September 2022
Volunteers serving America’s communities, saving lives, and shaping futures.
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Inside This Issue..High-Altitude Balloon Challenge, Partners in Flight, CAP Impact Feature, Geospatial Team Takes Gold, Alumni Meet and Greet Update, Member Leaves CAP Legacy, Alumni Spotlight, Final Salute, and more ... |
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Go Cadets!
CAP's High-Altitude Balloon Challenge
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More than 500 CAP cadet teams’ scientific experiments soared skyward Aug. 13 in north central Indiana for CAP’s second national Aerospace Education High-Altitude Balloon Challenge.
The experiments were carried aloft as payloads in three balloons, ascending to heights from 98,663-105,661 feet before falling back to Earth for recovery. After 90 minutes of tracking the balloons’ steady rise, mission base detected...
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Editor's Note: We are looking for sponsors for next year's balloon challenge. If you or your company is interested in learning more, please email us!
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CAP/Textron Highlights 2022 Partnership |
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As title sponsor of the CAP's 2022 National Conference, Textron Aviation highlighted their 2022 CAP partnership with the Special Olympics Airlift and Aircraft Manufacturing Academy Encampment. |
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CAP Releases New Recruitment Video |
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We would love for you to share our new CAP video with others
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Yes, would be happy to share the link. Great idea!
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Maybe, just need to think about who to send it to.
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Not today, but I enjoyed watching it!
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Lessons Florida Officer Learned in Antarctic Cold Impress Cadets in Subtropical Tampa |
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Pilot and plane
Lt. Col. David Panzera stands in front of his LC-130 during a stop at the West Antartic Ice Sheet
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For the young members of Florida Wing’s 89th MacDill Aviation Cadet Squadron, Lt. Col. David Panzera brings a valuable added dimension to CAP. For the young members – including one vivid lesson from his days flying in Antarctica, a far cry in more ways than one from the squadron's Tampa location.
A CAP command pilot and former U.S. Air Force pilot with over 6,000 hours in Air Force aircraft, Panzera is the squadron’s deputy commander. He’s qualified as an Airbus 320 and Airbus 321 pilot with over 1,560 hours of experience in these aircraft.
But Panzera considers himself lucky to be a pilot at all. He nearly didn’t make it.
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Two Ways to Make an Impact before Year’s End |
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As fall approaches, CAP is honored to share a couple of tax wise ways to support our missions while supporting your finances. Many supporters are turning to non-cash gifts of appreciated stocks and IRA contributions to maximize their impact at less cost. The secure resources make it easy to learn more about your potential savings — and help you complete your gift before Dec. 15. |
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CAP Partners with SiriusXM to Use Weather Techology in Planes
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Maj. Gen. Edward Phelka, CAP national commander, and Dave Hubner, senior director, aviation services at SiriusXM, 2022 National Conference |
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SiriusXM and Civil Air Patrol announced Aug. 25 that CAP’s fleet of onboard weather-capable aircraft is now flying with SiriusXM’s satellite-delivered aviation weather and information.
“SiriusXM’s satellite-provided weather service is an ideal tool for Civil Air Patrol missions,” said Michael Nunemaker, CAP’s chief of safety. “It is especially valuable as a part of our strategic weather information toolset where ground-based tools may not be able to provide the weather information our pilots need to make sound safety decisions.”
CAP pilots fly with SiriusXM Aviation features that include...
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CAP Alumni Connect at National Conference |
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Over 40 CAP Alumni joined Col. John Knowles, deputy chief of Alumni Relations, at the 2022 National Conference Alumni Meet & Greet to connect and celebrate. Games, historical giveaways, and CAP throwback stories provided a fun evening for alumni.
Join us for next year's National Conference Alumni Meet & Greet in Bellevue, Washington, on 18 Aug.
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Your thoughts about alumni and friends gatherings
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Yes, invite me to future gatherings.
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Not my thing, but thanks for asking.
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Geospatial Program Team
Recognized with JanEX Prize
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(From left) Capt. Scott Kaplan, Lt. Col. Brian Cuce, Maj. Mike Zabetakis, Capt. Cole Brown and 2nd Lt Oliwia Baney |
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A leading-edge technology that has transformed CAP into the world’s largest volunteer geospatial emergency management agency has earned a five-member team first place in CAP’s inaugural Maj. Gen. Mark Smith JanEX Prize competition. The team has also been honored by the U.S. Air Force's Northern Command for its work.
Gold-level recognition went to Capt. Scott Kaplan of the Virginia Wing, Lt. Col. Brian Cuce of the Pennsylvania Wing, Maj. Mike Zabetakis and Capt. Cole Brown of the Maryland Wing and 2nd Lt. Oliwia Baney of the California Wing, all of whom joined to create the Geospatial Center of Excellence. Other Silver and Bronze medalists were...
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CAP's search and rescue missions continue. This map represents the number of saves since Oct. 1. |
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Alumni & Friends Spotlight
Former Cadet and SM Bianca Vasquez
Hawaii Wing
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Why did you join Civil Air Patrol?
I joined the Maui County Composite Squadron in the fall of 2016 as a sophomore in high school. I found myself sticking to the program because I enjoyed the mission-centric dynamics, working in a team, and meeting new people.
What is your current career?
I am currently a senior at Menlo College in the Silicon Valley of California, and I’m majoring in business management with a concentration in marketing.
What specific lesson/experience from CAP has influenced your career or your life?
“What got you into aviation, and how are you a pilot?” I get this question a lot because I am a Latina and first-generation pilot. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor only 1% of pilots are women of color. I’m always proud, humbled, and grateful to respond that CAP provided the opportunity for me to fall in love with aviation. After my first glider flight I was hooked. After many busy school days, long shifts working at Subway, and tiring nights studying, my hard work paid off. On July 4, 2018, I earned my private pilot certificate at the age of 17.
I found a welcoming and supportive community in CAP, and I was eager to find ways to share my passion with others. As a cadet I had the opportunity to teach aerospace education lessons at wing events, lead community service activities, lead CAP events and mentor aspiring pilots. Today, I continue these activities while serving as a senior member and menotor with CAP.
What else should we know about you?
A plane doesn’t care about what the person that’s handling the controls looks like. I believe that anyone can be a great pilot, and that anyone should have the opportunity to experience the beauty of flight. With that in mind, my two Latina friends and I started a nonprofit called Women of Color in Aviation in an effort to make a tangible difference in cultivating a more diverse aviation community where aviators can feel safe, welcomed, and supported. We are actively working toward this goal by creating mentorship programs and prioritizing professional development workshops, and through scholarship opportunities.
Another one of my passions is flying with a purpose. My friend Tessa Coulter and I use her Cessna 150 to supply humanitarian flights between the islands of Hawaii. We work with local nonprofits to help with puppy rescues, transportation of feminine sanitary products to remote locations, and community airshow events.
I plan to pursue a career as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force upon graduating from college. CAP introducied me to this exciting and rewarding career path, and I’m honored for this opportunity to share my story with others. I hope that I’m making my fellow Hispanos proud. ¡Feliz mes nacional de la herencia hispana!
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Legacy of California Wing Member
Lives on Through CAP Foundation
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John Soley was just a kid in a Pennsylvania coal-mining town mired in the Great Depression when he suddenly learned who he was.
“He had a hard start,” his younger brother, Ted Soley, 90, said. “He was a very determined person.” That determination eventually led John Soley, who walked with a limp the rest of his life, to far-flung places, eventually settling in California where he died in 2020 at age 92. Soley used his determination and inquisitive mind to go places a Depression-era kid from a coal-mining town might not dream of. One of those places was the sky. "He always loved flying," his brother said.
That love led to CAP, where he....
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You can join the
Semper Vigilans Society
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When you include CAP in your estate plans, you will be eligible to join the Semper Vigilans Society.
The Semper Vigilans Society was established in 2020 to recognize supporters who have made provisions for CAP in their estate plans.
These planned gifts ensure CAP is always ready for the future.
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Remembering Those Who Have Passed |
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CAP offers friends and family the ability to make gifts in memory or honor of someone special. Tribute/memorial gifts made through the link below are listed in each issue of Civil Air Patrol Volunteer.
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Civil Air Patrol - Development
Kristina E. Jones, M.A., CFRE, Chief of Philanthropy
Col. John M. Knowles, Deputy Chief of Alumni Relations
Donna Bass Maraman, Development and Donor Communications Manager
Rebecca Armstrong, Donor Database Specialist
(334) 953-9003 Direct
(833) IAM-4CAP Toll Free
Interested in talking about the legacy you want to leave?
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