By Angela Satterlee
Dennis Lange, EAA 198454, is from Fond du Lac, and he started volunteering at EAA back in 1979, became a member shortly after that in 1981, and hasn’t missed an AirVenture since his first year as a volunteer. “I took off for vacation for years to do this, and I enjoy it. At first, I wasn’t getting too much involved, but then after a while, it just snowballed,” Dennis said. He is now the chairman of special parking, mows the grass when it’s needed, and helps wherever he’s requested, no questions asked. “When they’re short, they give me a call, and I come in,” he said. Dennis also helps a lot with the vintage airplanes and has been on the grounds since February, helping with projects that come in and out of the Vintage area. One of the most recent projects he’s been assisting with was sandblasting and repainting a 1923 gas pump. He also was able to work on EAA’s B-17, Aluminum Overcast, that’s currently on display in the EAA Aviation Museum and said that was one of the highlights he’s had while volunteering at EAA.
Jim Smith, EAA 13439, from Eldridge, Iowa, has been an active member at EAA for 62 years. He was only 19 years old when he realized back in 1962 that fixing airplanes for other people was going to be a lifelong passion of his. At 81 years old, Jim is still volunteering his time to EAA and helping pilots because it’s something he loves to do. Jim is an emergency aircraft repair rep at AirVenture, which is operated by EAA Chapter 75 out of Davenport, Iowa, and he’s devoted his time to helping other people fix their airplanes for six decades, which has now made him an EAA Volunteer of the Year. “I was just a young whippersnapper, and I thought that’s the only thing you did was help other people play with airplanes,” Jim said. For him, airplanes were never really a career, or an occupation; they were always a vacation.
Kevin Smerling, EAA 104519, is a proud local Oshkosh, Wisconsinite. He’s been volunteering for EAA since 1980 but started attending EAA AirVenture Oshkosh back in 1974. He learned about EAA when he was in high school, where one of his high school teachers, Phil Thrams, was a pilot. Phil paid for Kevin’s first year as an EAA member and even took him flying a few times. Kevin felt that he needed something more to do during the week of AirVenture, so he began his volunteer path. Now Kevin is the co-chairman for flightline safety and dedicates his time every year. He keeps coming back for the people, especially the ones in his volunteer group. “The first day I went to volunteer, I got turned away,” Kevin said. “I went back the next day, and I’ve been coming back ever since. And I never let my chairman [Jim Moss EAA 80553] forget that.” Kevin is honored to be recognized. “I’ve had quite a few mentors that helped me out and guided me through how to deal with people, and I owe a lot to them.”
Robert Hilleary, EAA 617847, is from Peoria, Arizona, and has been volunteering for EAA since 1993. He is now the chairman of Boeing Plaza. Bob is a retired Air Force military aircraft mechanic, and he started his time with EAA when he was an active-duty Air Force advisor helping Mike Williams in Madison, Wisconsin, back when Mike was the vice chairman of the West Ramp. Bob has many fond memories of his time as a volunteer and considers EAA a big family. He continues to volunteer to “get people interested in aviation, and to get the youth interested in aviation.”