March 2023
Volunteers serving America’s communities, saving lives, and shaping futures.
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Inside This Issue: CAP trailblazers include Willa Brown, Rochelle Kimbrell and Cheryl Stearns; New Jersey cadets reach "stellar" heights; members report to Congress; CAP honors Vietnam veterans and their families; Final Salute; and more! |
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Willa Brown: Trailblazer for CAP, "Ninety-Nines" |
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For Women's Herstory Month, Civil Air Patrol honors Willa Beatrice Brown, an early member of both CAP and "the Ninety-Nines.” CAP’s national artist, Maj. Ron Finger, has depicted a historic aircraft like one Brown flew training U.S. Army Air Forces pilots during World War II.
Brown (1906-1992) was an aviation pioneer who broke race and gender barriers. The first African American woman to earn ....
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Lt. Col. Rochelle Kimbrell, Air Force Trailblazer, Shares Her CAP Influence and Inspiration |
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Who's Excited about Aerospace Education and CAP? This Cadet! |
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Meet Cadet Tech. Sgt. Ella Vanderwest of the Florida Wing. She and her mother represented Civil Air Patrol earlier this month at the Women in Aviation conference in Long Beach, California. |
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New Jersey Wing Cadets Reach StellarXplorers National Finals |
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Six cadets from the New Jersey Wing’s Maj. Thomas B. McGuire Composite Squadron will compete April 20-22 in the Air & Space Force Association’s StellarXplorers IX Space STEM program national finals. The team is one of 10 to reach... |
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Still Learning About Donor-Advised Funds? |
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A donor-advised fund (DAF), an account you set up with a charitable sponsor such as a community foundation or financial services company, gives you the flexibility to recommend how much and how often money is granted to qualified charities such as CAP.
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CAP Members Report to Congress |
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CAP members are among the many who go to Washington, D.C. each year to meet with their representatives in Congress to make CAP's case for support. And younger members, like these two Oklahoma CAP cadets, are potential leaders of the future. |
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Capt. Cheryl Stearns:
Setting World Records and Shaping Cadet Futures
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📷 : At a zero angle of attack, better known as a “No Lift Dive,” Sgt. 1st Class Cheryl Stearns, of the U.S. Army Parachute Team, holds her position to build enough air speed to execute the “style set” in a competitive amount of time. (Army photo taken Aug. 8, 2006, by Cpl. Sean Capogreco) |
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Capt. Cheryl Stearns is a two-time overall world champion, three-time overall military world champion and 37-time overall U.S. National champion in the style and accuracy landing skydiving disciplines.
She was also the first female on the hute team, the Golden Knights, and holds six Guinness World Records. Now a retired airline captain, she spends her time mentoring youth as the deputy commander of cadets for the North Carolina Wing's Shelby Composite Squadron. With Stearns readying the next generation...
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Join CAP As We Honor Our Vietnam Veterans and Their Families at the Vietnam War Commemoration
May 11-13
The National Mall, Washington, D.C.
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Are you attending the Vietnam War Commemoration?
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Yes, I am a Vietnam veteran and I will be attending.
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Yes, I am a family member of a Vietnam veteran and I will be attending.
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I am a Vietnam veteran, but I will be unable to attend.
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Yes, I am not a Vietnam veteran, but I will be attending.
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Alumni Spotlight
Lt. Col. Lisa Myrick, Texas Wing
Former Cadet and Air Force Veteran
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Why did you join Civil Air Patrol? My parents heard about the cadet program at the local Air Force base and thought I would enjoy it since I was planning to join the Air Force after high school. They were right!
I loved my time as a cadet, earning my Gen. Billy Mitchell Award, before heading off for Lackland Air Force Base. I loved the structure and the discipline. Surrounded by some of the most amazing mentors, I found my voice and a sense of purpose that prepared me for my time in the Air Force while giving me a solid understanding of what service to others really looked like.
Fast forward to 18 years later, I rejoined CAP as an adult member with my 14-year-old son. Our reasons were twofold - he loved the idea of learning to fly, the opportunities CAP offered, and I wanted to give back to a program that had given me so much of what I needed as a teenager.
What is your current career? I am currently an account manager for a healthcare company.
What specific lesson/experience from CAP has influenced your career or your life?
From cadet programs to emergency services to professional development to command to field fundraising to inspector general, my roles in CAP have been diverse and yet intricately intertwined, always involving some level of mentoring others. I have learned that mistakes are just building blocks, people are more than resources to be spent but are gold to be valued, leaders are servants first, the bigger picture is always bigger than you first thought, and we are all just puzzle pieces looking for where we fit.
What else should we know about you? I have been asked what it is like to be a female leader in a predominantly male organization, and my response is always the same. I am a leader surrounded by other leaders. Has it been difficult at times? Yes, but everything worthwhile is worth enduring growing pains. Iron sharpens iron, and I am grateful for the opportunities that CAP has afforded me to grow as a leader. I believe our strength as an organization lies in the strength of our members as an entirety, and I am truly blessed to be part of it..
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What Are Non-Probate Asset Beneficiaries? |
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Assets you pass on outside of your will are called non-probate assets and typically include IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions, certain bank and brokerage accounts, and life insurance policies. If beneficiaries are not properly set for these non-probate assets, the consequences can be stressful and expensive.
With CAP's free resource tool, you can easily plan beneficiaries for your non-probate assets in one place.
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Remembering Those Who Have Passed |
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CAP offers friends and family the ability to make gifts in memory or honor of someone special. Tribute/memorial gifts made through the link below are listed in each issue of Civil Air Patrol Volunteer.
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Civil Air Patrol Development
Kristina E. Jones, M.A., CFRE, Chief of Philanthropy
Gloria Negrete, M.B.A., Deputy Chief of Philanthropy
Col. John M. Knowles, Deputy Chief of Alumni Relations
Donna Bass Maraman, Development and Donor Communications Manager
Rebecca Armstrong, Donor Database Specialist
(334) 953-9003 Direct
(833) IAM-4CAP Toll Free
Interested in talking about the legacy you want to leave?
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More Ways to Support Civil Air Patrol |
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