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CAP Members Serve at Girls in Aviation Day

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C/CMSgt Padiak helps out with the flight simulators. Photo Credit: 1st Lt Deborah Leighton, CAP (click image to view full size)
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NC-052 helps at Sugar Valley Airport event

By 1st Lt Deborah Leighton, CAP
Public Affairs Officer, Sugar Valley Composite Squadron

10/6/2017–MOCKSVILLE, NC–On Saturday, 23 September 2017, senior members and cadets from the Sugar Valley Composite Squadron served in many roles for the Girls in Aviation Day at Sugar Valley Airport. First in Flight NC, a Women in Aviation International Chapter, and Sugar Valley Airport hosted the event. 

First in Flight NC is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting women in the aviation industry through providing support and scholarships to young women getting started in the aviation field. Young girls between the ages of 8 - 17 came out to participate in aviation related events, ranging from an aircraft display, flying a flight simulator, and even discovering their first experience flying in an airplane! 

Volunteers from Women in Aviation, The Ninety-Nines, EAA Chapter 1083, SVA, and the Sugar Valley Composite Squadron  worked together to make it a great event for over 100 young women. Cadets assisted with registration and flight simulators, and helped by escorting girls to planes for Young Eagle flights.

Capt Ann Michel saw this event as a recruiting opportunity, and set up a CAP table in the hangar. She spoke with several young women about Civil Air Patrol opportunities. One of the cadets serving this year, C/SSgt Madelyn Ruperto, was a recruit from last year’s Girls in Aviation Day. The success of this event demonstrated the effectiveness of cooperation among groups.