Leadership Perspective on A/TA

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Leadership

Perspective...

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Garage Sale

Success!

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A Secret

Garden Winery

Harvest

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2010 - 2011

Kitty Hawk

Executive

Committee

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Kitty Hawk Quarterly 1 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 V O L U M E I I , I S S U E I I & I I I U P C O M I N G

E V E N T S :

2010 A/TA

Convention

This will be our second year attend-ing as a chapter!

28-31 Oct 2010

POC: Capt Crespo

Veteran’s Day

Parade

Last year we had a

blast handing out

planes/flags to the

kids—come join us

again this year!

6 Nov 2010

POC: SSgt Yontz

Habitat for Hu-

manity

23 Nov 2010

POC: SSgt Yontz

Col Ogden: It is hard to believe I have

been a part of the 916 ARW for almost six months. In this short time the wing

has done incredible things with

inspections and deployments! We have also received numer-ous awards, as the 911 ARS

won the best tanker squadron in the Air Force award and the wing won the outstanding unit in Air Force Reserve Command

award. So I am very excited to be a part of the wing and also our

Airlift Tanker Association Chapter. Our chapter does an incredible job of promoting the

Air Force and helping out in the

local community. We have a great group of leaders headed

by the president of our chapter Capt Suzanne Crespo. The excitement and energy created

by our ATA members is conta-gious! Whether they are helping with Habitat for Humanity or harvesting

grapes at a local winery, they do

great things and have fun at the same time. The largest event the ATA puts on

is the annual conference held each Fall. This is without a doubt the finest aerospace conference I have ever attended. All of the top leaders

in the Air Force attend and out-standing guest speakers address the convention throughout the event. In

addition, an incredible number of aerospace companies display some of their latest concepts. The confer-

ence is always held at a great loca-

tion and this year’s trip to Orlando is no exception.

I highly encourage everyone to consider joining the ATA. It is a great opportunity to join a group

dedicated to making a difference for the Air Force and our community. - Randy Ogden

LtCol Heseltine: As we approach our 42d Airlift/Tanker Association Con-

vention and Symposium, it is hard not to be a bit nostalgic about past gath-erings in Dallas, Anaheim, or Nash-

ville, and the opportunity that each A/

TA rendezvous delivers to reunite and share war stories--some truer than others--with friends not seen in

a long time. From the legendary vendor exhibits, phenomenal profes-sional-development forums and four-

star panels,

the conven-tion has something for

everyone.

A/TA is so much more than just a

great conven-tion. After the final golf

ball drops, the last of the parties die

down, and we’ve all recovered

from late-night CRUD tournaments and ―so there I was‖ sessions, what never ends is the enduring bond of our

fraternity of mobility professionals, hauling cargo, saving lives, creating air

bridges that fuel the fight, defending, maintaining and sustaining aging mobil-

ity fleets or pushing pallets across ports in every time zone across the globe.

I want to take a moment to reflect on what A/TA has meant to me, and if

you are not already, why you should

consider becoming a member. From my first day, as a newly minted tanker pilot, squadron supervisors

and wing leadership encouraged me

to join this great organization. They knew full-well the immeasurable benefits, camaraderie and commu-

nity service opportunities A/TA membership offers. After attending my first convention, playing CRUD

with General Fogelman, meeting Colonel Gayle Halverson (the fa-mous candy bomber) and having

very candid discussions with top-level Air Mobility leaders – I was sold!

Whether you are an officer, civil-ian, NCO, or Airman, community involvement and commitment to

professional service organizations are integral parts of our Air Force

heritage. General Washington once said that ―the willingness with which

our young people are likely to serve in the future is directly proportional to how today’s generation is taken

care of.‖ Service, whether on our bases or in our communities, and

P A G E 2

“We would like to

give a big THANK

YOU to all of the

people who made

this possible

through their

donations!”

LtCol Heseltine

Leadership Perspective (continued…)

K I T T Y H A W K Q U A R T E R L Y

the giving of your personal

time and energy to those

who support both with us

and for us every day, are

some of life’s greatest privi-

leges; and those who volun-

teer will tell you that the

greatest service rewards are

actually reaped by the ones

who give. More impor-

tantly, by serving your com-

munity families today, you

literally help lay the founda-

tion of our armed forces of

tomorrow.

I witnessed this first-hand,

when our Kitty-Hawk Chap-

ter, using proceeds raised

throughout the year, pre-

sented two outstanding high

school seniors with college

scholarships. The pride on

the faces of those in atten-

dance, their friends, families

and the winners themselves,

was truly humbling. For the

recipients, money for school

means more than just financial

aid for tuition, books, or

room and board—financial

scholarships often deliver

hope and open doors for

those who may not have had

a chance to pursue their ad-

vanced education.

From recognition

programs for outstanding

Airmen and their families, to

community projects and

scholarships, A/TA members

benefit every day, both per-

sonally and professionally,

from this outstanding service

organization.

I can’t wait to see

you at in Orlando!

Cheers!

- Phil

Garage Sale Success! the venue for this event. The

event went off without a hitch with

the only difficult part being the

initial work of collecting, sorting,

organizing, pricing, and placing of

all the items the night before.

Since we had so many donations,

this took a couple of hours for the

garage sale crew (Capt Crespo,

Chief Parris, MSgt Braden, Mrs.

Braden, and myself) to accomplish.

People were lining up almost a half

hour early to get a shot at first dibs

on this treasure trove of stuff. We

even had to enlist the help of the

Braden kids to help us keep from

getting overrun! Tyler Braden (11)

did an especially good job at hag-

gling with the customers getting

the most money for the items, and

his sister, Autumn (5), was proba-

bly the best cashier I have had the

pleasure of working with. We

ended up collecting a huge sum of

$630, over 1/3 of our total scholar-

ship goal for the year! This was

such a success we will want to

make this an annual event.

--Capt Christopher Foote

The First Annual A/TA Garage sale was held on

Saturday 25 September 2010 and it was a huge suc-

cess. We would first like to give a big THANK

YOU! to all of the people who made this possible

through their donations. We’d also like to thank the

Braden family for allowing their home to be used as

(Part of theGarage Sale Crew, from Left to Right: Capt Chris Foote,

Capt Susie Crespo, Jamie Braden, MSgt Joe Braden)

Kitty Hawk is on the Web!

Look for us on Facebook

P A G E 3 V O L U M E I I , I S S U E 1 1 & I I I

could on such short notice and managed

to pick all of Linda’s grapes over the pe-

riod from Saturday Sept 4th to Wednesday

Sept 8th. It was a lot of work, but not

hard (and mostly fun). Brent Watson had

some close encounters with wasps and

got to see a blow torch in action as Linda

valiantly protected him by burning the

wasp nest. Praying mantis’s and lady bugs

watched us from their homes in the grape vines as we picked in the hot sun. Those

of us who harvested still did get to social-

ize with some good homemade pasta and

fig shakes, and partake in a round of edu-

cational wine tasting. We also held a so-

cial (though smaller due to the lack of

harvesting activity) on the originally sched-

uled date of the 18th. Those who at-

tended said they had a lot of fun eating

and drinking together with Linda, and

Linda thanked them for volunteering to

help even though the way it worked

out prevented most of them from

being able to help. I would like to give

a special thanks to Kamille Thomas

and her family, Brent Watson (mostly

for comic relief), Michael Rivera, Doug

Seeley, Christine Crespo, and Susie

Crespo for helping with the grape

harvest. I would like to thank every-

one else who volunteered, regardless if you were able actually make it out to

help. I would also like to thank Linda

Hall for teaching us about winemaking

and her excellent hospitality. We

hope to be able to support A Secret

Garden more in the future. It is one

of the small hidden gems of Wayne

County.

--Capt Christopher Foote

harvested at this same time of year, she

has trouble every year finding workers to

hire to help her pick her grape vines. All

of the workers in the local areas commit

themselves early to work harvesting

tobacco, since the tobacco harvests are a

significant, stable, and consistent source

of income. This is why the A/TA offered

to combine a social event with a volun-

teer effort to help Linda with her har-vest. We had a lot of enthusiasm about

a hands-on learning experience. Linda

would show us the ins and outs of wine-

making as we harvested, feed us a deli-

cious meal, and host a wine tasting!

Well, the plan got a little twisted once

Mother Nature entered the mix. The

grapes were so ripe they were falling off

the vines before Labor Day, so they had

to be picked much sooner than planned.

We scrounged up as many people as we

What better way to socialize than over

a nice glass of wine? Socializing over a

glass of wine made from the grapes you

helped pick! Well, maybe the exact

grapes you picked won’t be in a bottle

for another year, but you get the idea.

Harvesting grapes and drinking wine is

what was scheduled for the grape harvest

social at A Secret Garden Winery on 18

September 2010, but what actually hap-

pened is a different story. The plan was

to help out a great local business with the

most stressful and difficult part of their

year. Linda Hall is the owner of A Se-

cret Garden Winery, a small organic

winery in Pikeville, NC. Because her

winery is so small (it is mostly just a

hobby of hers), and tobacco is being

A Secret Garden Winery Harvest

2010-2011 Kitty Hawk

Executive Committee Kitty Hawk President—Capt Suzanne (Susie) Crespo: I am originally from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Both my par-

ents were Army National Guard on the island and they inspired me to join the military. I commissioned through the Air Force

Academy (where I met my husband Chris Foote) and I knew I wanted to fly heavies. During pilot training, I learned more about the KC-135 and it was my first choice assignment. I'm happy to be at Seymour Johnson (a great base!) and have the opportunity to work for the Airlift/Tanker Association. Our upcoming year should prove to be both exciting and challenging

as we strive to meet our goals for scholarship funds and volunteer hours!

Vice President—CMSgt Tony Parris: I am originally from Spartansburg, SC. I joined the Air Force when I was 25

years old, and prior to that I was in the Army for 2 years. I have worked in F-15 maintenance, as a C-141 Loadmaster, KC-10 Boom Operator, and a KC-135 Boom Operator. My primary goal this year is to increase membership and awareness of the purpose and activities of the A/TA.

Secretary—Capt Christopher Foote: I am originally from Winston-Salem NC and am married to Capt Susie Crespo

and am a pilot in the 911 ARS. This is my first assignment after I finished pilot training at Columbus AFB, and have been sta-tioned here at Seymour Johnson for just over 2 years. I look forward to serving the A/TA as secretary. My goal for this year

is to increase awareness of our organization through increased community involvement.

Treasurer—MSgt Joe Braden: I’m originally from Ely, Nevada and have spent the last 17 years serving at various over-

seas assignments until being selected for my current assignment. I arrived at Seymour Johnson in August 2009 from Kadena

AB, Okinawa, Japan. While stationed at Kadena I served as the Ryukyu Chapter President for 2 years and really enjoyed what

the A/TA had to offer. I look forward to the upcoming year and working with each of you to ensure the continued success of

our A/TA Chapter.

Philanthropy Chair—SSgt Christopher Yontz: I am originally from the suburbs of Clevland, OH. I am currently a

boom operator in the 911 ARS with over 2000 hours of flying time. I am married with one child on the way. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my wife, shooting pool, and volunteering my time to the community.

Scholarship Chair—MSgt John Beal: I am currently a production superintendent, originally from Kimbolton,

Ohio and married to MSgt Rebecca Beal. I was previously stationed at Robins AFB, Ga. for 11 years and have spent the last 2 ½ here in Seymour Johnson. This is my second year on the ATA council as the scholarship chair and look forward

to another year in your service.

Historian/Webmaster—MSgt Rebecca Beal: I am originally from Portland, Oregon, married to MSgt John Beal,

and soon to have three kids. I was previously stationed at Robins AFB for nearly 11 years and have spent the last 2 ½ here in sunny Seymour Johnson. I look forward to the new year and am eager to start working towards accomplishing our goals.

Joint Social Chair—Holly Prieto: I am originally from Goldsboro, NC. I have been working at Jeffrey Scott Salon as a

hair stylist for 4 years. I am married to Octavio Prieto, a pilot in the 911 ARS, and we are expecting our first child in a few months. I am excited to be part of the A/TA, and I know we will have a lot of fun together this coming year.

Joint Social Chair—SSgt Amanda Erdmann: I am originally from Apopka Florida, a small town outside of Or-

lando. I am assigned to the 911 ARS, working in the SARM office. This is my second base, previously I was at Tinker AFB working in the 72 OSS in the HARM office. I hope to get an overseas assignment in the next couple of years. I am excited about working with the ATA this year, and planning social events!