Gabe Envani’s love for aviation started when he was just 6 years old, thanks to a family trip to the Kennedy Space Center.
“Ever since then, I was hooked on anything that left the ground,” Gabe said. That passion brought him to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh for the first time in 2013, and he’s returned every year since. Ten years ago, he started volunteering with North 40 Flight Line Operations, helping guide airplanes and people in one of the event’s busiest areas.
But it wasn’t until he joined a recreational volleyball league that Gabe met Kiersten Moore. Their connection was instant, but Kiersten quickly realized there was another love in Gabe’s life: AirVenture. She’d hear stories about his time in Oshkosh — the aircraft, the energy, the community — and felt like she was missing out. So last year, she joined him on the trip and volunteered at North 40 alongside him. “I was really scared at first, but I am pretty confident now,” she said.
That first AirVenture trip was filled with milestones, including their very first couple photo at the Brown Arch. What began as Gabe’s childhood passion had now become something the two of them share.
This year, when Kiersten said she wanted to return, Gabe knew he was ready to make their AirVenture story even more memorable.
“I knew that about now was the time,” Gabe said. “And when she said that she wanted to come with me this year, I knew that this would be the best place.” He weighed several meaningful locations like Boeing Plaza and the Flight Line Ops building, but it was the memory of that photo from last year that sealed it.
“I came across our picture from last year and I was like, that’s the spot. It has to be the same spot,” he said. So, with nerves and excitement, Gabe proposed under the Brown Arch.
“The proposal was the worst-kept secret ever,” Gabe said, “but Kiersten said yes!”