Back On Board with Angel Flight

Before we began our grand healing adventure here in Texas, Kara and I volunteered with a service organization called Angel Flight, which provides non-emergency medical transportation in private aircraft.

I was the Utah wing Webmaster for a while, and later served as the Utah Wing Leader. Kara came on board as Mission Coordinator, helping to pair patients with pilots. We also both had the chance to fly as Mission Assistants and help at airshows and other events. It was a lot of fun, and we both really enjoyed it.

For a quite a while, Kara was able to do her Mission Coordination work from here in Texas, but eventually she became too sick and had to quit. Once the rest of us moved, I had to step down as Wing Leader. Dropping out of Angel Flight was one of the hardest parts of this whole move.

With Kara feeling so much better, we have decided to jump back into the group. Beginning the end of July, we will be working together as Mission Coordinators for the Utah Wing. We are both very excited to be working with our friends again in this great organization.

Angel Flight has been a big blessing to us in our lives, giving us both an opportunity to serve and providing service to us. As Kara's health deteriorated, she was flown by Angel Flight between Salt Lake and Dallas several times. The pilots all volunteered their time and the entire cost of the flights.

We are both very excited to be in a position to give back, if only just a little of our time.

If any of my faithful Utah readers are interested in helping out with Angel Flight, the wing is in need of volunteers for a number of non-pilot positions - especially in community and hospital outreach, and event planning. (I'm sure the wings in other states could use some helpers, too.)

The organization has been around for more than 25 years, yet many people who could benefit from the service the pilots provide still don't know about it. To paraphrase one of the leaders, "It's amazing how hard it is to give away a free service like this."

You can learn more about Angel Flight here. The Utah Wing's web site is here.

Comments

Tristi Pinkston said…
What an awesome organization!
6/27/08, 6:40 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guavalicious Contest Rules

As many of you know, I grew up in Hawaii, in the quaint little village of Laie . Many of you also know that I have been working away at my version of the Great American Novel for the last little while. Due to a bout of homesickness brought on by a cruel Utah winter, my story is set in (surprise) Laie. It was also in Laie that I learned to love the great taste of guava - the same taste I am about to share with a few lucky people in the form of my Guavalicious apple butter. To enter the contest, simply add a comment to this post that completes the following sentence: "A story set in Hawaii simply has to include _____." There are no right or wrong answers. I'm just curious to see what everyone has to say, both "insiders and outsiders". I also think it could be fun to try and use as many of these suggestions as possible. You can make as many as you want, but your name only goes in the hat once. I will add a jar of Guavalicious to the prize pool for every four entr...
Read more

Canoe-Paddling Polynesian Guys

Image
We have finally hung a picture on the wall here in our house. The fact that this is a blog-worthy event eighteen months after moving in is, I admit, rather pathetic. But it is also very exciting. I finally feel like we are really moving in. Slowly but surely we're picking away at the projects that need to be done, and (for now) avoiding the temptation to take on any new ones. This picture is called Hoe Kama Kani , which means "paddle with the wind." We found this picture at a home show in Honolulu while we were students, and I just fell in love with it. I stood there and stared at the picture for quite some time, but I simply couldn't justify the $140 price. The salesman told us that they had a smaller print available for much less, but they had sold out at the show. We could look at it if we came by the studio the next week. Unfortunately, the little 8x10 just didn't have the same effect as the full size print. So as you can see, we bit the bullet, got the big on...
Read more

The Liar's Game - Post 500

Image
Here it is - the 500th post here at Fifteen Minutes of Delusion. To celebrate, I'm having a contest. You can find the rules here . Post your guesses on this post. And now, on to the game. 1. My lunch with Michael Dorn. For several years, I was the Utah Wing Leader for Angel Flight West, a charity flying organization that donates flights in private aircraft for people who need medical attention. Each October, the Wing Leaders would get together with the board of directors in Long Beach, California, for a Wing Leader Planning Day. The first year I attended, actor and pilot Michael Dorn was on the board. I didn't recognize him at first, but as soon as he spoke, there was no doubt who he was. Kara and I were big Star Trek fans at the time. Although we didn't have any direct interaction, we sat at the same table during lunch. I was pleased to note that he took the onions off of his sandwich, just like me. 2. My flight with Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. One Christmas Kara and...
Read more