Air Force Col. Eric Boe, right, presents Florida Wing Commander Col.
Chris Moersch with a plaque including a space shuttle mission patch and
Air Force flag that flew in space. Boe, a space shuttle astronaut who's
scheduled to pilot the last-ever shuttle flight later this year, spoke
at the Florida Wing annual conference banquet March 6. (Photo by Capt. Kevin McSparron)
By Maj. DOUGLAS E. JESSMER
Florida Wing Public Affairs
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., March 6, 2010: An astronaut CAP calls one of its own challenged Florida Wing members at their annual banquet to achieve more and greater things, as members and units were honored for a job well done.
The more than 250 who attended the Florida Wing Conference at the Regal Sun Resort in Lake Buena Vista, near Orlando, took part in multiple workshops and briefings over a three-day period, and took part in the wing's annual formal banquet.
Air Force Col. Eric Boe, will blast off in September as the pilot of NASA's last-ever space shuttle mission. He's a former CAP cadet, having achieved the cadet program's highest milestone, and is a member of Florida Wing.
The weekend conference included a G-1000 ground school for CAP aviators; a flight professionalism seminar with wing commander Col. Chris Moersch; the annual wing communications meeting; and seminars in administration, personnel, operations, aerospace education, the wing's history, drug demand reduction, safety and cadet programs.
A cadet conference ran parallel to the wing conference, including an academic competition and seminars in public speaking, the role of the cadet noncommissioned officer, and myths and legends of the cadet program.
Awards presented during the weekend included:
Unit Citation Award: Presented to the Charlotte County Composite Squadron. Between March 2007-March 2009, the unit obtained nearly $30,000 in funding for development and field testing of a geo-referenced airborne digital imaging system. About two-thirds of the unit's active members logged more than 1,700 man-hours in various stages of development and implementation of that program. The result of the unit's work influenced the present and future direction of CAP's national aerial photography plans and programs.
Exceptional Service Awards: Presented to Lt. Cols. Michael Cook, Brent Cox and Valerie Brown. An exceptional service award from the national commander was presented to Col. Henri Casenove.
Meritorious Service Awards: Presented to Lt. Cols. Phil Zedonek, Charlie Clement, Guy Rasmussen and John Edsall, and Maj. David Leach.
Gill Robb Wilson Awards: The highest professional development award for CAP members was presented to Col. Buddy Harris, Lt. Cols. Sergio Seoane, Robert Hartigan and Lee Taylor, and Maj. Russell Loomis.
Fifty-Year Membership Plaques: Presented to Lt. Cols. Kay Cunningham, Roy Hall, David Moseley and Alfred Slaney.
Florida Wing Senior Member of the Year: Lt. Col. David Auerbach
Florida Wing Cadets of the Year: Cadet Joshua Hinson (phase IV); Cadet Rick Bravo (phase III); Cadet Michael Santana (phase II); and Cadet Jacob Doughty (phase I).
Senior Squadron of the Year: Emerald Coast Senior Squadron
Cadet Squadron of Merit: Miami Springs Optimist Cadet Squadron
Composite Squadron of the Year: Jacksonville Composite Squadron
Professional Development Officer of the Year: Maj. Victoria Brown, Pembroke Pines Composite Squadron
Health Services Officer of the Year: Lt. Col. Carole Jewett, Emerald Coast Senior Squadron
Mission Pilot of the Year: Capt. Kirk Koleff, Emerald Coast Senior Squadron
Orientation Flight Pilot of the Year: 1st Lt. Jaime Lichi, Pembroke Pines Composite Squadron
Counterdrug Officer of the Year: Capt. John Lawler
Historian of the Year: Lt. Col. Vivian Olsen
Squadron Chaplain of the Year: Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Elmer Schrag, Charlotte County Composite Squadron
Safety Officer of the Year: Lt. Ken Meyer, Patrick Composite Squadron
Aerospace Education Officer of the Year: 2nd Lt. Robb Haskins, Central Florida Composite Squadron
Frank Brewer Cadet of the Year: Cadet 2nd Lt. Stefan Malone
Logistics Officer of the Year: Maj. Bruce Sage, Headquarters Florida Wing
Capt. Eileen Tonkinson Public Affairs Officer of the Year: Capt. Jeffrey Carlson, Headquarters Group 5
Col. Edwin Lewis Jr. Incident Staff Member of the Year: 1st Lt. Robert Little
Col. Henri Casenove Communications Officer of the Year: Lt. Col. Mac McConnell
Operations/Emergency Services Circle of Excellence: Lt. Col. David Carlson, Lt. Col. Kenneth McKinley, Capt. David Rigney, Capt. Douglas Butler and 1st Lt. Nicholas Simoncini
Aerospace Education Circle of Excellence: Maj. Lea Ann Curry and 2nd Lt. Robert Haskins
Cadet Programs Circle of Excellence: Lt. Col. Dave Taylor, Lt. Col. Carole Jewett, Capt. Justin McElvaney, Capt. Robin Sheaks and Capt. Edith Miller
Command Service Award: Air Force Lt Col. Steve Davidson, Air Force Maj. Glen Farrar, Air Force Maj. Ava Farrar, Lt. Col. Burleigh Putnam, Maj. Roger Helton and Maj. Glenn Powers
Civil Air Patrol, the uniformed, all-volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization
with more than 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of
continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air
Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with
saving 90 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform
homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the
request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a
leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly
22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP
has been performing missions for America since 1941.
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For more information, please contact the
Florida Wing Public Affairs and Marketing Directorate.