Each year, the membership of the IAC nominates outstanding volunteers to be recognized for their contribution to the sport of aerobatics. The award recipients are selected by secret ballot of the IAC Board of Directors.
IAC President Robert Armstrong presented the recipients with their awards at the IAC Gathering of Members on Friday evening, July 27th at the EAA Nature Center during AirVenture in Oshkosh. In the past, these awards have been presented at the U.S. National Championships, but Oshkosh offers a venue that is unique and well attended.
Frank Pric
e Cup - Tony and Julia Wood
This dynamic duo has done more than most to help reinvigorate the sport of competition aerobatics within the South Central Region not only in 2017 but throughout the last 15 years. Both Tony and Julia have been active competitors and judges. Tony competed at multiple contests including his last apperance at Nationals in 2015 as in Unlimited category. Julia worked her way up the ladder through to the Advanced category.
The power couple started an IAC chapter at Weatherford, Oklahoma and ran several chapter regional contests at Weatherford, even after they moved away to Slidell, Texas.
Both Tony and Julia have served as officers for one of the Texas chapters, IAC Chapter 24. Julia has served as a contest director for US Nationals and was the U.S. Advanced team manager at one time. Tony is an instructor for the judging schools and taught an excellent and well attended class in 2017 for IAC chapter 119.
Harold E. Neumann Award for Outstanding Contribution as a Chief Judge - Michael Church
Michael Church has served as the Chief Judge for the IAC Chapter 36 Contests in Borrego going back until at least 2005. Mr. Church has extensive knowledge of the rulebook and an impartial approach to judging a contest. Competitors always know with Michael Church acting as chief judge they will receive a safe, fair, and well run contest as outlined by the IAC Rulebook.
Chapter 36 runs two contests each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Without fail Michael leads as Chief Judge each and every year for both contests, ensuring the judging and contest is strictly handled in accordance with IAC's prescribed rules. Additionally, Michael hosts a judging school at the beginning of each contest year. His dedication to the integrity of the sport is without question.
Kathy Jaffe Volunteer Award - Alice Johnson
When Alice was the volunteer coordinator at the Nationals in Texas, she had to fill in at the last minute for Ellyn Robinson, who had to leave as her brother was very sick. Alice stepped in, got a quick rundown from Ellyn, and was off and running. Not only did she step in as VC at the Nationals, but she was also an assistant judge.
Alice volunteered, again on short notice, to be the Unlimited Team Manager when Mike Steveson was unable to remain the Team Manger for the 2017 WAC. Alice jumped in, and everything ran smoothly, even through the international competition bickering that always happens.
Alice also volunteered to be the VC at the 2017 Nationals in their new location at Oshkosh, Wisconsin on the EAA AirVenture grounds. This required her to develop new systems for communicating volunteer information for each category at several different locations at the contest site.
Robert L. Heu
er Award for Judging Excellence - Michael Gallaway
Mike has been a long time judge in the Dallas area, a long time Civa judge, and has chiefed many contests internationally and within the United States regionally. He has an outstanding performance as an aerobatic judge, not only in 2017, but in many past years. As an Unlimited competitor and past member of the USA Aeroabatic Team he pitches in to judge Primary through Unlimited in each contest he flies. He has judged the Lone Star contest at least since 2005 and the Nationals since 2011. If there was one person in the U.S. to call to fill a judge position at your contest, it would be Spanky.
Curtis Pitts Memorial Trophy - Dan Rihn
Dan has touched more lives in the aerobatic community than many people realize, from airshow pilots trying to set a record, the new aerobatic pilot excited about beginning construction on their One Design or taking new acro pilots up in a two seater for spin or aerobatic training.
A prototype of the DR-107 was produced in 1993 and from its first showing in assembled form at Oshkosh, it was an immediate success. The aircraft made its first flight soon after, and was quickly sampled by the “who’s who” of the aerobatic world. The prototype had proven the design to be durable, and certainly capable of its proposed goals. There was immediate demand for plans.
To date over 600 sets of plans have been sold and more than 100 planes have been built from the DR-107 plans. It is a very popular plane, especially in England and Australia. It has been built in 12 other countries including the USA, New Zealand, Tahiti, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Iceland and Italy.
