Volunteerism
Aviation enrichment
EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2011 WAS a
spectacular event. Attendance was up over last
year, with 541,000 people enjoying the World’s
Greatest Aviation Celebration. This year also
marked a huge increase in aircraft arrivals and
campers who stayed on the grounds. The trend
of staying onsite has become well-established
in recent years as a good way to maximize the
AirVenture experience and enjoy old friends,
while making new ones.
No matter what your personal favorite
experience at AirVenture may be, there is a
common element that makes it possible—
volunteers. Few people realize just what an
enormous effort is required to make AirVenture
the world’s premier aviation event.
That effort includes volunteers who plan
“work groups” throughout the year. Many of the work groups are
chapters from around the country that make weekend and even
weeklong trips to Oshkosh to do their part in preparing the site,
working on aircraft, or assisting with construction projects.
An even greater commitment is made by the “Audrey’s Park”
volunteers, who begin arriving in June and some stay through
August, performing thousands of tasks to be ready for the biggest
week in aviation. Not all the work is glamorous. It is in this work
that you see the EAA spirit and the can-do attitude at
its best. During dinner one evening at the Volunteers
Kitchen, I met a very tired and suntanned gentleman
who was resting his head against the side of the
building. When I asked what his project for the day
was, he answered, “Laying sod…lot’s of it.” Then he
quickly said, “It was a great day!”
I met volunteers who met in Oshkosh decades ago
and are now old friends working together with an easy
precision and unspoken plan that gets the job done
in the most pleasant manner. There are generations
of families who enjoy a reunion in Oshkosh centered
around volunteering. Family values, engaging hearts,
minds, hands, and learning while doing are all
elements that make for a rich life experience.
While getting to know some of these families,
I thought of the exemplary influence and positive
shaping subtly bestowed on impressionable children
Maura (left), Heidi, and Hilary Hightower (not shown) volunteered preparing
EAA merchandise before the start of AirVenture Oshkosh 2011.
and teenagers. Our schools could take a
lesson from that experience.
The Hightower children were fully
engaged in volunteering from the beginning
of July. When Maura and I asked them to
describe their experience and tell us their
favorite parts, we heard “Fun.” “Awesome.”
“Got to do cool new things.” “I learned
how to...” “We were doing the same work
as grown-ups.” But the common thread of
their favorite parts was the new friendships
and shared life experiences volunteering
enabled them to enjoy.
AirVenture Oshkosh 2011 happened
because of the efforts of an astounding
4,800 volunteers. On behalf of the rest of
EAA’s members and our staff, I offer my
sincere thank you to every volunteer. We
could not have done it without you and
aviation is better because of you. If you
know a volunteer, be sure to thank him or
her. Maybe next year you’d like to volunteer,
too. You can learn how to participate at
www.AirVenture.org/volunteers.
Now, let’s go aviate!
