122.75, by J. Rion Bourgeois
Membership
As of mid-December, 2025, we had 145 dues paying members, and 659 people on our MailChimp e-mail list. If you haven’t yet paid your dues for 2026, please visit the Pay Your Annual Dues page here on the website.
Monthly meetings
We held ten monthly meetings in Hangar G1 at Twin Oaks where Benton Holzwarth prepared a light supper, followed by an educational program.
For November, we held an eleventh monthly meeting in the breakfast hangar where we elected the officers and directors for 2026, followed by the annual pie auction, followed by pie and ice cream. Elected were:
J. Rion Bourgeois, president and director; Mike Whelan, vice-president and director; Benton Holzwarth, secretary and director; Jennifer Hickman, treasurer and director; Cliff Gerber, director; Bill Jepson, director; Greg Hughes, director; Bruce Rose, director; Richard Van Grunsven, director; Chad Koehnen, director; James Breazeal, director; Richard Ecker, director; Adalyn Menser, director; Dan Benua, director, and; Ron Wantajja, director.
Holiday banquet
Our twelfth monthly meeting in December was a pot luck holiday banquet at the Columbia Aviation Association clubhouse at Aurora Airport where I handed out the annual awards and pins from EAA National. In addition, Joe Mollahan, the FAASTeam Program Manager – Operations, from the Portland FSDO presented the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award to both Dick Van Grunsven and Jerry Van Grunsven for having 50 years of flight experience without ever having their airman’s certificate revoked. The award included a complete copy of their entire FAA file!
Breakfast
The chapter put on twelve First Saturday of the Month Pancake and Grits Breakfasts in 2025, where we served 1,921 adults, 325 kids, and 236 comps for a total of 2,482 plates for an average of 207 diners a month. Breakfast proceeds go to pay for the groceries and to pay the rent on the chapter’s hangars G1 and G3, chapter expenses, youth flight scholarships, and expenses for Young Eagle events and the chapter’s Radio Control Build and Fly Program for youth.
We have 38 regular breakfast volunteers and many other ad hoc volunteers, all managed by Cliff Gerber. I usually buy the groceries, and Benton Holzwarth acts as cashier. Betty Stark launders, irons, and folds the aprons each month. We have been holding the monthly breakfast for 30 years now.
Young Eagles Program
We held five scheduled Young Eagles events on breakfast Saturdays at Twin Oaks where we flew 102 young eagles, which does not include YE flights by chapter members flown independently. Cliff Gerber and Adalyn Menser are our YE coordinators.
RC Build and Fly Program
The chapter also conducts an educational program where youth meet on various Sunday afternoons in hangar G1 to build RC models. The program is mentored by Mike Whelan, Bruce Rose, Chad Koehnen, Richard Ecker, Ken Howe and James Breazeal. These members are also responsible for the various recent improvements to and upkeep of Hangar G1 and the chapter’s tool crib, available to chapter members to work on their own aircraft. James Breazeal has also led the building of an electronic flight simulator housed in Hangar G1 for use by youth in the Young Eagles and Build and Fly Programs.
Flight Scholarships
The chapter also awarded several youth flight scholarships in 2025 funded by donations and breakfast proceeds. Greg Hughes, Cliff Gerber and Jenny Hickman make up the scholarship committee.
January 8, 2026 Meeting program
The program for this month’s regular chapter meeting, held on the second Thursday of the month in Hangar G1 (January 8 this month) will be a presentation by Ron Wantajja on the history of the leather flight jacket. If you have a leather flight jacket please wear it to the meeting. Benton’s supper commences at 6:30 p.m. with the program to follow at 7:00 p.m. CLICK THIS to see this and other events on our calendar.