The February 4, 2012 SSA Awards Banquet was well-attended. According to the SSA staff, 327 convention attendees registered for the banquet.
Before the meal was served, SSA Chairman Al Tyler welcomed the crowd and Master of Ceremonies Bob Wander introduced the head table. Following the meal, Chairman Al presented the SSA Awards, with help from Awards Committee Chairman Jay Campbell, Ralph Kolstad, and OLC’s Reiner Rose.
Al presented a special award to SSA’s Denise Layton for 25 years of distinguished service to the SSA. Denise is Chief Administrative Officer for the SSA, but she has served in many roles over the years.
Al also recognized former SSA Chair Dianne Black-Nixon with the Chairman’s Award for her many years of leadership and other significant contributions to the SSA.
Other SSA award recipients are listed below. All recipients are also noted on the SSA Awards page of the SSA website and they are linked to each member’s awards records in the SSA database. Click on the links to see a description of the award and the awards record for each recipient.
Barringer Trophy – Gary Osoba
Leo and Jennifer Benetti-Longhini accepted the award on Gary’s behalf.
Henry Combs Trophy (2010) – Mike Koerner
Henry Combs Trophy (2011) – Karl Sommer
Rudolph Mozer Trophy – Boyd Willat
Kolstad Scholarship – Rachel Conklin
The Chairman’s Award – Dianne Black-Nixon
SSA Exceptional Service Award – Doug Jacobs
John Good accepted on Doug’s behalf.
The Warren Eaton Trophy – Jim and Simine Short
Mr Reiner Rose of the OLC awarded the following certificates.
In the Barron Hilton Challenge category:
2011 3rd place World champion, Standard Class – Walt Rogers
2011 2nd place World champion, Standard Class – Erik Mann
2011 World champion, Standard Class – Paul Siefried
2011 Overall US Champion, Standard Class – Paul Siefried
Other OLC leagues:
US Silver League Champion – Southern Sierra Soaring
US Gold League Champion – Albuquerque Soaring Club
Overall US OLC Champion – Gordon Boettger
3rd Overall in the World – Jim Payne
2nd Overall in the World – Gordon Boettger
The banquet concluded with an address by Capt. Barry Schiff. Barry is a retired TWA airline captain with an extraordinary record of accomplishment in general and sport aviation. To recite them all would require a separate and quite lengthy post, but here are a few.
He holds five world speed records (one captured from the Soviet Union) and has received numerous honors for his many contributions to aviation safety. These include a Congressional Commendation, the Louis Bleriot Air Medal (France), Switzerland’s Gold Proficiency Medal, an honorary doctorate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and AOPA’s L. P. Sharples Perpetual Award. Capt. Schiff also has been inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame and the EAA/NAFI National Flight Instructor’s Hall of Fame, and was recently elected as an Elder Statesman of Aviation by the National Aeronautic Association.
For more information about Barry, visit his Virtual Hangar at www.BarrySchiff.com .