time for one
more meeting after that, but probably not more.
The
meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM. Respectfully submitted by Robert English,
ISAS secretary, transcribed from recording provided by Dave Martin.