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NEWS RELEASE
September 22, 2003
For pictorial, click here.
And The Planes Came
5th Annual Holleyfest
Flies High Over Foul Weather
“I have worked with
twenty air show and fly-in events over the years,” said Ron Edwards,
Coordinator of the 5th Annual Holleyfest fly-in / camp-out. “And I must
say that this experience has topped them all.” Edwards addressed a core
group of volunteers, assembled for a debriefing session in the hangar of
Jim & JoAnn Collom at Holley Mountain Airpark near Clinton, Arkansas, late
in the afternoon of Sunday, September 14.
Originally calendared for September 12 & 13, the 5th Annual Holleyfest
fly-in/camp-out was geared to go on schedule. Months of planning,
involving hundreds of hours of volunteer time and thousands of cash and
in-kind dollars, had produced an agenda replete with aviation education
experts, FAA authorities, vendors, exhibitors, special ceremonies and
entertaining games.
The Colloms’ personal hangar and surrounding grounds had been transformed
from an airplane garage and private backyard into a pleasantly appointed
banquet room and an event activities area with exhibitor court. And by
mid-afternoon on Friday, things were set up and ready to go.
And then the rains came...
Considering the inclement weather, only the most experienced pilots chose
to brave the elements Friday and Saturday, dodging raindrops all the way.
But exhibitors, presenters and scores of attendees did their best to
ignore the heavy skies and by noontime Saturday, a goodly crowd had
gathered for Holleyfest 2003 opening ceremonies and lunch.
As if on cue, the sun broke through in time for Edwards to introduce Boy
Scout Troop 29 of Christ the King Catholic Church from Little Rock, and
their stunning Presentation of the Colors. A powerful singing of our
national anthem and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, was led by
Curt Collins -- a professional gospel singer!!! Greg Smith led the Invocation,
setting the stage for a scrumptious "all you can eat" luncheon of
smokehouse-style B-B-Q Ribs & Chicken, 'tater salad, baked beans, and
coleslaw.
After lunch, Airpark developers Jim & JoAnn Collom officially welcomed all
visitors on behalf of the Holley Mountain Airpark Property Owners
Association and introduced former head of the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB), Jim Burnett.
Burnett brought keynote speaker Mitch Llewellyn, aviation attorney and
aircraft accident investigator, to the podium. Llewellyn's video
presentation explored the too often unrecognized dangers of aerodynamic
"flutter" (vibration) on aircraft and the sometimes tragic consequences of
letting indicators of this and other structural anomalies or breakdowns go
unchecked.
Behind the Holleyfest scenes,
event organizers had taken the situation in hand. Mother Nature was
forecast to bring fair skies the next morning, and moves were afoot to
carry as many rained-out activities as possible over to Sunday. Taking quick action to get
the word out, the day dawned with the promise of sunshine...
And the planes came. Dozens of them. Along with nearly all the presenters
whose programs had fallen prey to Saturday’s deluge.
Joseph T. Calamita, Facility Support Specialist, and Jim Lafayette,
Operations Supervisor of JBR Flight Service of Jonesboro, looked at "pilot
attitude" as a causative factor in the chain of predictable events which
too often lead to critical errors in judgment and consequential tragedy.
Steven Buckner, (title?), presented the
Wings Safety Program.
And Ron Ford,
Air-Evac Lifeteam
Membership Coordinator, explained the vital role of medical emergency
air-lift flight services in rural communities throughout the Ozarks. As
part of the educational demonstration, one of Air-Evac's helicopters
touched down.
Sunday afternoon, after a second delicious helping of B-B-Q lunch, it was
time for the fun and games portion of the agenda, starting with a Popsicle
Stick Drop, winners of which got to claim prizes from an assortment of toy
squirt guns, wind chimes, and model helicopters.
For the rest of the afternoon, children of all ages played with 4-wheelers
and just generally mixed, mingled, noshed, schmoozed and relaxed.
Ending the day, Award Trophies were presented for Youngest Pilot, Oldest
Pilot, Oldest Plane, Furthest Distance Traveled, and Most Unique Aircraft,
which went to ultralight pilot, John Newman. “He deserved an award for his
landing,” Collom remarked, agreeing with others that the conditions had
been quite a challenge for the pilot and his aircraft.
“Never before in my life have I seen such a powerful, enthusiastic and
energetic group of people come together with such wholehearted
cooperation,” Edwards concluded Sunday's debriefing of Holleyfest,
acknowledging the numerous volunteers that made the three-day aviators'
convention possible. "It was amazing," he said and warmly grinned.
"Thanks. I’m looking forward to next year."
For more information about Holleyfest, held annually at Holley Mountain
Airpark in the Ozark Mountains of North Central Arkansas, contact: Jim &
JoAnn Collom, P.O. Box 1699, Clinton, AR 72031, 501-745-8700, or visit
www.HolleyMountainAirpark.com online.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: Event photos available for publication with this release.
To preview (low-res),
click here.
PLEASE CONTACT ME: For more info about any of this! Thanks!
Christine :-)
Publicist & Web Manager for Holley Mountain Airpark
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Christine Louise Weiss
POBox 211, Shirley, AR 72153
HomeOffice 501-723-4322
editor@gozarks.com
Gozarks: Everything Ozarks
http://www.gozarks.com
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