This piece originally ran in the March 2026 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
The connection Emily Bushby, EAA 618351, has to AirVenture and EAA runs deep, almost as if it’s woven into her DNA. Born in Oshkosh, Emily’s journey with EAA began quite literally from the beginning, as she was almost born in Camp Scholler during AirVenture. Her family’s tradition of attending AirVenture every year has been a cornerstone of her life, making her a familiar face. “I’ll never meet somebody that loves Oshkosh more than me,” she said. “I swear.”
Emily’s family history at EAA began with her grandparents, as her grandfather was Bob Bushby, EAA 26, and he was present at the first EAA meeting in 1953, and her grandmother was the first volunteer to receive a 40-year volunteer plaque. This legacy inspired Emily to follow in her grandparents’ footsteps and become a dedicated volunteer herself.
Emily’s volunteer journey began just a few years ago, and she has since become an integral part of the AirVenture team. She started by helping with the media shuttle, a role she describes as the best job. “You get to meet all these people, and you drive around a golf cart. I love it,” she said. It allows her to interact with attendees from all over the world, making each day a new adventure.
This year Emily has also taken on various tasks for the months that led up to AirVenture to support the event, working with the education team to prepare materials for the youth and aero education tents.
Emily’s enthusiasm for AirVenture is infectious. She goes above and beyond to make the event special for everyone she meets. One of her unique contributions is baking more than 300 “EAA-shaped” cookies using iconic designs like the Brown Arch and her favorite, the Eagle, and distributing them randomly throughout the grounds; a tradition she now looks forward to each year.
But her creativity doesn’t stop at baking. Emily also has a pair of hand-painted shoes specifically for AirVenture, which are embellished with images of aircraft, the Wittman Regional Airport control tower, her media golf cart, and so many others. “It took me three months to paint them last year. I would do it a little [each] day after work,” she explained. These personalized touches represent her deep commitment and the joy she finds in being part of AirVenture.
What sets Emily apart as a volunteer is not just her dedication, but her passion for the event. She fondly remembers volunteering with her grandmother and the sense of community it brought. “It was like a big family reunion,” she said. This community is something Emily cherishes and strives to re-create for others.
“It’s just important,” she explained. “Especially when I was doing all this youth stuff this week. There’s so much more than when I was little here. So, you just get to teach the new generation stuff and … I can’t wait to have kids one day, and they can learn all this stuff. It’s just important.”
Emily’s dedication and passion for AirVenture are truly inspiring. As she put it, “I love it here. It’s a forever chosen family.”
Volunteers make EAA AirVenture Oshkosh — and just about everything else EAA does — possible. This space in EAA Sport Aviation is dedicated to thanking and shining the spotlight on volunteers from the community. Sadly, it cannot capture all of the thousands of volunteers who give so much to the community every year. So, next time you see a volunteer at AirVenture or elsewhere, however they are pitching in to make EAA better, be sure to thank them for it. It’s the least we can do. Do you know a volunteer you’d like to nominate for Volunteer Spotlight? Visit EAA.org/Submissions.