Flights Above Addiction
Our only two aviation events of 2020 were in February and August. In February, the city of Buckeye, Arizona hosted The Buckeye Air Fair and then in August, with the help of some dear friends, we held our 2020 Overdose and Addiction Awareness Day event in Reno, Nevada. After a long year mostly grounded, we are excited to share that we are planning a cross country flight to take place this Fall. The details are still coming into focus but if conditions continue to improve we are planning to kick off the tour in September at the Truckee Tahoe Airshow and finish at the California Capital Airshow in Sacramento.
Buckeye Air Fair in Buckeye, Arizona
The first day's events were focused on hundreds of local youth who had been bused in from school to experience what most air shows have to offer-- the thrill of flight, fun activities and food trucks, but more importantly, they were introduced to aeronautical careers open to people who stay focused on a clear destination. The day's theme was Imagine Your Story.
As always, after talking with the youth about their developing brains and inviting them to take the One Choice pledge not to use alcohol and other drugs that can take them off course, they painted the plane.
Day two was open to the public and that included some special guests. A few of our SafeLaunch Wing Parents joined us to see the Wind Beneath Our Wings Memorial, which displays the names of hundreds of young people who lost their lives to substance use disorder.
Ron and Janet of SafeLaunch with Andy's mom and Eric's parents
Alyssa's Mom
A sweet girl who had just lost her brother
Local students after painting the plane
Local students learning about goal setting before painting the plane
Future Pilot
Ron with his grandson who came out to paint "the big plane"
International Overdose Awareness Day in Reno, Nevada
In August, the Reno Air Races hosted our 2020 Overdose Awareness Day event in their huge hangar located at Stead Airport. Due to Covid, we had to keep the guest list small but that did not detract from its significance to the attendees. After some introductions, parents and family members shared their stories of loss and comforted each other. A number of them had never gathered together with others like that, and they expressed gratitude for the opportunity. The importance that grieving parents know they are not alone cannot be overstated. Thank you to Darcy Patterson for helping to coordinate the event.
Under normal conditions, the Reno Air Races hangar would have been abuzz with Air Races activities but sadly, due to Covid, they had to cancel one of the most exciting aviation events in the country. We are grateful to the Air Races board for generously sharing their space. If you ever want to see something exhilarating, check out the Reno Air Races.
