2021 Young Eagles Volunteer Awards

September 2021 - Each year at AirVenture in Oshkosh, EAA presents awards to Young Eagles volunteers who have gone above and beyond in their support for the program and those who have made exceptional efforts to introduce young people to the world of aviation.

We presented these awards at our Young Eagles luncheon and workshop on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at the PHP Conference Center Tent. We were planning to hold a formal awards ceremony at Theater in the Woods on Wednesday, July 28, but that event was cancelled due to severe weather. However, we were still able to recognize our award winners for their efforts.

2021 Chapter Young Eagles Coordinator Awards:

Raymond Aten
EAA 816000
EAA Chapter 517

Ray has served as the Young Eagles coordinator for Chapter 517 in Missoula, Montana, since 2013. He is a former schoolteacher in addition to a pilot and aircraft homebuilder, and he has done an outstanding job promoting and organizing his chapter’s Young Eagles flights and youth education programs. Ray has arranged Young Eagles flights not only at his chapter’s home airport, but also at nearby airports to give more young people the opportunity to fly in an airplane. He has worked with local schools, youth organizations, and university programs to promote the Young Eagles program and general aviation.

Marjy Leggett
EAA 659272
EAA Chapter 391

Marjy has served as the Young Eagles coordinator for Chapter 391 in Pasco, Washington, for the past 12 years, but she has also spent the past 30 years supporting and promoting aviation in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest. During her tenure, her chapter has flown over 3,800 Young Eagles, and her efforts have allowed her chapter to work together with local authorities and to recruit enough pilots and volunteers to run safe and successful Young Eagles rallies. Among her other accomplishments, Marjy also served as director of the Ninety-Nines, which promotes women pilots in aviation.

2021 Young Eagles Ground Support Volunteer Award:

Dennis Spitaleri
EAA 1166846
EAA Chapter 1298

Over the past several years, Dennis has consistently volunteered for Chapter 1298 in Brooksville, Florida, and has provided extremely valuable support for its Young Eagles events. He comes with a positive attitude, excellent leadership, and a willingness to complete any task and find new ways to improve his chapter’s Young Eagles rallies. Dennis has helped his chapter streamline its registration, check-in, ground movement, marshalling, and ground safety processes. He takes the lead and coordinates these activities, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie, enjoyment, and safety for the Young Eagles, their parents, and the pilots and other ground volunteers.

2021 Young Eagles Horizon Award:

Llewellyn (Jack) Langland
EAA 452734
EAA Chapter 631

Jack has served as the Young Eagles coordinator for Chapter 631 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, for over 20 years. Under Jack’s leadership, the chapter has flown over 9,000 Young Eagles and has two successful Ray scholars, with a third scholar currently going through flight training. The chapter organizes Young Eagles rallies both at its home airport and at other airports in northwest Wisconsin, usually every week or every other week. Jack has given more than 1,800 kids a Young Eagles flight, and he can often be seen flying at his chapter’s rallies. Chapter 631’s first Ray scholar received his first Young Eagles flight from Jack, and he recently flew his first Young Eagle in Jack’s airplane — the same airplane that he received his first flight in! That goes to show how our program is passing The Spirit of Aviation from generation to generation.

2021 Phillips 66 Young Eagles Leadership Award:

Douglas Conciatu
EAA 53419
EAA Chapter 13

Doug has been flying Young Eagles every year since 1994, almost as long as this program has been around. He is a longtime member of EAA Chapter 13 in Ray, Michigan. Doug has been involved in aviation for over 50 years, serving as a flight instructor, developing flight training programs, flying the Ford Tri-Motors operated by EAA and the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, volunteering at EAA’s Pioneer Airport, and working in many other aviation activities throughout his career. But among his many accomplishments, he considers flying more than 2,400 Young Eagles to be one of his proudest.

Thank you to our award winners, and thank you to all of our pilots, coordinators, and ground volunteers who are introducing young people to the world of aviation!

Visit Young Eagles Volunteer Recognition to see how our volunteers are recognized for their efforts.