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EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - July 29, 2009 — Ron Shelton does it to see the children and their families enjoying themselves. Doug Nelson just hopes to hear, “This is the best day of my life.” Richard Grell still remembers the “spark” that ignited his love of aviation when he got his first airplane ride from a friend’s father. Neita Montague says she gets a huge “high” every time she comes “down.” Robert (Butch) Benja enjoys seeing the children’s reaction when they’re back on the ground.
No matter the reason they got involved in EAA’s Young Eagles program, they have stayed involved because they know they are making a difference. While thousands give of their time to make the Young Eagles program soar, a few have been honored for their extraordinary efforts. This year’s winners received their awards at the EAA AirVenture Museum’s Eagle Hangar on Wednesday, July 29.
This year’s award recipients include:
Ron Shelton, of Columbia, South Carolina — Chapter Coordinator
Doug Nelson, of Milford, New Jersey — Humanitarian Award
Russell Grell, of Highlands, Colorado — Ground Volunteer
Neita Montague, of Reno, Nevada — Field Representative
Robert (Butch) Benja, of Addison, Illinois — ConocoPhillips Leadership Award
"It’s difficult to select just one person from each of the categories to receive an award, and it gets more difficult with each passing year," says Steve Buss, Young Eagles executive director. "There are so many wonderful people who are a part of the Young Eagles program. While we are honoring these volunteers for their work, there are thousands of others out there who continue to make Young Eagles such a successful program."
Ron Shelton, Chapter Coordinator
Shelton, of Columbia, South Carolina, describes himself and fellow Chapter 242 members as “obnoxiously persistent.” But that persistence helped him earn the 2009 Chapter Coordinator award. “I’m only effective because it’s a group effort and we have a marvelous group who make things happen,” he said.
One of his main jobs as Young Eagle chapter coordinator is to help recruit pilots and children. It takes persistence to find children each month for their Young Eagle flights, held the second Saturday of every month.
“We just keep telling people all the time that we do this and we don’t let up,” he said. “We make a lot of calls to churches, children’s clubs, homeschooled groups; every time we have families or groups come, we tell them that the only requirement is that they tell others to come. We really push word of mouth.”
Shelton has participated in the Young Eagles program since 1992 and has been the chapter coordinator since 2005. In addition, he is a pilot who has logged about 1,200 flight hours, adding time consistently for 25 years.
He said they have about 40 or 45 pilots or aircraft owners who participate in Young Eagles, but about 10 of those fly about 90 percent of the Young Eagles. It’s a similar story for the ground crew. “There are a consistent six or seven who help every month and others rotate…”
For a Young Eagles event, they need almost twice as many grounds volunteers as pilots. That’s because of their set up, he explained, with the waiting area “not particularly close” to the loading and work area.
Shelton said hard work makes their chapter Young Eagle events successful. “I’m not just my hard work, but a core group who really work, come to every meeting and take on assignments. There is no short cut for success.”
But the work is worth it, he stressed.
“It’s rewarding to see what a pleasurable thing our Young Eagle event is for the families who come. They never leave disappointed.”
Shelton also knows how one airplane ride can impact a child. “When I was 12 years old, a friend of a friend gave me an airplane ride, and I immediately knew that I wanted to do that.”
Doug Nelson, Humanitarian Award
Flying Young Eagles is rewarding. But flying Young Eagles with special needs is even more satisfying, said Nelson, of Milford, New Jersey.
Nelson, of Chapter 643, should know. He has been flying children with special needs for 10 years, and because of his efforts, received the 2009 Humanitarian Award.
“The award came as a complete surprise,” he said. “It took me a while to figure out whom to blame,” he added with a laugh.
Chapter 643 started regularly flying youth with special needs when a representative from a camp in Asbury, which caters to children who are homeless, in foster care, abused or disadvantaged, contacted them to see if they would be interested in doing flights for their campers. They were.
Chapter 643 has flown 40-45 campers three times a summer now for 10 years.
“We live in an affluent area, and while we enjoy flying the kids in our area, the truth is that those children can afford to do what they want to do,” Nelson said. “The kids at this camp don’t have that option. Plus it allows us to give back to a little larger population. And it’s fun to see their attitudes go away.
“A lot of them are tough, street kids, but once they get into an airplane, the gee-whiz factor wins them over,” he said. “There are very few who don’t drop the façade.”
Nelson recalls one particular youngster. “It was a puffy cloud type of day and the camper was having so much fun. We were doing a couple of turns and just flying around when he said, ‘This is so cool. This is the best day of my life.’ That says it all.”
Although it’s difficult to keep in touch with the youth since move around, they do know of some who have gone on to pursue aviation. One former camper is flying for Continental Express and another has earned his private pilot certificate and has actually come back to camp to fly the current campers, Nelson said.
His advice to other chapters is simple. “Don’t limit yourself to ‘normal’ kids and normal behavior. Think outside the box.”
Russell Grell, Ground Volunteer
Someone took Russell Grell up for an airplane ride when he was a youth, giving him that “spark” to pursue aviation. Now he’s helping do the same for countless other youth.
Grell, of Rocky Mountain Chapter 301, is the recipient of the 2009 EAA Ground Volunteer award. “So many people are just as worthy as I am, if not more,” he said. “But I’m very happy to represent them all.”
Grell has been ground coordinator at Chapter 301 Young Eagle events since 1999, and says his job centers around doing a little bit of everything, from directing traffic, to parking aircraft, to escorting people to the aircraft and more. “I’m an A&P mechanic besides a pilot, so I’ll also make visual inspections of airplanes to make sure everything looks hunky dory.”
In addition, Grell takes all Young Eagle photos, which then are put on the chapter’s Web site so Young Eagles can download a high-resolution picture of their flight.
Grell said organization is the key to holding effective Young Eagle events. “Every person is dedicated to his or her job. And everyone is watching out for the parents and children … to make sure the event is safe.”
He has also been involved in the Civil Air Patrol since 1995 and knows of many Young Eagles and CAP cadets who have gone to pursue careers as military pilots or work for the airlines.
“If you talk to any pilot, someone, somewhere let them go for a ride in their airplane, and that was the spark that got them interested in aviation,” he said.
Grell knows personally about that spark.
He got his first airplane ride in a P-51, flown by a friend’s father who was a major general in the New York International Guard. “At the time, I didn’t realize how important that was in my life,” he said.
Grell has his private pilot and glider licenses, and has logged about 540 hours in the air. But that number will certainly rise when he finishes building his RV-9A. “Right now I just fly OPP — other people’s planes.”
Neita Montague, Field Representative
Montague said she got bored staying at home when her husband went out sailing, so she decided to take an introductory flight.
Although she admits to being “scared to death” on that first flight, afterward she walked into the flight office, plopped down a $500 check and said, “Teach me how to fly!”
She earned her license in five months and Montague hasn’t been bored since.
As a Field Representative with EAA’s Young Eagle program since 1999, Montague, of Reno, Nevada, organizes Young Eagle flights. She has given 114 flights since she started with the program in 1993.
“I try to fly one child at a time so that I can concentrate just on that Young Eagle,” she said. “A lot of people fly three Young Eagles and the ‘ride’ becomes only a ride. I perceive this as an opportunity to open their eyes to the glories of flying, to open their minds to the idea that communication and math skills are important for flying, and in fact, for whatever they want to do in life.”
For her work, Montague was named top Field Representative in 2009. Since Montague was in Slovenia for The Women’s Soaring Seminar, Virginia Harmer accepted the award on Neita´s behalf.
“I am absolutely thrilled to receive this award,” Montague said from Slovenia. “It is so rewarding to fly Young Eagles that I come ‘down’ with a huge high.”
Montague has been flying since 1984 and has logged more than 2,200 hours in the air. She earned her Single Engine Land rating in a Tomahawk and the Instrument rating in her Beech Musketeer. She now owns a Grumman Tiger and two gliders.
But she became hooked on soaring 11 years ago and has since earned her Commercial Glider license. She is now working on her Certified Glider Instructor license.
“Right now I am emphasizing doing (Young Eagle) flights in a glider as this is truly the roots of flying. It’s quieter — it’s more like flying like a bird — and it is much less expensive for me!”
Robert (Butch) Benja, Conoco-Phillips Leadership Award
He got a thrill out of flying his first Young Eagle. But Robert (Butch) Bejna of Addison, Illinois still gets that thrill after more than 1,500 Young Eagles have taken flight with him in his Cessna 150.
Benja, of EAA Chapter 101, received the Conoco-Phillips Leadership Award for his work with the Young Eagles program and his commitment to building awareness and appreciation of general aviation.
Benja said he got involved with the Young Eagles program in 1996 when Chapter 101 was flying youth out of Meigs Field. “I went there to see what it was all about and I flew some kids,” he said.
That was all it took — he was hooked. In fact, Benja participates in the Young Eagles program from a number of different airports for different chapters. He has flown Young Eagles at the Schaumburg Regional Airport with other Chapter 101 pilots, as well as at the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Illinois. He flew Young Eagles at Chapter 18’s Armed Forces Weekend in Milwaukee, as well as at events for Chapter 414 in Waukegan, Illinois; Chapter 217 in Kenosha, Wisconsin; and with the Tuskegee Airmen in Gary, Indiana.
But Benja does more than just fly kids. He has served as Chapter 101’s Young Eagle coordinator and helped with the ground school. During AirVenture, you’ll find him volunteering at the Young Eagles pavilion and donating models to the silent auction for the Gathering of Eagles.
What’s the best part of the Young Eagles program?
“Seeing the reaction of the kids when we get back on the ground,” he said.
Benja said a lot of the children want him to fly upside down or do loops and rolls like they see on TV. “But I just explain that we don’t do that in this type of aircraft. But they do like seeing all the different sights, including who has the swimming pools.”
Benja said today’s children often play on flight simulators, so they have an idea how the controls work. “Most are willing to take the controls … and they’re actually pretty good until we hit a bump. Then they get a little nervous since flight simulators have none of that.”
His advice to other EAA Chapters and members is simple. “If you haven’t given any Young Eagle flights, try it. It really is a lot of fun.”
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Ron Shelton, EAA Chapter 242, Columbia, South Carolina
Doug Nelson EAA Chapter 643, Milford, New Jersey
Neita Montague, Reno, Nevada
Russell Grell, EAA Chapter 301, Highlands, Colorado
Robert “Butch” Bejna, EAA Chapter 101, Addison, Illinois
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