aviatiOn
calendar
The Calendar of Events is a source of information
about industry/organization events. Italicized calendar items are events at which Women in Aviation, International will be an exhibitor. As dates
or locations can change and errors can occur, verify the information before making final plans to
attend any of the events. Calendar items should
be sent to: Aviation for Women Calendar, 18735
Baseleg Avenue, North Fort Myers, FL 33917; Fax:
(239) 567-2271; Email: alaboda@wai.org. Events
will be considered on a space available basis. ✈
advertiSerS index
Aerographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 43
dtc duAt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 19
embry-riddle Aeronautical
university. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back cover
2011
july 25-31
EAA AirVenture Fly-In
Wittman Airport
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
www.airventure.org
july 29
WAI Celebrity Breakfast
EAA Nature Center
8:00-9:00 a.m.
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
www.wai.org
September 22-24
AOPA Summit
Hartford, Connecticut
www.aopa.org/summit
September 23-25
AWE Annual Meeting
Amsterdam, Netherlands
www.aweu.org
October 10-12
National Business
Aviation Association
64th Annual Meeting &
Convention
Las Vegas, Nevada
www.nbaa.org
2012
march 8-10
23rd Annual
International Women in
Aviation Conference
Hilton Anatole
Dallas, Texas
www.wai.org
Flying Magazine. . . . . . . . . . inside Back cover
Pilot getaways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 41
sky one Federal credit union . . . . . . Page 23
utah Valley university . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 43
Wings Financial . . . . . . . . . .inside Front cover
Women in Aviation,
international.................... Pages3, 39
A day hasn’t passed since that chance
encounter with Vi where I don’t think
of her and am so thankful for our meeting. Her simple message and kind heart
has carried me through some dark days.
Vi’s guiding principles apply not only to
a young girl’s dream of flight but to conquering everyday challenges we all face.
Over the years, we stayed in touch and
periodically saw each other at WAI conferences. There I learned of the need for
military escorts in Washington, D.C. to
accompany the WASP for the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in 2010. I
couldn’t wait to request being Vi’s escort
and was so excited to learn she wasn’t
“taken” yet. Luck was on my side, and
we were paired up again!
Our trip to D.C. allowed for quality
time spent with her family, friends and
long lost flying companions. They were
three of the best days of my life and added to the many reasons I was happy to
be serve in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Military service was required of escorts.
We spent time laughing, crying and
(continued from page 48)
vi cowden at eaa airventure 2009 Photo by john Slemp
sharing many hugs in D.C. She fondly recalled her days flying as a WASP. It was
such a joy to see her reconnect with dear
friends of years past. I’ve never seen so
many silver-haired ladies smiling from
ear-to-ear as they were wheeled around
at events. They still knew how to stop
traffic—no one dared tell them about resulting jams. It was their big celebration!
It is without question that my greatest honor as a member of the armed
forces was presenting Vi with her own
Congressional Gold Medal. Due to the
number of WASP receiving the distinguished medal, only one medal could be
presented during the “official” ceremony so their escorts gave remaining medals to the ladies. Choking back tears, I
told Vi how much we all loved her and
how proud we were of what she accomplished during her lifetime.
Fate brought us together, and she will
always be very special to me. Countless others feel the same way. She was a
warm, loving woman with an incredible
history—an inspiration to all that had
the pleasure of meeting her.
“Sometimes the best things in life are
the things that (just) happen. If you kind
of take a chance with life, you know, it
works out,” she said.
Vi, I couldn’t agree more. We will miss
you so much. Blue skies my dear friend.✈
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kristine Volk (WAI #16250) is Navy Distinguished Visitor Coordinator for CVN-71.
