Barb Schmitz began covering AirVenture as an intern for the Fond du Lac Reporter while attending UW Oshkosh and later continued in her roles as a reporter and city editor for the Oshkosh Northwestern after graduation. She has been reporting on the fly-in and convention annually since 1985.
After the birth of her daughter, Barb left the Northwestern to become a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer. In 1995, when she learned that General Aviation News planned to publish a daily paper on the EAA grounds, she reached out and applied for the position. It turned out to be a fun and easy role for her because she was already well acquainted with the EAA staff, including Paul and Tom Poberezny, and had a deep understanding of the organization’s history. Eventually, EAA took over the daily newspaper, and Barb has continued to be invited back year after year.
In addition to working with EAA, Barb has had an accomplished career in journalism, holding various roles including editor-in-chief for MARRIAGE magazine, executive secretary for NEWSPA, internship coordinator and adjunct faculty at UWO’s Department of Journalism, and adviser for the UWO student newspaper, the Advance-Titan.
One of Barb’s key contributions to the AirVenture Today team is her mentorship of younger writers who volunteer for the paper, EAA’s managing editor Hal Bryan said. Over the years, whenever aspiring journalists have joined the team, Barb has consistently taken them under her wing — guiding, coaching, and supporting them through the writing process. This nurturing role is a natural extension of her background in education and has proven to be an incredibly valuable asset to the publication.
“I really admire how Barb gives back by mentoring young volunteer writers,” Colleen Walsh, AirVenture Today senior copy editor, added. “She works with them on everything from how to find stories to interviewing people and crafting those conversations into engaging stories.”
“Barb brings passion, talent, stability, and experience,” Hal said. “She’s a calming influence … a resource, and somebody who just makes the whole [paper] run smoother and easier. … She’s got more experience than several of the rest of us combined, and that makes it fun.”
That deep well of experience and steady presence hasn’t just shaped the paper — it’s also fueled Barb’s own enduring passion for the event. Her love for EAA and AirVenture is evident in every story she writes and every connection she makes.
“I absolutely love working on AirVenture Today,” Barb said. “It’s not only the great people I work with each year, but it’s also the people I get to meet and interview — astronauts, air show performers, WASP, celebrities like Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman, and ‘regular’ people who all share such a passion for aviation. All those people have become my second family.”
EAA offers experiences you simply can’t find anywhere else — truly “only in Oshkosh” moments, so Barb has had the opportunity to do incredible things and meet remarkable people over the past three decades.
“I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to meet some of aviation’s ‘greats’ like Chuck Yeager, Bob Hoover, Steve Wittman, and others,” Barb said. “And to do things I’d never have a chance to do otherwise, including flying in the Goodyear Blimp, Ford Tri-Motor, and in the chase plane of Sean D. Tucker or accompanying the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., and experiencing the emotional return to Wittman Regional Airport.
“I’m always exhausted by the time AirVenture is over and glad to be done,” she said, “but by the time June comes around, I’m ready to do it all over again.”
Over the past three decades, Barb has been an absolute asset to the whole operation, contributing her expertise and passion to the publication. While many employees have come and gone, Barb is one of the few constants that ties the whole paper together. Thank you, Barb!