April 2012 - Newsletter

April Ninety Nines meeting

Noon on Saturday, 21 April

GSL Air & Space Museum
on the West Ramp at St. Louis Downtown Airport

Lunch afterward at the Sawmill BBQ Restaurant, 4060 Mississippi Ave (IL Rte 3) in Cahokia

There is good signage to the airport from Illinois Rte 3 or from Exit 15 (Mousette Lane) on I-255. The museum is on the south end of the West Ramp. If you’re coming from Rte 3 turn right at the 4-way stop sign just past the railroad overpass. If you’re coming from I-255 go straight at the 4-way stop sign at Curtiss-Steinberg Drive. You are now on Vector Dr. On your left you will pass several airport businesses, the Parks College hangar, and Ideal Aviation. Turn left at the first stop sign and left again at the next street into the parking lot by the two historic brick hangars. The GSLASM is in Hangar 2 (the one with the Jetstar parked out front).

Chapter News:
I am thrilled to report that Jean Murry and Delia Greer were selected to receive the 2012 Ninety Nines Award of Achievement for Humanitarian Efforts for the work with the Wings of Hope. They will receive this award at the Ninety Nines International Conference in Providence RI in July. We are very grateful to Susan Van Matre for making the effort to nominate these two very deserving members. Her nomination write-up was distributed to all members with the January Newsletter.

For discussion at the April meeting: 2 July 2012 is the 75th anniversary of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart over the Pacific Ocean. The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum has been approached by the Discovery Channel about a program commemorating this event. While the Museum directors do not know at this time if it will be selected for this program, Carmelo Turdo has asked Ninety Nines to prepare a display on this event for the Museum and to man this display during Fair St. Louis. He suggested that we also give short (10 minute) talks on various aspects of Amelia’s life at the display for Museum visitors. The civilian aircraft in the Fair St. Louis air show will be staging from Downtown Airport and there usually are times when the airport is open to visitors. The Museum hopes to attract some of these visitors to the Museum. Following Fair St. Louis, the display would remain at the museum for at least a year. We will need members to help construct this exhibit and to lend or donate items appropriate for this exhibit. We will also need a few members to man the exhibit for an hour or two during Fair St. Louis.

Gussie Freese reports that the Nominating Committee submitted the following slate of officer candidates for 2012-2013:

Chairman: Libby Yunger

Vice Chairman: Jean Murry

Secretary: Jean Murry

Treasurer: Martha Norman

The Secretary position will actually be shared. Jean will be the official Chapter Secretary and will take the meeting minutes. Libby Yunger will continue as Newsletter Editor, and Mary Kinnaw will continue as Corresponding Secretary.

Ninety Nines News:

The 2012 International Conference of the Ninety Nines will be held 11-15 July in Providence RI. The keynote speaker will be Lt. Col. Graham Guschol, one of the two helicopter rescue pilots who ditched at sea during the “perfect storm” or 1991. If you are planning to attend, you can register on-line at http://womenpilotsnewengland.org/conference/registration
The Ninety-Nines have a much-improved merchandise site on-line that is being maintained by Dorothy Norkus, Av8trxx@aol.com. The site can be accessed through the members section or at https://docs.google.com/View?id=dcjx2h3g_8sv44dpgd

Member News:
We are sad to report the death of Donald Jay Cates, husband of Chapter member Vikki Cates, while he was delivering an aircraft to the Wings of Hope. He was a long-time pilot for Wings of Hope; Delia Greer had flown with him on Medical Air Transport flights on several occasions. Donald Jay Cates’ obituary is attached to this newsletter. At this time, we are not aware of any plans for a funeral or memorial service. However, memorial donations can be made to the Donald Jay Cates Memorial Fund, 4020 Green Mount Crossing Drive, PMB226, Shiloh, IL 62269. See https://sites.google.com/site/donaldjaycatesmemorialpark for additional information.

On a happier note, Ruby Fudoli has moved to Texas to be closer to her family. She is at the Waterford at Plano assisted living facility, and her address is 3401 Premier Dr., Apt 206, Plano, TX 75032. Her family reports that she is transitioning well to her new home and enjoys visiting with her four great-grandchildren, ages 4-6, with one more on the way in June. She would enjoy receiving cards or notes from her Ninety Nines friends.

Susan Van Matre is back in school at St. Louis University pursuing a Masters degree in Higher Education Administration. We wish her well in her studies and hope to have her back with us in the Ninety Nines when her studies are complete – if not sooner!

Aviation News:
The Women with Wings Chapter of WAI will hold a plane wash on 2 June at Mt. Vernon, IL airport (KMVN). Money raised from this event is used to fund local scholarships for female flight students.

There is an excellent, well-maintained web-based St. Louis Aviation calendar listing events scheduled in the Greater St. Louis area. This site also has links to the websites of the GSL Ninety Nines and other local aviation organizations. http://stlaviationcalendar.com/default.aspx .

There is also a calendar of events on the Spirit Pilot Shop web site that is good if you’re looking for a fly-in FAA seminar: http://www.spiritpilotshop.com/Home.php