Monthly Wrap-up. It just keeps getting better as April proved to be another fun month for the Georgia Flyers. Sam DiGiammarino hosted a very successful Lunch-Bunch gathering at West Georgia Regional in Carrollton. It was a great turnout, with 7 airplanes and 21 people attending.

Bill Shivers, assisted by Sherri Platt, arranged a terrific weekend on Andros Island in the Bahamas. This trip was not only relaxing, but educational as well. I had not been to the Bahamas in over 20 years. Things have changed and it was fun learning the new regulations and requirements. But Bill and Sherri had it all under control and it proved to be much simpler than I could have imagined. Seven Georgia Flyers aircraft with 21 people, arrived Thursday evening in Ft. Lauderdale, our selected staging area, where we met up at Aztec Jet and were transported to the hotel where we relaxed and had dinner. It was great to have new members Todd and Dale Carrol and their son Spencer (in their Cirrus), and Thomas and Lesa Rader with daughters Isabelle and Meghan (in their recently purchased Mooney) attend. On Friday morning, we donned our life vests, loaded our rafts and were on our way over the Caribbean in clear skies and good visibility. After two days of sun, fun, food and laughs, we departed Sunday morning for home base. While Bill and most of his St. Petersburg group returned to Ft. Lauderdale, most of the Georgia Flyers elected to try another route over Freeport and into Ft. Pierce to clear customs and have lunch at the Tiki restaurant. See the photos below.

Lunch-Bunch news. On Saturday May 6th, Paul and Sherri Platt are hosting another Lunch-Bunch outing in Beaufort, SC (73J). Meet at 11:00 for the shuttle to Barbara Jean's - www.barbarajeans.com - for seafood. Please let Sherri know with headcount if you're interested in joining the group by May 4th by emailing her at either sjp@platt.org or lunchbunch@georgiaflyers.org. The June Lunch-Bunch meeting will coincide with the Georgia Flyers annual picnic at Mallards Landing on Saturday, June 24th.

Meeting News. Our May meeting and program is on the 7th at the EAA 690 hangar at Gwinnett County Airport (LZU). The event starts at 12:30 pm for socializing, 1 pm for lunch and 1:30 meeting and program. The meeting will end at 2:30. The lunch will be BBQ chicken and pork, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, cobbler, and iced tea, catered by Dreamland Bar-B-Q. The cost will be $14 per person. Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, May 2nd, by email at reservations@georgiaflyers.org or for those who do not have access to e-mail call Carolyn Deering at 770-321-9380 (leave a message on Carolyn's answering machine with your name, telephone number and the number attending). This is a fly-in or drive-in event, and a separate email with flying/driving directions has already gone out. I look forward to seeing all of you there.

Trip News. On Friday, May 19th, the Georgia Flyers will be heading to Louisville, Kentucky for dining and tours of Churchill Downs. This exciting trip is sponsored by Sandy Thomas and Dick Lyon. We're all looking forward to it. The following trip is sponsored by Sam DiGiammarino to Franklin, Pennsylvania starting on September 8th. Contact Sam for details and sign-up.

This month, I want to start a new section titled "Meet a Member." This will give us a chance to focus on a member each month so that we can all learn a little about them, their families, and become more comfortable in speaking with them. I am also asking for volunteers to write a short article on a member you may know to include in the newsletter. Please let me know if you would like to assist in doing that.

This month I have selected Dick Lyon as our Meet a Member subject. Dick is one of the most versatile and well-rounded individuals you will ever meet. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, he is accomplished in both arts and sciences. He holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Purdue and a masters degree in industrial management from Carnegie-Mellon. To balance his technical side, Dick is also an accomplished musician and singer. He plays the saxophone and piano, among his other accomplishments. Dick also possesses a beautiful tenor voice that has entertained the Georgia flyers on numerous occasions and he puts to good use with his barbershop singing group. Dick enjoys many activities, including flying (of course), snow skiing, and sailing. Dick has three children and five grandchildren. If that isn't enough activity, he is an active volunteer in philanthropic organizations. He is an active pilot with Angel Flight of Georgia, volunteers with the St. Vincent DePaul Catholic charity group, and works with Junior Achievement in teaching high school classes. Dick is also the co-sponsor for our next Georgia Flyers trip to Louisville, Kentucky. At our next meeting, if you haven't talked to Dick, walk up and say hello. You'll not meet a finer gentleman.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the May Georgia Flyers events.

Ron Deering