Monday, December 11, 2017

The Lee Bottom Aviation Refuge - Update


As was mentioned in another recent post, outwardly visible progress for the Lee Bottom Aviation Refuge has been thin this year. Despite having brought back Sinful Sundays and all of them being a success, people often look here for notes on advancement. Those notes have been few and far between.

2017 has been an interesting year for the organization. Much has been done but little that can be seen. Obvious physical improvements or large group photos did not happen because the primary focus has been on securing the land and land around it. This isn't what we hoped for. Instead, it was forced upon us.

Due to unscrupulous real estate agents, people with no regard for the law, and officials who have not been doing their jobs we have spent most of the year working on time consuming issues that don't produce obvious results. Putting an end to the flaunting of state and federal regulations pertaining to public use airports and zoning is difficult enough. When it is just you attempting to correct widespread disregard for property and the law it's not easy at all. If you are an outsider in a town where everyone is related, grew up with, went school with, or goes to church with everyone else it's maddening. Yet, if we are to secure the future of the field it must be done.

Thankfully, the gracious Lee Bottom Aviation Refuge supporters stepped up this year to cover nearly all the direct operating expenses of the field.  This is exactly what we were hoping for as we transitioned the field management responsibilities to the non-profit, thus taking part of the load off us as we attended to land issues. That, along with an increase in traffic, the return of Sinful Sundays, and potential opportunities for the airport leads us to believe 2018 will be another great year.

*NOTE: The annual fundraiser calendars are currently at the printers. We plan for them to go out early January. If I remember correctly, this is the 30th year of the tradition. Each year they go out to 1500 aviation enthusiasts around the world and account for the majority of the non-profit donations/funding.

*IMPORTANT: The dates for 2018 Sinful Sundays are June 10th, July 8th, and August 12th.  If you recall, we are only able to have these events if other groups volunteer to host them. If your group would be interested in hosting one, two, or all of them, please contact us here.

August 2017 Sinful Sunday


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