The Wichita Aero Club recently had the opportunity to honor Jack Pelton for his contribution to aviation by awarding him the WAC Trophy. Jack gave a truly wonderful acceptance speech at the Trophy Gala, but one thing he said stuck with me… and if I’m honest, lit a little fire.  

Just a little more than ten years ago, Jack visited another Aero Club. When he returned home to Wichita he thought, “Why doesn’t the Air Capital have one of these?” So he spoke the dream out loud to Wichita’s aviation leaders and made it happen. The Wichita Aero Club was born.

See what he did there? He acted on his passion, and an amazing organization came to life. That very same passion oozed from his words at the 2018 Trophy Gala, ten years later. The point is that Jack saw an opportunity, created a path forward and has been doing that same thing with other endeavors since then.

How can we be like Jack? How can we act now so that by the end of 2019 we’ve made progress toward achieving something new? Let’s brainstorm together. We’ll start small.

What’s the thing you’ve been thinking about doing? Is there a Women in Aviation event you want to attend, but don’t quite have the guts to push “Going” on the Facebook event page? Is there a graphic design skill you secretly wish you had, but are sure you’ll be the only one at the workshop who doesn’t have a clue? (spoiler alert: you won’t be.) Are you curious what exactly happens at Aviation Pathways? Have you always wanted to fly an airplane? Or build one? Maybe you want to better understand how avionics and technology play into the pilot’s capabilities. Or perhaps you’re already working in aviation and have a passion for teaching – I bet there’s a group or two (or 50) of kiddos who would learn a ton from you. Maybe you love writing and you love planes – talk to us about writing a guest post! There are a million next right steps depending on what you love and what you’re good at.

Bottom line is that this industry will love you back. So do the thing. Take the step.

I’d be willing to bet the Wichita Aero Club can help lay the first few bricks of your path forward. (Pssst: we’ll be talking more about those proverbial bricks here on the blog, so check back often.)  

And as you explore, use our network to branch out. The Aero Club meets just about every month to hear from industry leaders both nationally and locally. Members and non-members are welcome. Hop over here to learn more about membership. [link to membership page] 

This is the year. The year to stop making excuses. The year to act.

Wichita, let’s allow our passion for aviation shine – just like Jack.