I received a nice letter from Buddy Bradley, president of the Board of Christian Education of the Redeemer Lutheran Church and School and thought I’d share it with you.
“Earlier this year, as I walked through the hallway of Redeemer Lutheran School in Pensacola, Florida, I heard someone call my name. The familiar voice was that of Mrs. Rucando the science teacher. She said, ‘Mr. Bradley, we have our science series on flight coming up soon.’
“I was happy to say, ‘I have already asked Tony Stillman if he could help us again this year.’
“Tony is the owner of Radio South and a member of Northwest Florida Modelers Inc. He has been very gracious in the past, assisting our science program with the study of flight. He was eager to help us again this year. I only had to get the number of students and time frames together for him. I informed him of the possible times and of the 55 students who would be attending.
“Tony supplied the materials which he purchased through the AMA Education program. He opened with an introduction to flight and an overview of the program. Together with fellow modelers, Tony helped students with instruction and building procedures. He and several club members devoted six Fridays—roughly three hours per session.
“On the next to last Friday, each sixth, seventh, and eighth grade held a contest. Some of the models did exceptionally well. Tony furnished prizes for the winners.
“May 14, the final Friday, Tony was out of town competing in a Pattern contest, however, several Northwest Florida Modelers were on hand to help as the program ended with a field trip to the Escambia County Model Park. The class winners were presented with certificates of achievement from the Northwest Florida Modelers.
“Following a brief welcome and explanation of field safety and operations, the students were divided into four groups.
"Clarence Keaton put on a flight demonstration to the delight of everyone. The groups then passed through a preflight area with operational display models to receive some basic training.
“Then the fun began! With four trainers in the air from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., each of the students got to fly at least once. Some had more than one flight. Two of the teachers, Mrs. Rucando and Mrs. Bryant, even tried their skills at flight. Everyone had a great time.
“At the end of the day, Jim Hartley, Northwest Florida Modelers vice president, gathered the students at the runway for a question-and-answer session. After much discussion, it was determined that the students had to return to school.
“This was truly a wonderful experience for Redeemer Lutheran School. The way that Tony Stillman and members of the Northwest Florida Modelers gave so freely of their time and talents was fantastic. Our community is blessed to have such people. Your organization, AMA, has much to do with that. Keep up the good work. Thanks again to everyone involved.”
My thanks go out to Tony Stillman, Gordon Dey, Frank Turchi, and the rest of the Northwest Florida Modelers for their tireless efforts in this endeavor in the past years.
The AMA has something in common with the community of Pensacola, Florida. We too, are blessed to have people such as the ones who belong to the Northwest Florida Modelers.
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