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 YoungEagles

   There are many ways to judge the success of an event. From the Young Eagles Program's perspective, the 2002 Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In was a great success. Both Michelle Kunes and I had a wonderful opportunity to meet many of you face to face. It really was a pleasure to put a face with some familiar voices. In addition, we had a chance to invite many new pilots into the program. As we talked with Young Eagle Pilots, it was obvious that many of you have sustained or renewed your dedication to the program. Many mentioned your desire to help us reach our goal. We appreciate those thoughts and your continuing support of Young Eagles. Now is the time for all of us -- pilots and ground support -- to step forward and increase the number of Young Eagles flown during 2002. Will we reach our goal next year? Yes, I have every confidence that we will. Will it be easy? No, it will be a challenge to fly the number of Young Eagles needed. But I have faith in the EAA membership, which in the early 1990s asked to involve more children in aviation. Thus the Young Eagles Program was launched. The challenge was given to fly 1 million Young Eagles. The completion of that challenge is now within our collective reach. At this moment, we need about 225,000 Young Eagles to reach our goal. That may seem like a huge number, but think about this. There are nearly 31,000 pilots who have flown Young Eagles. If only half of that number flew 10 or more Young Eagles this year and next, we would reach the 1 million mark early in 2003. How about the Chapters? If each of our 1,000 active Chapters flew 125 Young Eagles in 2002 and again in 2003, we would again easily reach our goal. Each of us can make a difference. We can make a difference to a child. We can share the sky with them and have an impact on their life. It may be a minor highlight or a life-changing experience, but it will have an impact. If each of us flies one more Young Eagle this year or schedules one more Flight Rally, we will have a collective impact on the entire program. We're in the final stretch before celebrating an accomplishment that many thought could not be done. It is up to each of us to accept and embrace our responsibility to complete that mission.


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