Kristin’s Notes to Warbird Squadrons

January 18, 2022– Happy New Year to all chapter and squadron members! The new year is upon us, and by now, everyone should have returned their chapter/squadron renewal forms. There are some great programs coming up this year! I hope all of the squadron leaders will sign up for the Leadership Academy coming up on April 22-24, 2022. This two-day event at EAA in Oshkosh is important to all chapter and squadron leaders. It goes through information on how to get and retain membership, programs and resources provided by EAA to all chapters and squadrons, information on the different ways you can get your events out to the public, and much more! I have been to a few of these, and they have been very informative and helpful for Warbirds Squadron 32. If you’re not able to make the trip to Oshkosh in April, look for a Chapter Leader Boot Camp in your area over the next couple months. Boot Camps are our condensed, single-day, on-the-road version of the Academy. Check the schedule and sign up.

Please be sure to read all correspondence that comes from the EAA chapters office. It is intended for all chapters/squadrons and is loaded with important program information, dates, and helpful tips and tricks. It also makes a great place to share ideas and success stories from other chapters/squadrons. If you have something big going on in your squadron, such as a fly-in or anniversary, or anything that you would like to share with other chapters/squadrons, please send your articles and photos to Serena Kamps in the chapters department. She would be happy to include them in ChapterGram. Her email address is skamps@eaa.org.

If you are looking for some squadron activities for the winter months and an opportunity to make sure your warbird squadron is represented during AirVenture, try making a directional arrow sign for one of the wayfinding towers located at the Blue Barn (see photo) or build and decorate your own Adirondack chair to display in or around the Blue Barn. You could also start planning Young Eagles events for the flying season. I highly encourage everyone to visit EAA.org/chapters to see all of the programs the chapters department has available for chapters/squadrons.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year, and starting to think about how to get out into their communities and educate and inspire others to become involved in your warbirds squadron. Please reach out to me or Serena with any questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to working with all of the squadrons in 2022!