Hello Swifters,

This e-mailing is the start of a periodic newsletter, to keep Swift owners and enthusiasts abreast of what is happening in the planning and execution of the West Coast International Swift Fly-In at Westover, CA.

With Westover 2009 a thing of the past, and the holidays just around the corner, it is now time to start planning for our next event. I know it seems early, but there is just an enormous list of things that need to get done, and time just seems to be going by at light-speed these days!

First, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Gerry and Carol Hampton, who worked so hard to make this fly-in happen for so many years (10 of them, by my count)! Thank you both, so very much for your commitment and efforts!

I will be stepping in as coordinator for Westover, with Brad Madden volunteering his time as our Webmaster. If you haven’t already visited the new website, we invite you to click on the following link: www.SaginawWings.com, and check it out! We will be updating the site frequently, during the course of the year, to keep everyone updated on our progress.

Last month, we conducted a poll, using as many e-mails as we could come up with on short notice, to gage interest in possibly moving the dates of the event to mid-October in the hopes it would be cooler. The responses we got back were 3 to 1 in favor of keeping the fly-in on the weekend following Reno. Therefore, Westover 2010 will be held on September 24, 25 and 26 (with early birds showing up Thursday afternoon, the 23rd).

We will be relying much more heavily on volunteer participation, this year, to make this event happen. To that effect, we have posted a list of tasks at "The Volunteer Corner", and ask you to please have a look to see what you might be able to do to help. With enough volunteer help we can have an event that can run smoothly, while providing everyone with plenty to see and do each day. Working together, we can bring a sense of fun and contribution to what otherwise could be a very overwhelming task!

Finally, we will need to approach funding in a very different way than in previous years. When this event began, in 1985, there was an established “Wing”, with annual dues and a treasury, we were able to fund the prepaid expenses, such as banquet deposits and awards. For the last 10 years, Gerry and Carol have generously provided their own funds to cover these expenses until the weekend of the fly-in, when they could reimburse themselves from registration proceeds. However, as the expenses are sizeable, and we have no treasury, we will have to come up with another strategy. I would like to hold a pre-registration this year, and will be designing a form that will be provided as an attachment to future e-mails, as well as on the website. You may expect further information on pre-registration in next month’s newsletter.

I want to thank you for your patience, while we figure out the best ways of coordinating and organizing this event. As it is your fly-in, your input is always welcome!

If you wish to receive our monthly Westover 2010 newsletter via e-mail, please contact Erin@UniversalPilotTraining.com

Till next month, Happy Thanksgiving, and Blue Skies!