Meet CAP's Air National Guard Airman
of the Year: Pa. Wing's Ruth-Ann Bell
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Ruth-Ann Bell grew up with aviation in her blood; her paternal grandfather, grand-uncle and father were all private pilots.
“My earliest memories of flying were when I was around 3 to 4 years old in my grandfather’s and grand-uncle’s Piper Tri-Pacer and Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome’s D-25 New Standard,” she said.
It’s fitting, then, that Bell serves in both the Air National Guard and the Pennsylvania Wing. As a Guard senior airman, she was honored this year as not only the Pennsylvania ANG Airman of the Year but also as the national 2021 ANG Airman of the Year.
“It’s a very humbling experience to have been named, and I’m still in a state of shock,” said Bell, who’s also a Civil Air Patrol first lieutenant in Capital City Composite Squadron 302. “All credit goes to my leadership for giving me opportunities and seeing something in me that I don’t. I see myself as just a mom who followed her inner calling to serve and has been blessed beyond measure.”
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Ohio Cadet Honored for Saving Mother's Life; Ky. Staff Officer Recognized for Lifesaving |
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CAP’s Certificate of Recognition for Lifesaving is special to anyone who receives it, but for Cadet Maj. Dana Rose of the Ohio Wing’s Victor A. Hammond Composite Squadron the honor is especially significant, since the life she saved is her mother’s.
On March 13, 2020, Rose’s mother, Vendula Rose, asked to be taken to a hospital emergency room because she was feeling unwell. Rose rode in the backseat with her mother while her father, 1st Lt. David Rose, the Hammond squadron's commander, drove the 20-mile route to the hospital.
On the trip, Rose used her CAP training to perform emergency procedures credited with keeping her mother alive and contributing to her recovery.
Maj. Nick Birt, Kentucky Wing director of cadet programs and Group V commander, was honored June 5 with the Certificate of Recognition for Lifesaving after halting a car headed toward pedestrians while he was participating in a COVID-19 vaccination mission in downtown Philadelphia.
Birt and other CAP members were directing people into the Philadelphia City Convention Center for vaccinations April 24 when he saw a vehicle turn onto the one-way street, heading the wrong way in a cordoned-off lane for pedestrian traffic. Two pedestrians were in the lane and more than 10 others were in the immediate area.
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Nev. Aircrew Guides Searchers to Missing Man |
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A Nevada Wing aircrew located an elderly man missing in rugged terrain without his cellphone or the insulin needed for his diabetes.
The man, a rock collector, was reported missing June 11. After the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center notified the wing, aircrews flew over dirt roads leading into rugged terrain in northern Nevada, with one of them eventually spotting a van matching the description of the missing man's vehicle.
The Nevada man is among nine lives saved by CAP over the past two weeks.
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88th Cadet Earns 'Wings' Through CAP Program |
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On June 14, Cadet Capt. Grace Morris of the Michigan Wing became the 88th cadet to earn her FAA private pilot certificate through CAP's Air Force-funded Cadet Wings program.
Morris conducted her flight training in a CAP aircraft with Maj. Michael Shoemaker (pictured with her) and Capt. Tom Werkema as her instructors. This was particularly impressive in that she did it in a high-performance, technologically advanced aircraft (a C182T NAVII), said Shoemaker, her primary flight instructor.
Morris, a member of the Al Johnson Legacy Cadet Squadron in Holland, is the second Michigan cadet to earn her “Wings,” joining former Cadet 2nd Lt. Sarah Kadans, now a senior member, who earned her certificate in August 2020.
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Fla. Wing Preconference Launched by NESA-MTT |
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To help kick off this year's Florida Wing Conference, 16 members from the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida wings came together this past weekend and completed the FEMA Incident Command System 300 course.
National Emergency Services Academy-Mobile Training Team instructors Zoomed in from three CAP regions to support the virtual training.
If you are interested in having a NESA-MTT course conducted as a preconference portion of your upcoming wing/region conference, or to catch up your wing/region in a multiple number of classes, contact DOSI@capnhq.gov.
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National Commander Wraps Up Series, Offers 'High Points' of Recruiting and Retention
National Headquarters' Marketing and Strategic Communications team is reprising National Commander/CEO Maj. Gen. Mark Smith’s Recruiting and Retention Series from 2018.
Smith's “Wrap Up Series” video is featured today, where he points out a few of his personal “ high points” of recruiting and retention.
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Join the Entrepreneurs Innovation Competition |
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Submit your innovative tools to HUBCAP by July 6 for a chance to virtually present your invention and be recognized for your creative contributions at the 2021 National Conference.
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Last Call for Nat'l Vice Commander Applications |
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Just two weeks remain for applications for CAP's upcoming National Vice Commander vacancy, created when Maj. Gen.-Select Edward D. Phelka's three-year term as National Commander/CEO begins in August.
CAP members may nominate themselves to fill this position.
Minimum requirements are:
- Be a CAP member in good standing.
- Have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
- Have completed Level V of the CAP Education and Training Program.
- Have served as a CAP wing commander who completed their term of office other than due to removal for cause.
Applications are due to National Headquarters by 5 p.m. CDT July 1.
The new National Vice Commander will be selected by Phelka and confirmed by the Board of Governors, then assume the position alongside Phelka in a change of command ceremony in Dallas on Aug. 26.
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How to Effectively Share 'PROPS' With Others |
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Over the past 18 months, the PROPS newsletter has become one of CAP's most popular internal communication tools, delivered weekly to over 45,000 members nationwide as well as Air Force officials and other dignitaries.
“If you are a regular reader, we thank you for your support and we encourage you to share the newsletters with others who might be interested in Civil Air Patrol,“ said Randy Bolinger, CAP's chief of marketing and strategic communications. “But please note that the best way to do that is through URL links created each week by our email vendor.”
Members can find these archived links, identified by the publication dates, by clicking on the button below. Using the links provided instead of simply forwarding your emailed issue of PROPS will keep the newsletter from truncating, which can distort the layout and make the copy hard to read.
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You Shop, Amazon Donates to Civil Air Patrol |
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Select CAP as your favorite charity while you shop on Amazon! Thanks to shoppers like you, AmazonSmile has donated $25,986.89 to CAP's national scholarship program. |
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This Week's Top Headlines |
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“Elks Lodge Hosts Traditional Flag Retirement Ceremony”
(Paducah, Kentucky)
“Civil Air Patrol Members Seek Paid Leave For Emergency Services Duty”
(Albany, New York)
“Too Much Hot Air For 'Flight Day' in Amesbury”
(Newburyport, Massachusetts)
“Mankato West Graduate Selected To Attend Air Force Academy”
(Mankato, Minnesota)
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CAP Marketing & Strategic Communications
877-227-9142
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