There’s nothing like having a morning paper on deck to help start your day at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017. There are more than 50 locations where AirVenture Today can be found on the grounds, including right outside of the showers and inside the Main Gate, so any AirVenture attendee can start their day by reading the paper.
The tens of thousands of newspapers that get delivered each day don’t just magically appear in the right spots. Several crews of dedicated volunteers, some of which are children and their parents, work from dusk until dawn to ensure anybody who wants or needs a copy of AirVenture Today can get one.
Todd Gorrell and Jadine Gorrell are a married couple who both enjoy volunteering with EAA’s print/mail center, which is made up entirely of volunteers when it comes to delivery, but each has slightly different reasons as to why.
“Print and mail, that’s actually my occupation,” Todd said. “I’m the press room manager of a print shop locally. I also have a love of airplanes, so this kind of fits in great with what I do.”
“I like the interaction,” said Jadine. “I like being able to get out in the crowd and be sure we’re providing all the papers and things people are looking for. It’s awesome.”
Crews go out first at 5 a.m. to deliver the newspapers bundles, followed by a crew that goes out to the main gates to hand-deliver papers to people entering the grounds. Even more crews, one of which Todd and Jadine are on, replenish empty paper boxes later on, and crews of kids and parents hand-deliver papers to vendors in and around the hangars. Finally, a night crew goes around and empties the boxes of any remaining papers to prepare for the next day’s issue.
In addition to delivering AirVenture Today, volunteer crews deliver other printed materials, such as programs, guides, and maps, on an as-needed basis before — and sometimes during — AirVenture.
Like all EAA volunteer groups, once the group and the print/mail center were brought together, bonds were formed that keep them together year after year, according to Chairman of Print/Mail Volunteers Kurt Weina, EAA 665451.
“You get to know the people at the locations and interact with them, interact with people on the grounds, because if you have room in your cart, you pick them up and give them a ride,” Kurt said. “And it’s fun to see our family each year; we get the same people coming back to volunteer year after year.”
The print/mail volunteers try to remain out of sight and out of mind while they deliver their newspapers, but they certainly deserve a thank-you if they are spotted out and about on the grounds.