This past week, SouthWings hosted a Fly-In at Kanuga Conference and Retreat Center in Hendersonville, NC. This was the first iteration of the event since the coronavirus pandemic began, and after several long years of adapted operations, it was re-energizing to gather again in person. Twenty-two volunteer pilots and their guests joined SouthWings board and staff for a three-day retreat in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.
After reviewing our 2022 accomplishments thanks to the efforts of our volunteer pilots, we enjoyed the opportunity to learn from three of SouthWings' longstanding flight partners: Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear Riverkeeper, who works extensively on watershed protection and related industrial farming issues in North Carolina; Dr. Alex Kolker, Associate Professor at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), whose work is currently focused on Neptune Pass, the largest crevasse to form in the Mississippi River in decades; and Jeff Hunter, the Southern Appalachian Director of the National Parks Conservation Association. One of our current volunteer pilots, Emmet Bartholomew, a member of the FAA Safety Team, presented an entertaining seminar on Flying Like a Pro. A handful of local pilots were in attendance who had the opportunity to earn WINGS program credit and learn about the benefits of joining SouthWings.
During the 2023 Fly-in awards banquet, we had the pleasure of presenting awards to four extremely deserving volunteer pilots. Bill Kahn and Leonard Guidry received the Pandemic MVP award for recognition of the numerous flight requests they helped fulfill in 2020 and 2021. This was a time when environmental protection work did not slow down and in fact, in many ways, getting eyes in the sky to see what was really going on was more important than ever. Micheal Spurgeon from Nashville, TN received the Above and Beyond award for his willingness to help fulfill urgent flight requests in Southeast Louisiana after Hurricane Ida. Rankin Whittington was presented with the Rookie of the Year award in recognition of the 10 flights he conducted in his first year as a SouthWings Volunteer Pilot. We also celebrated the commitment of Volunteer Pilots Ken Knevel, Les Abend, Tom Kahlert, and John Cowlishaw as they left active SouthWings flying and joined our emeritus class of 2023.
It was a wonderful couple of days of telling stories around the fire, enjoying the natural beauty of Kanuga, and getting to know the amazing volunteers who make up this organization, meeting some for the first time in person. Thank you to our event sponsors including Aircraft Spruce, Sporty's Pilot Shop, REI, and Patagonia. Thank you to Kanuga for accommodating our group. Thanks again to all who joined us- we can't wait to do it again!
Pictures from the event:
